Precisely four weeks after calling Tom Roberts, a director with newspaper publishers NWN, based at Oswestry but covering border counties and North Wales, I was sitting in a room which had a cupboard, desk and chair and on the desk was a typewriter, a telephone, – I could have been back in the Holywell office, a teenage reporter.
This time, however, I had a new family to go home to at lunchtime and in the evening.
HAPPY FAMILIES: me, carrying Sarah, and Marion with Jacqueline outside our bungalow in Valley.
The bungalow was in Valley, on the mainland of Anglesey, and I had to cross the causeway to reach the town of Holyhead itself.
At this point I was carless again so on the first few days I would walk to the end of our road to catch a bus which would drop me off almost right outside my office.
On that first morning I felt immediately at home and my first action was to make a mug of tea before sitting at my desk and going through the previous week’s newspaper.
After that I called the Chronicle main office in Bangor and spoke to my latest editor, Ray Bower.
He told me the editorial diary was in one of the desk drawers and it alco contained a list of all the major contacts in Holyhead.
The best comment he made to me was: “I know you’ll quickly find your way round. Peter and Brian both give you excellent references.”
He wanted me to go down to the Bangor office that afternoon and told me to catch the 2pm bus. In the meantime he suggested I check last week’s paper (already done) and maybe have a walk round town to find out where everything was and then have an early lunch.
If your boss tells you to take an early break you take it and after a good lunch I caught the bus to Bangor and met my new boss.
After a general chat, a bit like inductions I had had at other offices, Ray told me that copy was to be left in the basket in reception and the admin staff would add it to the noon package or the 5pm package, both of which were then taken to the local bus depot for onward transmission.
The only other thing he had to tell me was that I would find all the stationery I needed at reception, including expense forms, which had to be at the Bangor office by Friday lunchtime.
The bus back to Holyhead would get there by 5pm but as that was my time to knock off, unless there was a meeting, I hopped off the bus just before the causeway at Valley and went home for a well-earned rest.
A good end to the day, and far better than getting home after midnight having done an afternoon/evening shift at the cinema.
It was good to be back
Robin's Nest 