The Team

Graham Southorn, Editor

If there was such a thing as a magazine stalker, Graham would be it. First encountering Focus in the mid-1990s for work experience (and tea making), Graham returned for a four-year stint as the magazine's deputy editor before getting all starry eyed. In 2005, he went off to launch Sky at Night Magazine with astronomy legend Sir Patrick Moore but the siren call of Focus was too hard to resist. Learning the tea and coffee preferences of a new bunch of people may take some time...

If you have a comment or letter about Focus, contact Graham on Graham.Southorn@immediatemedia.co.uk

Andy Ridgway, Deputy Editor

Andy is our resident Northerner. Pie, chips, whippets and mills are all he ever talks about. But it’s all an act, so don’t let all that ‘ee-bye-gum’ nonsense fool you. He’s actually an aesthete of a level that rivals Brian Sewell. Andy likes nothing more than discussing the inherent beauty of the finer things in life using clipped consonants and elongated vowels, while drinking tea. With his little finger extended, obviously.

If you have a news story for Focus, send Andy an electronic pigeon at Andy.Ridgway@immediatemedia.co.uk

Robert Banino, Production Editor

Rob’s often described as the Keith Richards of the Focus team. If you ask him, it’s because of his ‘elegantly wasted’ demeanour and the unfathomably cool way he takes care of every issue of the mag. On the other hand, it might have something to do with him being completely incapable of acting his age.

If you have anything you’d like to offer as competition prizes, email Rob at Robert.Banino@immediatemedia.co.uk

JV Chamary, Features Editor

J spent too much time reading comics as a kid and hence grew up wanting to be a superhero. The former scientist would hang around the lab in the hope of being bitten by a radioactive bug — one that would imbue him with special powers. But the fact that he still uses the lift to get to the office, rather than crawling up the side of the building in just a mask and pants, would suggest his plan failed somewhat. If you need to pitch an idea for features on popular science and technology, drop J a line on <JV.Chamary@immediatemedia.co.uk

Daniel Bennett, Reviews Editor

Dan moved from London to Bristol to join the Focus team and hasn’t so much settled in as gone native. He arrives at the office each morning with a jolly “Awlriight me babber”. He still can’t always find his way around town without staring intently at the maps on his iPhone though (proving that while you can take the boy out of London…). But if he ever runs out of charge, he can always be easily found by his now renowned battle cry of “Cider I up, landlord!” If you have some interesting technology or gadgets you’d like Focus to feature or review, drop Dan a line on Daniel.Bennett@immediatemedia.co.uk

Steve Sayers, Art Editor

Steve likes to make a big song and dance about exactly what it is he does, but it amounts to colouring in. He has a wide variety of tools, techniques and styles, and uses everything from finger painting to his full set of crayons to make Focus look so good each month. His biggest ambition in life is to design an issue of the mag using only an Etch-a-Sketch.

If you have any illustrations you think might be suitable for Focus, get in touch with Steve at Steve.Sayers@immediatemedia.co.uk

Robbie Bennie, Deputy Art Editor

Like many artists, Robbie’s spiritual home is in the café’s of Paris’s famous Left Bank. Not because of his dissident intellectualism or radical political philosophy, but because he relies on regular, carefully controlled doses of caffeine. This minimalist, high-octane diet helps him make a masterpiece of every page he turns his hand to, but it is beginning to affect his judgment. He’s recently developed a penchant for berets and pencil moustaches. If you have any artwork or illustrations you think might be useful for Focus, contact Robbie on Robbie.Bennie@immediatemedia.co.uk

James Cutmore, Picture Editor

As Picture Editor, James refuses to communicate using anything other than the medium of photography and illustration. It made for an interesting job interview. We asked him whether he’s an optimist or a pessimist and he gave us a picture of a glass half filled with rain under a cloud with a silver lining. As for previous jobs, he just did a drawing of a kipper, an aubergine, some industrial-strength bleach and a traffic warden’s hat. We didn’t ask any more questions after that. If you have any photos that may be useful for Focus, contact James (using words) at James.Cutmore@immediatemedia.co.uk