IT’S the 150th anniversary of the Greenock Telegraph newspaper, and helping to mark the occasion, former hacks are penning their reminiscences.
Already published, for instance, are the memories of Paul English, now at the Daily Record, but who used to be a reporter on the evening newspaper; and who also spent two years – between 1998 and 2000 – at the sports desk.
Poised to add his tuppence-worth is press office head at BBC Scotland, Roy Templeton. He was not only a reporter, but the paper’s horse racing tipster, operating under the name, ‘Arkle’.
Says Templeton: “I have to confess that Inverclyde’s reputation as Scotland’s most poverty-ridden district was single-handledly down to Arkle’s Top Tips that featured in the only racing column that singularly managed to avoid talking about horse racing.”