AN Ealing man is a finalist in this year’s UK Blog Awards, to be announced in April.

Greg Dillon, 29, of Park View Road, North Ealing, is one of ten finalists in the lifestyle category for his whisky blog, Great Drams.

The blog details a wealth of whisky facts, reviews of local whisky events, as well as readers’ thoughts on their favourite tipple.

A record-breaking 42,000 public votes were cast to shortlist the 2,000 entrants of the awards.

Greg, a strategy consultant, said: “It feels amazing but humbling to be a finalist. To have my readers vote to get me into the final is amazing.

“ I write what I write for them, so it’s humbling they have taken the site to their hearts.”

Greg will face an expert panel of judges to see if Great Drams has what it takes to win.

Founder and director of the UK Blog Awards, Gemma Pears, said: “The amount of enthusiasm we have received for the awards has been overwhelming and truly reflects of the importance of blogging across the UK.”

To visit Greg’s blog go to: http://www.greatdrams.com/

 

AN Ealing NHS whistle-blower has also been nominated as a finalist.

 

Joanna Slater, 60, a freelance writer, mother of two and grandmother, writes Strength in Numbers. It allows people to publish their stories about the care they or their loved ones have had while in hospital and lets them talk to others about care within the NHS.

 

Joanna started writing a diary in July 2007 after things started to wrong with her mother Kay’s routine hip operation treatment. Her condition deteriorated soon after the treatment and she died while in hospital.

 

She said: “After she passed away, I put my notes away as they were too hard to read, but I believe that everything happens for a reason. Possibly my notes could help others, showing the importance of writing everything down as it’s so easy to forget.”

 

You can visit her blog at http://www.strength-in-numbers.co.uk/