Remember, remember, the fifth of November... until today I have not seen The Independent's "My Life in Media" interview a blogger before, and how timely that they should choose to interview none other than Guido Fawkes, one of Britain's most influential bloggers, on Bonfire night. Last time I checked, Guido had about 250,000 unique users per month.

In the words of The Independent: "The parliamentary blogger Guido Fawkes has been setting Westminster alight with his tales of plots, rumours and conspiracy for the past three years. He describes himself as 'the only man to enter parliament with honest intention', and his blog, a sort of political Popbitch, runs stories that the printed and broadcast media are prevented from touching through lack of evidence or libel laws."

A bit more about Guido here, if you're unfamiliar with his work, and a bit about how journalists use him here.

Now, one part of the interview really impressed me. The Independent asks Guido what the best thing about his job is, and he answers: "The fact that now, when I call up a minister's office, they don't go, 'Who?'. You can hear them go, 'Oh shit, it's Guido'. That might be egotistical, but nobody looks forward to a telephone call from me."

If you live in my part of the world, where you often can call up, at least the most publicity hungry government ministers, and pretty much get them on the phone straight away, especially if you're calling for an English newspaper, you may think "what's the big deal?".

But in England, where you often have to partly bully and partly charm your way past layer upon layer of secretaries and their likes, only to have the minister or his/her PR call you back and have a shot at bullying you about the paper you are calling from if you're deemed important enough (oh, coming from The Observer, Express etc you would ask that, wouldn't you? You lot are always asking this and that, are so bent on this particular issue etc, insinuating with the nicest possible words that you are stupid, obsessive, a crook or worse), it's quite a feat.