A ‘privilege and honour’ to reflect on what’s been happening in Caithness since the 1970s
The date has long been etched in my memory. Monday, September 12, 1977 was the day I started work on the Caithness Courier and John O’Groat Journal – but now, nearly 50 years later, that chapter in my life is at an end as I leave the papers and retire.
Looking back, I wonder where all that time has gone and am amazed at how quickly it has passed. I was just 24 when I arrived at the Groat building in Wick that morning to start my job as a senior trainee but the place seemed strangely quiet.
The big front door was locked. There seemed to be no one around. I was bemused and then a car suddenly pulled up beside me.
“You must be the new reporter,” said an elderly man who turned out, by good fortune, to be the paper’s long-serving former editor, David Oag.
He told me the main office was shut as it was a public holiday but, kindly, took me through the side door into the building and to the editor’s office. He wished me well and left.
At that time, I had no idea my association with the papers would last so long. I have had two spells as a reporter with the Groat and Courier – the first from 1977 until 1988 and again from 1992 until yesterday. In between, I had a year off, worked on a voluntary basis as the press officer for Caithness Against Nuclear Dumping and then earned a living as a freelance reporter, writing articles and features for regional and national papers as well as the local ones.
Over many years, I have covered a multitude of stories and events, met some wonderful people and characters along the way, worked with some fine journalists and editors and have enjoyed the whole experience, latterly working from home three days a week.
It has been a privilege and an honour to have played a part in reflecting and reporting what has been happening in Caithness and north Sutherland in one way or another for over 45 years. I have changed a lot in that time and so have the papers.
When I started, the Groat and Courier, which came under the same ownership in 1977, were black and white broadsheets. They were printed in Union Street in Wick and we had a staff of around 20 comprising editorial, advertising, accounts and production departments. We also had an office in Thurso.
Reporters had typewriters and old-fashioned phones and messy desks, their stories were typeset using huge Linotype machines and put on metal “stones” by compositors ready to be printed on an old clunky press which, despite its age, used to turn out thousands of copies of Couriers and Groats each week.
Now, it is all done digitally with just a few Caithness employees, the papers are tabloid and in colour and are printed in Dundee. For a number of years now we have also produced a website which means stories can be reported and updated much quicker and more frequently than when we just had two print publications.
However, the changing technology means circulation of the print papers is falling – in line with the national trend – and there is no doubt that the industry will have a digital future and newspapers will, at some point, be a thing of the past.
But whatever the format, there will always be news to report and deadlines to meet. That is the essence of what the job entails and will not change. Neither will the dedication and professionalism of the staff doing the work whether in print or on the website.
News is by its very nature unpredictable. You can’t plan it. It just happens and you have to react, check it out, get responses and comments and write the story in a balanced and accurate way while all the time the clock is ticking away.
Caithness is a relatively small county but a newsy one. It has been at the forefront of nuclear energy since the mid-1950s – even before my time in journalism – and more recently has been home to renewable energy developments such as the the pioneering MeyGen project in the Pentland Firth as well as numerous onshore and offshore wind farms. In addition, the county has and continues to host many award-winning local firms from engineering to construction, distilling and baking and has produced some outstanding writers, artists, musicians, actors and film makers.
The far north has also had a strong royal connection for over 70 years, starting with the late Queen Mother when she purchased the Castle of Mey, and one which has been continued by many other members of the family, most notably by Prince, now King Charles.
There have been many royal visits to Caithness, including one by the Queen Mother to the John O’Groat Journal building in 1986 to mark the 150th anniversary of the paper.
And then there is politics to cover at a local, Scottish and UK level as councillors, MSPs and our MP debate the issues of the day but there are also community councils, Highland Games, agricultural shows and many other things to report on, including sport and groups campaigning for better roads and health facilities as well as news features to write.
Courts play a part in a reporter’s life as well, and I remember getting a quick initiation before having to cover them. They can be a grind but can often produce some interesting cases and copy, too. They could also be funny and produce an unexpected laugh.
I remember spending a lot of time at District and Sheriff Courts as a young reporter and, on one memorable occasion, I was waiting patiently in the sheriff clerk’s office to get a look at the charge sheets. One of Wick’s old worthies came in to pay an instalment on a fine. He saw me there that week and on the following two weeks.
Eventually, on the third week, he looked at me as he was leaving and said: “Ee must be as bad a bugger as masel. You’re never oot o’ iss coort.”
And then there was the guy who would see me on the street and say: “Anyone jailed the day, boy?”
But perhaps one of the funniest incidents occurred at a District Council meeting in Wick when a heated debate took place over a small shed which had been built without planning consent. The discussion went on for a while and then suddenly an exasperated official stood up and said: “I can assure members, that no one in Caithness will have an erection without my express permission.”
It has been interesting to say the least and while, at times, could be routine and even dull, it has always been varied and that is something for which I am very grateful.
So what do I plan to do when I retire? Well, I hope to find more time to travel, to take up golf again – I hesitate to use the word play – and do a bit of photography and painting.
There is no doubt, I will miss all the people I have worked with over the years, the many characters and stories, and being part of the local papers. Thanks to you all for making it such a rewarding and worthwhile experience.
This chapter in my life has come to an end but a new one beckons.
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