Arms and the Moron

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 5:43 PM | add or read comments (1)

Apologies for the lack of blogs of late (and the lack of Welsh, I've been skimping on my homework). It's springtime and we are in the thick of the "meeting season".
The one downside of living in beautiful North Wales is that most of Trinity Mirror's regional get togethers take place in Liverpool so I have ample opportunity to get very irritated on the A55 by Jeremy Vine before flicking onto FiveLive to get very irritated by those berks who call the phone-in show.
The day after the Virginia college massacre, Five Live had some American chap fielding questions about what happened, as he defended the consitutional right of Americans to carry guns.
He suggested that the best solution would have been to allow all students to pack a weapon and that they could have "taken down" the gunman before he took so many lives.
And he was being serious.
I hope none of you minded the amount of space we gave to those terrible events at Virginia Tech. We are very much a newspaper for and of North Wales but we do carry extensive coverage of national and global events. I felt the scale of the tragedy justified a two-page spread and a page one picture.
Let me know if you strongly agree or disagree.
I managed also this week to squeeze in a visit to Deeside College where David Jones, the principal, and his team are doing a great job preparing young people for their working lives in North Wales. I am persuaded that we need to devote more energy and resources to the issue of training and education in the paper and online. North Wales firms need a steady flow of talent and colleges such as Deeside and Llandrillo have a vital role to play here.

Easter under canvas

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 10:38 AM | add or read comments (0)

Back to the editorial loom today after a short Easter break... camping near Rhyd-Ddu in the heart of Snowdonia.
The last time we went camping was about 15 years ago in Devon in the middle of summer in a little two man ridge tent.
This time we were out in temperatures barely above freezing in a ridiculously large tent for two people and a dog, and with enough food and clothing to stock an Everest base camp. The more you grow the less you know.
The crowds as ever hurled themselves up every ridge of Snowdon, ignoring all the beautiful peaks nearby. We climbed up its neighbour Yr Aran on Easter Sunday and saw just six people in three hours.
And by night we had the delights of the Cwellyn Arms and its fabulous range of real ales.
Plenty of incidents to report from the Bank Holidays, as ever, with the dramatic rescue of an angler dominating today's front page, following on from that dreadful tragedy on the Great Orme on Good Friday when the woman fell to her death from a cable car. We understand she had a young daughter - I can't imagine what her family is going through.
Still too early to let you know what's shaping up for tomorrow's edition but I'm blogging early as we have the sad task of saying farewell to Ivor Wynne Jones this afternoon. I expect Llanrhos Parish Church will be packed for his funeral.

Horrorscope

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 3:14 PM | add or read comments (0)

Just had to share this with you. It's a letter from Barnardo's Cymru. Red faces all round at the Daily Post.

Dear Sir

Thank you for printing a story highlighting the work of Teen Spirit youth club and the mosaic project they are working on which will be a feature of the Llanfaelog Community Garden.
The young people have worked very hard on the project and should be extremely proud of the result which will be enjoyed by all users of the garden.
However, we thought we were seeing stars when we read that the project had been funded by a grant from astrologer Russell Grant. In reality, we are very grateful to the Russell Commission Enhanced Grant from Environment Wales which made this project possible.

Thanks goodness we didn't put a picture of Russell Grant with the story.

Have a great Easter break.

Homecoming joy

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 6:29 PM | add or read comments (1)

Relief and happiness for a Coedpoeth family dominates the front page tomorrow. Their son was one of the servicemen held captive by Iran until that nation's decision to make a "gift" of their release. He's due home tomorrow - and we'll hopefully have pictures of their happy reunion for Good Friday's paper.
Tomorrow we also bring you the news that a man has been arrested at Tywyn police station over the murder of his seven-year-old son in Surrey.
We also have the story of a World War II mortar bomb found on a building site in Wrexham and the delightful story behind the second of our three luxury holiday winners. Well done to the folk of Llan Ffestiniog for helping to make a young kid's dream come true for great-granny!
After Liverpool FC's amazing performance last night, it's Man United's turn to start their bid for a place in the Champion's League semis. We'll have reports and pictures from the Olympic stadium in Rome.
It's all happening, so enjoy the sunshine, get your Daily Post and have a sit and a read in the garden or backyard!

Smoking ban/Ivor Wynne Jones

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 12:49 PM | add or read comments (2)

At the time of writing, dedicated pub drinkers are half way through their first lunchtime session without the haze of burning tobacco filling the bar.
It's a moment in history that we have marked on page one, but in an understated manner - it's not like Armstrong on the Moon or Wales winning a Grand Slam.
The real story will emerge in the coming days and weeks as we see what impact the ban has on pubs... and in the years ahead, hopefully marked by a sharp downturn in smoke-related diseases.
I'm one of those boring ex smokers who blew clouds of smoke in people's faces for decades and now whinge with the best of them when someone sparks up on the next table.
Newspaper offices were always smoke-filled in my early years. Ash dropping off the end of cigs as we typed away furiously brought about the early demise of many a typewriter and computer keyboard (and there was no more revolting sight than a smoker flipping over the keyboard for the annual "clear out").
The ban on office smoking has been with us for years now and it would seem frankly bizarre to see someone puffing away as they subbed the farming pages. I hope and expect that pub goers will enjoy a similarly smooth and complete transition in their lifestyles.
A bit of sad news for you. Our columnist Ivor Wynne Jones, who wrote for the Daily Post for more than half a century, died early this morning. Many people have already paid tribute to Ivor and you can read their comments on the website now. We are clearing a page in tomorrow's paper for a full obituary and have earmarked a slot in Wednesday's edition to highlight some of Ivor's finest writing.
A sad day indeed, and the end of an era.