Emily guest blogs

Hello, I’m Emily Unia, ITV Local’s guest blogger for one day only. I’m the ING trainee for ITV Thames Valley and part of my programme involves getting to know how all the different parts of ITV news fit together.

Sharon, (Head honcho of ITV Local Meridian news) didn’t hesitate in throwing me in at the deep end and by ten thirty this morning, I was participating in the morning conference call, being asked for stories from Thames Valley which would work well on broadband.

Fortunately, there are some interesting stories around today; the Queen is visiting Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. It’s their 70th anniversary this year and the place has gone from strength to strength. It’s the home of Bond and Carry On and it’s where Hitchcock cut his directorial teeth. More recently, the Bourne Ultimatum and the Golden Age have been given the Pinewood treatment. Reporter, Helen James went along to join in the fun and meet Her Majesty click here to see her full report.

Thames Valley Consumer Correspondent, Andrea Benfield, has been looking at firework safety ahead of all the fun and games happening this weekend. She called in the experts at RAF Odiham to demonstrate just how dangerous powerful over-the-counter fireworks can be in a confined space. Sharon and the team were very keen to run Andrea’s feature on the web because it links so nicely to their listings for organised events and safety advice over the coming weekend.

Over at Meridian South East, they’ve got a great story about a 40 –year-old horse, possibly Britain’s oldest...catch the details here.

I could go on and on about all the other great stories ITV Local is running today, but it’s Friday evening and I’m ready to head home to Oxfordshire for a well earned rest and some exciting (but safe) firework fun. I’ve had a great day and I hope to be back soon. Watch this space…