Each week we shine the spotlight on a member of Dorset’s business community and ask him, or her, for answers to our part fun/part serious questionnaire. This time…

Her favourite place in Dorset is The Purbecks, she gets angry at bigotry in all forms, chooses Have I Got News for You as her favourite TV show and would like to be remembered for making people feel good.

Lorraine Gibson, Freelance Journalist, Author and Copywriter, takes the 20 Questions’ hotseat. 

Question: What is your favourite TV show?

Answer: Have I Got News for You – it’s always relevant, irreverent and funny.

Q: Who would you like to share a car with?

A: The late Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouts, because I’m writing a book about him and I’ve a few questions only he could truly answer. I’d also like his take on the attempt to topple his statue on Poole Quay last summer.

Q: The best bit of my job is…?

A: When things I discover about people and places become a story on what was once just a blank page on my screen.

Q: And the worst…?

A: Temperamental tech!

Q: Who was your childhood hero?

A: My granny. She was always positive and fun with endless odd sayings that I still use today, like: “You die if you worry, you die if you don’t.”

Q: What’s your favourite smell?

A: The yellow gorse on Hengistbury Head, it smells like honey and coconut on warm sunny days.

Q: Where’s your favourite place in Dorset?

A: The Purbecks. Beauty everywhere you look.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone starting out on a career?

A: If you can, try to do something you enjoy.

Q: What was your first record/CD?

A: Sunday Girl by Blondie.

Q: What gets you angry?

A: Bigotry in all forms, especially when ill-informed, which it often is.

Q: Do you have a favourite piece of music?

A: Too many but my teen daughters have discovered the ‘70s so I’m enjoying working to the sound of their attempts to play Bohemian Rhapsody and Life on Mars on our out-of-tune piano. Mamma, just killed a note!

Q: What are the qualities you look for in a new employee?

A: I don’t have employees but integrity goes a long way in most scenarios.

Q: What’s your favourite food or dish?

A: Seafood but it’s lockdown and it’s frosty outside as I type, so I’m craving my late dad’s homemade Scotch broth. I make it myself sometimes, but it’s not as good.

Q: Steamed sponge pudding and custard or a plate of melon?

A: Cheese, please.

Q: Name the best thing about living/working in Dorset?

A: Its blend of coast and countryside makes it beautiful whatever the season.

Q: If you were Prime Minister for the day what would be the first thing you do?

A:  Easy. Re-join the EU.

Q: What’s your biggest frustration?

A: People making important decisions based on what their mates say.

Q:  Where’s your favourite holiday location?

A: Walt Disneyworld Orlando for fun, Amalfi Coast, Italy for la dolce vita.

Q: Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

A: Still writing – on a paradise island, preferably!

Q: What would you like to be remembered for?

A: Making people feel good.