Lindsay Coulson Blog: Editor - Harrow Observer

New reporter

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:01:25 +0000

New reporter Ian Proctor started with us on Monday. He replaces Lawrence Conway who left to go to South London Press as a chief reporter. Ian is already getting to grips with Harrow and Lawrence's former contacts should expect a call soon. Ian is a senior reporter and will provide the paper with some experience.

I was very pleased with the papers this morning which, on the whole, design-wise, look very clean.

Front pages

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:30:31 +0000

Another news week over and a new one begins. This morning we went with a raid on five brothels in the south of the borough as the front for Harrow and the discovery of a human skull in a garden in Wembley for the front for Wembley. A story which we should have more on next week once forensic tests have been carried out.

As I've said before, Wednesday afternoons are for catching up on all the paper work that gets pushed to one side as deadline looms. In particular emails. So for those of you who email me on a Monday or Tuesday, don't expect a reply before Wednesday or Thursday morning (unless it's urgent). I better get back to them!

All doom and gloom

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:44:38 +0000

I received some interesting research this morning that shows what news stories people are most interested in reading when they look at this site.
The most popular was our story about a man who died on a train track. This was followed by the flood warnings two weeks ago while the third best read story was the death of a six-year-old on holiday. Chardonnay Ellington-Grant drowned in a swimming pool on holiday after starring in an advert for Tesco clothes.

While some readers argue for less doom and gloom in our papers and on our website, the figures do speak for themselves, tragic events and crime sell papers.

I would be interested in your comments.

Back to this week's papers (and there is plenty of doom and gloom around so get buying on Thursday). We have some cracking news stories, including a detailed features to keep you up to date with everything going on at RAF Bentley Priory plus an investigation into what more can be done to avoid flooding. I won't give anything else away but I can honestly say our Wembley paper has the strongest news list since the beginning of the year. And they call this the silly season!

Guardian mention

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:15:11 +0000

It was good to see the Harrow Observer getting a mention in the Guardian, I am unable to tell you exactly when because I have only seen it in the online edition. Columnist Jon Henley writes about our page three story a few weeks back about trainspotters who film tube journey around Harrow then post them on You Tube. Some of them have been views more than 2,000 times.
It is nice to know we can count the great and the good of journalism as readers of our paper.

Back to work

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:53:24 +0000

Apologies for the lack of blog for a few days. I have just returned from a long weekend in Cornwall enjoying a small amount of sunshine and a lot of rain. The paper was well in hand when I came in this morning. So I went straight over to Uxbridge to sub the final pages and proof read the lot. It's always quite wierd to come back on press day as you don't feel a part of the stories but also interesting to see how someone else has put it together.

By our standards its been a relatively quiet news week although there has been another big raid in Brent and a health report has been released about Harrow.

Tomorrow we begin packing up in readiness for our move to Congress House. As I'm off to France for five days on Friday I'll miss the main move so am hoping I can remember to go to the right office when I get back!

Back to work

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:53:24 +0000

By our standards its been a relatively quiet news week although there has been another big raid in Brent and a health report has been released about Harrow.

Back to work

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:53:24 +0000

By our standards its been a relatively quiet news week although there has been another big raid in Brent and a health report has been released about Harrow.

Royal visit

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:59:03 +0000

Prince Charles and Camilla visited RAF Bentley Priory on Friday to take part in the annual tea party for the 'few', the gradually dwindling band of men who fought in The Battle of Britain during the Second World War.

While he was there our campaign to retain the historic house and its grounds as a monument to those people was explained to him and it is hoped he will join the thousands of Harrow residents who have backed our campaign.

There is also still time for you to have your say on what you would like to see happen to the priory. Either go to our Your Say page on this website or email your thoughts to dhrutishah@trinitysouth.co.uk

Disgraceful incident

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:00:50 +0000

I witnessed something this morning which has left me absolutely gobsmacked and really angry. While walking down to Debenhams for a meeting with the manager, I couldn't help but notice a fight going on by the statue at the bottom of St Ann's. It was between a group of young men and one appeared to be trying to make a citizens arrest with the help of three others. Another man was trying t to free him. This was about 10.30am and I was told by several bystanders that the police had been called by numerous people. And yet noone had turned up. Ten minutes later still noone had turned up and the situation grew uglier and uglier. There was an intensity about the men and the fighting which could easily have turned nasty. At one stage there were several exasperated cries of where are the police! And still no-one turned up. At 10.35am an ambulance arrived and even they called the police but did not approach the fighing men. And still no-one turned up! I am reliably informed by one of our reporters that at 10.48am - 25 minutes after the original call, they finally arrived. By this time the protagonists were long gone and the poor guy tring to make the arrest was taken to hospital.

I think this is absolutely disgusting. The people who witnessed this and the people involved deserve an apology and an explanation.

Surely, diffusing a pressured situation such as this, which could have got out of hand at any moment, should be a priority for the police. Where were they? Where were the PCSOs that are supposed to patrol the streets of Harrow? Do they not have the confidence to deal with a situation like this?

Gang warfare

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 16:50:49 +0000

It's been a very good news week for us and I can promise a strong newspaper tomorrow in both Wembley and Harrow. We have a cracking story about a man who won £250,000 on a football bet after taking up gambling to pay for a care home for his mum. We have outrage at the soft sentence given to a prolific burglar and we have the shocking attack on a street cleaner by a gang of pupils from Harrow High School.

Talking of gangs, and I'm not for a minute saying this one is from Harrow High, the Observer office car park is plagued by a group of teenagers who chuck stones around, smash glass, and judging from the smell enjoy an illegal smoke. The gang are threatening not only to Observer staff but to shoppers using the cut through between Station Road and Gayton Road.

I've worked in Harrow for two years and find it to be increasingly intimidating. We all know less money is being spent on street cleaning. Is it because the streets are dirtier and there is more graffiti? What do you think?

Power Ranger visit

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:32:17 +0000

Great excitement in the office this afternoon after we were visited by a real life Power Ranger (or at least Samuell Benta who stars as Black Ranger Will Aston in the new series).

For the duration of his visit we were probably the safest place in the whole of London, as I am reliably informed Power Rangers possess immense powers such as super-hearing and super-sight. In fact, I was on the verge of suggesting he give Harrow police a hand but unfortunatately he is off to America to promote the new series.

Samuell is a former pupil of Copland School in Wembley which continues to produce students with great talent in all walks of life.

Our interview with Samuell will be in the Observer shortly and the American-produced series arrives in Britain next month.

Difficult decision

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:36:38 +0000

We have a very strong newslist for both papers which makes my job feel more like that of a juggler than a newspaper editor as we make tough decisions on what will get in and what won't. Sometimes the answer is obvious, sometimes it is subjective and then it is up to me to decide, often on a gut feeling, what residents will be most interested in.

We have already had to put several stories to one side this week and more will follow if news continues to break, the general rule being that incidences such as fire/crime/accidents ought to go in that week otherwise they would be out of date. We also have to look at what our opposition might have, as they no doubt do us.

Chug off

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:54:51 +0000

Walking through Harrow town centre at lunchtime I noticed the illegal DVD sellers are back. It is the first time I have seen them in a while, and of course they were not short of buyers. Also out in force are the chuggers (charity muggers) who really get up my nose and I have to almost physically clamp my hand over my mouth to stop myself shouting abuse at them.

And before you start complaining, it's not that I'm against collecting for charity. (My completion of 83 miles last week rather backs up that argument) I do not like being harassed in the street by someone with a fake smile who then admonishes me for not smiling. I believe charities who use this awful technique to raise money lose the support of the community. Let people give because they want to give.

Today has been a relatively quiet day. By the end of the day I will have completed four copy clinics with junior reporters and it is always a pleasure to see how they are improving. Our news list is shaping up well with at least two potential front pages for Harrow. In fact, we have so much going on it's hard to know how to get it all in the paper.

Excuses, Excuses

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:58:27 +0000

The paper is out today so it's time to catch up on a lot of paperwork before we get into next week's. I rather like Thursday mornings as it's a chance to catch up. It's also quite peaceful in the office as all of the Harrow reporters are in their news meeting. So apart from having to answer their phones, the office is quiet.

I'm pleased with this week's paper which has a couple of stand-out stories including the front page where we report the death of a pensioner six days after she was mugged. The other one which I feel very angry about is the story of nine-year-old Bridget Coyle who suffers from Spina Bifida and has been badly let down by Hillingdon PCT. What really annoyed me was the PCTs response. Instead of explaining why they had not delivered two specialised chairs for Bridget (which she was measured up for six months ago) they hid behind patient confidentiality, a ridiculous excuse when you think it is the patient and her family who want answers. We will continue to press the PCT until we get some answers.

Back to work

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:17:57 +0000

So I'm back at work, the Wicklow Way walk becoming nothing more than a happy memory and it's time to focus on getting a paper out this week. I have swapped the beautiful views of the Wicklow Way for Station Road and the reat outdoors for my computer screen.

After a relaxing weekend, my legs have gradually stopped aching although slightly worryingly I still have no feeling in my right little toe. Also, despite walking 17 miles a day, I've managed to put on about four pounds, probably something to do with the cooked breakfasts and handfuls of jelly babies.

The paper is shaping up very slowly today. We have a number of contenders for the front page, some of them quite bizarre, so it will depend what pans out.