Farewell, dear reader

As the late great Eddie Cochran sang in the long hot summer of 1959: 'Hey look here, what's all this?'
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Jul 2016, 12:32 BST

Well, bear with me and I’ll explain “all this”.

Take a look at my pencil drawings: clockwise from top-left, the ivory-billed woodpecker, last confirmed sighting 2006, thought extinct. The yellow-headed macaw, extinct 1765. The dodo, extinct 1681. The Wake Island rail, extinct 1945. The great auk, extinct 1844. Geoff R. Crambie, extinct 2016.

Yes, here is my very last column of all. Why now?

Symmetry to my farewell, 43 years ago in the summer of 1973 Noel Wild published my very first Leader-Times feature and coincidentally today being born in the year 1943, I’m 73 years of age.

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The changes over those four plus decades have been many: Noel, Richard, Roy and Chris, four erudite and yes, eclectic editors, the many notable and dedicated reporters and journalists, friends and colleagues, I’ll remember always. So, so many, albeit I’ll just mention two: dear Sylvia and Laura, who have so diligently transcribed my longhand into reality, I send heartfelt thanks.

Finally to you the reader: without you there would never have been my great joy in writing. I send my deep gratitude, farewell and vaya con Dios.