Ellee Seymour

I’m kicking myself that I shall be away next month when this important pension summit is held by the Conservative Women’s Organisation. It is such an important subject, one which fills me with dread if I think about it very long.

In fact, I tend to shrug it off and leave to my husband to sort out because the fact is that I have very little pension to look forward to. I gave up my job to be a full-time mother to two fine sons and never thought that far ahead. It’s not a sexy subject when you are in your 20s, and I have a hopeless head for figures.

I’m sure I’m not alone and the CWO quite rightly believes that meeting the needs of women’s pensions presents an increasing challenge for the future, while addressing the requirements of those already retired. We are, after all, expected to live much longer, and look at the mess it is in now.

The summit hopes to learn more from women about their present problems and future concerns, with the aim of helping to formulate policy. It is being held in the House of Commons on the morning of Wednesday, 13 June, with Philip Hammomd, Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, and MPs Maria Miller (pic) and Nigel Waterson there to listen and learn.

Places are limited and anyone interested in attending should contact Elaine Hall at elaine.hall@conservatives.com.

Have you planned well ahead for your pension? How long do you plan to work for?

Police have launched a murder hunt following the disappearance of Sarah Benford, even though her body has never been discovered. Her story was also re-enacted on Crimewatch.

Sarah went missing from a children’s home in Northampton in April 2000, when she was 14 years old.  Her mother saw her in Kettering three days later but none of her family have seen or heard from her since.

Sarah had been taken into care because her mother was worried about the drug addicts and petty criminals she had begun to associate with in Kettering. She had gone missing before, but only for one or two days.

She was also featured on posters displayed at Tesco stores. Her photograph has also been displayed on 40 ft Ford lorries as well as thousands of milk cartons sold in Iceland stores.

In March 2003, police launched Operation Yacht, a major investigation into Sarah’s disappearance, which is being treated as murder. Despite a major police enquiry and a large number of arrests that were made as a result, Sarah’s body has never been discovered and the people responsible for what happened to her have never been brought to justice.

When Sarah disappeared, her mother’s life fell apart. Despite the complicated background, her mother’s grief is just as intense as anyone else in the same nightmare situation.

In memory of those who are still missing.

Continuous rail delays and a fire on the underground, followed by a snail’s pace taxi crawl in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic, meant that I arrived breathless and late and missed half the seminar on the politics of online journalism yesterday.

The debate that I heard centered around whether quality mainstream journalists can write successfully online and attract quality debate and comments.

The answer in my opinion is that it can, but that it involves a totally different approach. When information is given online, it is not just a story, it is a conversation, and one which the writer must join in.

There are many journalists who write excellent blogs. I rave about Bryan Appleyard, who gives insights into his personal life too, which most online journalists don’t. He has lots of great conversations.

I believe the challenge for journalists is that they have to work harder to establish their credibility online because they are inviting a discussion on their story and it may be get a mauling. A mauling can be savage and unjustified, but readers will be able to judge for themselves whether the criticism is fair. They will probably write about it on their own blog too.

It is the unpleasant and ranting tone of some of the comments that seemed to be of great concern, and whether these should be regulated, only allowing the “quality” comments to be published.

Writers could have their own “house rules” which stipulate commenting “on topic”, not swearing and respecting the fact that others are entitled to a different view to get round this. Writers need to know how to respond to derisory comments too, tireless as it may seem. Don’t let them get the better of you.

At the end of the day, quality writers can attract quality readers, but they have to work at it. Readers are very loyal and will return daily if they enjoy the articles, as well as liking and respecting the writer. The writer needs to build a relationship, just like any blogger. How many quality journalists visit other sites and post comments ? Do they always expect the traffic to come to them and give nothing back?

I was struck by the serious tone of the evening and could no longer hold back from blurting out that blogging had to be fun too, how it has given me so much pleasure and brought me into contact with some great like-minded people.

Here is a list of the guests I believe attended, I’m afraid I didn’t get the chance to talk to many of them.  Rachel looked stunning, suntanned from her recent honeymoon:

Emma Maier

Tony Curzon Price (Opendemocracy.net)

Nico Macdonald

Ruth Hogarth (BBC World Service New media)

John Owen (Newsxchange)

Rick Waghorn (Rickwaghorn.co.uk)

Ellee Seymour (Elleeseymour.com)

Ros Taylor (Guardian Unlimited)

Richard Ayers (Magic Lantern)

Martin Stabe (Press Gazette)

Richard Addis (Shakeup media)

Ryan Bowman (Shakeup media)

Becky Hogge (Open Rights Group)

Rachel North (Rachelnorthlondon.blogspot.com)

Roberto Ravello (BBC World New Media)

Sara Sreberny-Mohammadi (BBC News Online)

Kate Goldberg (World Service Future Media)

Clive Davis (Spectator blogs)

Astrid Zweynert (Reuters Online)

Stella Creasey (Involve)

P.S. The  journey home was just as horrendous. My husband had to drive to Cambridge rail station and collect me. I had to make a frantic dash from King’s Cross to Liverpool Street station to find a train travelling to Ely  where I set off from and left my car. The train did not run to Ely, only Cambridge, and a coach provided for the remaining leg of the journey would not have arrived in Ely until 1am. To top it all, there was lots of yummy food at the seminar, but no plate!