Publish and be damned antisocial just like me

So here it is - My name is Nicola and I’m a publish- a-holic.

The moment of epiphany came to me when I arrived at a stunning hotel in the Lake District - on one of those rare but lucky British getaways where you get the timing unexpectedly right and the weather is fantastic.

We couldn’t believe our luck.

I was delighted to get away, however briefly, from the inevitable bogging down that occurs in the editing of six weekly newspapers, deputy editor-ing of a daily newspaper plus the 24-hour constant slog of all of their associated websites and social media platforms.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... it never ends.

So it is tough to get away from publishing , well everything, particularly as I also have my own jabberingjourno.com website/blog, where I publish travel, theatre, book reviews and columns.

You know, in my spare time.

So as I arrived at my stunning home from home for the night, I was keen to relax the tension in my shoulders and the RSI in my tweeting finger.

That lasted about one second.

After clocking the photogenic nature of the scenery and the jaw-dropping stately home, I started leaping about the car park in a frenzy snapping away on my phone.

A journalist just can’t miss a good photo opportunity after all.

This only stopped when realisation struck and I leapt into the hotel lobby, desperate for a Wi-Fi code.

Publish , publish, said the little voice in my head, while the friendly concierge attempted to show me to my room, thwarted every second as I stopped to take yet another close up.

‘Stop!’ said the voice as I entered the fantastic hotel suite and nearly threw my things across the immaculate giant bed.

Not because it was being sensible but instead to stop me ruining a perfectly good hotel room photo-moment.

It was then I realised quite how addicted I was.

This was supposed to be a break - but was just another take of my life through a lens.