By Mari Jones, Reporter
TO BE a good journalist I think one of the main qualities you have to have is a natural sense of curiosity.
Reporting for the Weekly News means I have to be endlessly inquisitive when talking to people from all walks of life, whether talking to a politician, an actor or somebody who is just organising a coffee morning.
Some people I could talk to all day if they are particularly interesting, but with others I may be struggling to write anything after a 30 minute conversation. When I've interviewed somebody who has inspired me or I've learnt something from, then it can give me a sense of elation.
A handful of people who I have written about in the last ten years will always stick in my mind.
Probably the most interesting man I've ever spoken to was Michael Burn - war hero, former Times journalist, author and whose friends included the Mitford sisters, Noel Coward, Clough Williams Ellis and Betrand Russell.
I sat entranced by a blazing fire in his elegant house in the grounds of Portmeirion, whilst he told me of the time he and Diana Mitford met Hitler, who gave them an autographed copy of Mein Kampf, and about the time he was imprisoned in Colditz (which he described as a poor hotel) after he was caught during the famous St Nazairre Raid, and also his experiences of reporting for The Times on the eve of the Hungarian Revolution.
It's times like that when I know why I do this job - you never know who you are going to meet.
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