Tribute to Highland journalist, outdoorsman and former Ross-shire Journal editor, Laurence Ford
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A good journalist never takes things at face value. In a press release, statement or interview, he or she always looks to see if anything has been hidden away either deliberately or mistakenly. You are looking for the line that will make your story special.
Laurence Ford was a great journalist and would have spotted it straight away. And it is actually a line – it’s that little one between 1949 and 2021.
For that represents 71 years of a life well lived at work and play. A talented journalist and fine outdoorsman and good father, family man, friend and companion.
I first met Laurence 43 years ago when I moved to Inverness. It was in a pub of course – I’m not sure which one, probably the Gellions, as it was one of THOSE nights. He was holding court at the bar entertaining a group of newspapermen with an exceedingly long and bawdy poem. Our paths and careers criss-crossed over the decades and in the last 19 years we became firm friends and colleagues.
He was an old school journalist and proud of it. He was honest, accurate, determined and could turn around a story quickly and in a lucid manner that required little or no alteration.
He was likeable and loved the craic with folk – and as the pub was the haunt of journalists, he built up hundreds of contacts from all walks of life. He also spent many years covering the courts in around the Highlands and was equally at home conversing with sheriffs, lawyers, fiscals, police and often the rogues that had been in the dock.
Over the years he therefore built up an extensive contacts book which was the envy of others. Seonaid and I looked through it the other day and there among the Ss was Sir Rod Stewart and in the Ps was Led Zeppelin star Jimmy Page – no doubt a contact made in the heady days when rock star Page owned Boleskine House, one time home of notorious black magician Aleister Crowley. Laurence told me of a few wild parties there and some very spooky and unexplained goings on.
Many of you will have known Laurence as an ethusiastic angler, deer stalker and a very good shot. He loved the outdoors and was familiar with many rivers and hills around the Highlands and had the strength to drag a stag from the hillside.
But one of his favourite and entertaining tales involved a much smaller creature and was his most dangerous moment. He was driving home one evening and spotted a rare wildcat lying dead at the side of the road. It was in good condition and had spectacular fur, so he threw it in the back intending to have it made into a sporran for Andrew. A few minutes later as he was driving, he heard a rustling in the back and was suddenly attacked by the cat, forcing him to slam on the brakes to avoid crashing off the road. He fought off the angry beast and “humanely” despatched it - with a shovel. He took it home and it lay in the bottom of the freezer for many years – the sporran being one of a number of projects Laurence never quite got round to. The freezer was only recently defrosted by accident – and, yes, the wildcat had used up its nine lives!
His career in newspapers saw him work for the P&J, The Highland News and North Star with the legendary Willie Wilson, and spells as a freelance journalist with his stories appearing in the dailies, Sundays and local papers. He also loved working in outlying offices such as the Strathspey Herald in Grantown.
The pinnacle of his career was the 14 years he spent as editor of the Ross-shire Journal bringing all his experience and skills to successfully running the busy weekly title.
I recall spending a night in Tain when covering a long trial at the town’s sheriff court. I looked out of the window of the Royal Hotel in the evening and was surprised to see a queue forming in the High Street. I asked the barman what was going on and he said the Ross-shire van would be arriving soon and the folk were waiting to buy the latest edition at the newsagents before its official sale the following morning. That’s how important his paper was to local folk in those heady days of the printed word.
Laurence quit almost four years ago and took up a new career with his beloved partner Seonaid running the guest house at Moorcroft. Here are a few comments I found in the guest book – “Great craic”, “Best B&B in the world”, “Excellent hospitality – Laurence is a great host and true Highland gent”.
Doesn’t that just sum him up?
Paul Breen
