Wow, what a week. If Id known leaving The Star was going to be this good Id have gone years ago. (Apologies to those that have heard that four times already) Thanks everyone for coming to the leaving do at Fagans, great pub and a great night as always, thanks to Bob Westerdale for his eloquence and warmth, to Tom and Barbara for their hospitality and to Abbeydale Brewery for Moonshine. Thanks to Richard for the feature in The Star, to Rob for the leaving speech, Paul Davis and those who contributed to the four-page (un-templated) special, and to everyone for their best wishes and kind words all this week and especially on Friday. This is starting to read like a bad Oscars speech so Ill quit while everyone is still awake. Below is what I said on Friday at work, best of luck to everyone and thanks for the laughs and the memories. Martin My first encounter with Star culture - a sort of anarchic hilarity that somehow got out great newspapers - was in playing football with the reporters and one or two subs and I couldnt help but be struck by the humour, the piss-taking and the capacity for beer. I knew I had to work there. Second encounter was with Mr Coy himself - Bob Westerdale as we both covered the Royal visit at the Scout Camp in Hesley Wood, he for the Star and I for the professors of news and sport at the Whites News Agency and Journalism Academy. You couldnt help but notice he was a bit different - especially when he stopped traffic on the way back, got out of his car and raced back to mine and shouted out his Royal Wee intro to his story - I used it and so did the Daily Mirror. The next Star moment was when I had to ring Westerdale about some story or other and mid conversation he had to drop the phone to break up a fight between John Quinn and Dave Dunn. I was hooked already. So when there was an ad for subs I jumped at the chance and got another example of The Stars organised anarchy. I was having an interview in the Three Tuns, as you did in those days, and Colin Clark walked in, took ten pence from his pocket and handed it to me saying: Here you are mate, they need subs at the Yorkshire post, give them a ring and get yourself a proper job, dont f*cking come here! I ignored him, as one tended to do with Colin in such moments, but I cant imagine that approach going down too well with JP today. But those were different days and Im glad I was here for the last of The Stars 100,000-a-night newspaper glory. We have worked with some great characters, Tony Pritchett the man who could write a brilliant back-page lead as fast as he could think it, Tim Keating who I remember sat at his desk one day and pulled out a tooth. Cursing his dentist and gum disease he put it in the top pocket of his tweed jacket - where there were already three other gnashers - and carried on working. The incomparable and and often unfathomable Tex, Peter Goodman and his two jackets - one always on the back of his chair so when he was needed people would look at his empty desk when he was in the pub and say: He cant be far away, his jackets there. Genius. Les Payne, white-coated and deadly serious as the subbuteo cricket umpire. Dave Dunn and Martin Dawes throwing computers at each other. I was only going to stay for 18 months or two years but it was so good I never seriously thought about leaving, until recently. Now Im off and thanks to Richard Fidler and everyone else for the show in the paper today, what a fantastic way to go out. I think the time is right for me and I leave here with the good memories intact and a love for the job that will take some replacing. I have worked a large chunk of my life for The Star and it was a privilege to give it my best years. I will always be proud of that. Thanks everybody, its been really special. Martin Smith Columnist Star Features Editor Profile Magazine Editor Journalism Lecturer
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 17:05:47 +0000
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