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Sidney Bateson marched into the office of the Woking News and Mail and straight to the chief reporter’s desk at the end of the newsroom. It was as though he had already reconnoitered the office for his arrival, and knew the lie of the land. When he reached his desk, he put down his brown leather briefcase and then looked about him, surveying the landscape. He did not like what he saw. His eyes at first settled on John Gerard, and Bateson took note of his long wavy hair, … [Read more...] about A salute to the past

BILLY RUSHTON sat at his keyboard trying to figure out his next step. He had sat in the same seat for three days and had not written a word. Rushton had started at the Burnie office of the Chronicle on the Monday, and here he was on the Wednesday with nothing to show for his efforts. In fact, there had been no effort at all. Billy Rushton had been sent to Burnie fromHobartas the Chronicle’s latest addition to its far-north staff of two. He had replaced a high-flying … [Read more...] about A port in a storm

HOBART, LIKE other Australian capital cities, has its fair share of the homeless, the hungry and the poor. The city, though, has a fair sprinkling of citizens who make it their business to alleviate the suffering of those less fortunate than themselves. This public spirit manifests itself in many ways, most noticeably in Len’s Van that plies the Hobart streets after dark delivering food to people in need of a meal. Rain, hail or snow: nothing stops Len’s Van on its mission … [Read more...] about Charity begins at home

Jim Lawrence woke to find a flight attendant prodding his arm, asking him if he would like a cup of coffee. The flight from Heathrow, London, to Glasgow was a short one and he had never been offered coffee on it before. That was not the only unusual thing about this flight. The aircraft was an impossibly large one and not just coffee, but breakfast, was also being served. The sun streamed through the window on to his lap. It was harsh and strong and Lawrence could feel it … [Read more...] about A flight in drink’s slipsteam

WHAT happened to Tom Peters between the weigh-in for the Sonny Liston-Cassius Clay world heavyweight title fight and the fight itself was … Tom Peters got drunk. Tom Peters often got drunk but not at such an important time as this. He was, after all, the boxing writer for the Globe, a London tabloid newspaper second only in circulation to the five-million selling Daily Mirror. Tom Peters had filed a sparkling report on the weigh-in, which had made the Globe’s front page … [Read more...] about Mateship proves a knock-out