More thrills than skills – A half-life in journalism, part 19

Over the next few weeks, allmediascotland.com is to publish, each weekday, edited extracts from the memoirs of Scottish war correspondent, Paul Harris. ‘More thrills than skills: A half-life in journalism’, is being scheduled for publication next year.

I CALLED around the usual people I usually wrote for, but Montserrat was not on the news agendas.

They were not encouraging. However, I left some contact numbers and packed an overnight bag, the cameras and the satellite telephone. I reckoned it might a bit of a break and I could maybe do a couple of background features…

I flew across the Atlantic quite oblivious to totally-unexpected developments on the floor of the British House of Commons.

As I flew into Antigua and scoured the harbour for a small boat to ferry me across to Montserrat, the British Commonwealth Minister was addressing the House on a matter of great urgency.

According to information received by his department, the island of Montserrat faced the imminent likelihood of “a catastrophic explosion”.

I awoke the next morning to sun and blue seas clearly visible through my bedroom window and, yes, there was the reassuring grey bulk of a British warship offshore.

Although I did not know it at the time, this was HMS Liverpool, dispatched by the British Government to organise the evacuation of the island.

Behind me, there was a satisfying plume of grey smoke emitting from Mount Soufriere.

I set up the satellite telephone next to the pool and tucked into a satisfying breakfast of fresh fruit. Then the satphone started to ring. “Hello, Paul. Are you there in Montserrat? Are you okay?”