Celia Locks is a writer, journalist and editor who worked on the Guardian in news and features for 27 years, and edited the Country Diary for ten. She grew up around Epping Forest in north-east London and has a lifelong interest in and love of nature. Her passion is history and the English language, and she specialises in helping writers to develop their style and present their work in the best way possible. She is now writing a book about her father, who fought in the first world war in France and Mesopotamia.