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December 18, 2007
Going up in smoke!
It's organised chaos in the newsroom at Gazette House this week as one Christmas deadline passes and another one creeps up on us.
This week's Gazette is already done and dusted and we have now started on the next edition which will come out on Boxing Day.
Infact, it's quite easy to get a bit confused as to what edition you are working on this time of year - and that's not because we have all been hitting the bottle in the newsroom!.
To be honest it's a difficult time for newsrooms this time of year as papers are a lot smaller and there is generally not a great deal of news around but you still have to get two editions done in half the normal time.
One story that really caught my eye in this week's Gazette is our page three lead about a patient at Hillingdon Hospital complaining that he was unable to smoke on hospital grounds.
He claims that the hospital was like a 'concentration camp' and is angry that he had to resort to hiding behind a bush in his medical gown to have a crafty fag after being stopped by security staff from smoking in the hospital grounds.
I will let you make up your own minds as to whether you think his complaint is justified or not.
From a personal point of view as followers of this blog know I spent some time in hospital earlier this year.
Before entering hospital I was a smoker but during my stay it never entered my head to have a fag - to be honest I did not even feel like one.
And it has helped me to kick the habit as I have not smoked now for more than three months...
Today is shaping up to be a busy one and this morning I will be helping with the delivery of toys from our successful Christmas appeal and then have several meetings planned for later in the day.
Posted by aseal at December 18, 2007 7:50 AM
Comments...
Congratulations on kicking the habit, Adrian. In the old days you seemed to catch me every time I went out on the Gazette rooftop for a quick puff when I was one of your sub-editors ... but that was just because you were having one, too. Greetings from Townsville in sunny North Queensland.
Comment posted by: Vicky Sentana at December 19, 2007 4:35 PM
Congratulations from me too Adrian. I can't help but remember the days at The Bracknell News and the smoking room, aka the photographers darkroom. I think I probably 'smoked' as much as you and Johnny C. in those days. ;-)
Comment posted by: Andrew at December 20, 2007 1:39 AM
Those were the days Andrew, happy memories though and a cracking team of reporters and snappers......
Comment posted by: Adrian at December 20, 2007 7:51 AM