Printing presses were not foremost in my mind when I decided on my future as a reporter. I knew about the principles of printing having once had a John Bull printing outfit. Not, of course, that this childish toy was ever designed to introduce people to the real joys of printing. To learn more thanContinue reading “Stereotype – it’s such a cliché”
Category Archives: My blog
Timely lesson about trust
My mix of shadowing David Nicholas and spending time under my own command at the Holywell office certainly strengthened my nature when it came to coping for myself in later years. David taught me what to watch for when out and about as a good story could come from the smallest reference. He said youContinue reading “Timely lesson about trust”
Touch of deja vu as memories meld
Have you ever found yourself watching an old film on the television and thinking: “I’ve seen this before but I don’t know when.” Or: “I am sure this film is taken from a book but I don’t remember reading it.” Over the past 20 years more and more films have been resurrected to fill spaceContinue reading “Touch of deja vu as memories meld”
Castaways a century apart
The subjects of two tales of boys surviving on a desert island are almost 100 years apart. One tells the story of three boys shipwrecked and cast up on a desert island in the Victorian era. This was written in 1857 by a Scottish author, RM Ballantyne, who wrote almost 100 adventure stories for boys.Continue reading “Castaways a century apart”
Look out tomorrow
Poetry in the morning and a little ramble later in the day. Books I think. Yes, books are good.
Getting to grips with politicians
The weeks continued with the one-day training at Mold and the rest on my own at the Holywell office. It appeared David Nicholas had become my mentor. On the second Wednesday I shadowed him as he did regular diary jobs and worked on off-diary stories. The following week he took me to a meeting ofContinue reading “Getting to grips with politicians”
Here endeth the first lesson
The first couple of days saw me settling in to my new role, making contacts that I should have been making over the previous six months. Even on the Monday I managed to gather a reasonable amount of copy – mainly weddings and funeral reports, but also items gleaned from the minutes of the previousContinue reading “Here endeth the first lesson”
My own domain
Once Peter and Gareth had left the office I sat at my new desk and looked around my new domain. The stairs came up on the back wall and opposite was a wide set of windows looking down into the bustling little road off the High Street. My desk was set up with my backContinue reading “My own domain”
What a day!
Been a very odd couple of days (which is why yesterday’s episode of Adventures of a cub reporter didn’t get to you until today. All’s Well That Ends Well, as the great bard said, and you’ve even had a bonus poem from the wonderful Robert Burns.
Out of work for a weekend
I arrived home in time for lunch on the day I was told I had failed my probationary period as a trainee reporter. Yet I was not feeling downcast because Bill O’Brien, the chief reporter at the Holywell office where I had been a probationer, had told me there was someone interested in my desireContinue reading “Out of work for a weekend”
Robin's Nest 