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It's not all beer and skittles, says Bob

Bob Turner went to the pub seven years ago…but now he’s back.

A journalist for 27 years, Bob left the Nottingham Evening Post in 1993 for a complete career change to become a licensee.

Now, after successfully running a number of pubs and finally the White Lion at Kildwick, North Yorkshire, for almost five years, he’s decided to move back full time into journalism and started freelancing from his home in Riddlesden, West Yorkshire.

Bob started his career running one of the new idea give-aways back in the ’60s before joining the Ashton Reporter series. He soon moved on to the Oldham Evening Chronicle and, five years later, joined the Daily Mail in Manchester, after shifting on almost every national paper with offices in the city.

At one stage, he almost joined the Daily Mirror’s art bench in Manchester before taking the staff job on the Mail. Shortly after joining the staff, he became the paper’s district man based in Sheffield.

On the infamous ‘Night of the White Envelopes’, Bob was made redundant, along with over 150 others with the closure of the Manchester office. Within weeks, he joined the Post, first as deputy news editor, before moving to the number one slot under Barrie Williams.

He had a stint as syndication editor before working as a sub. During his time at the Post, Bob worked shifts on the Mail on Sunday news desk before finally taking voluntary redundancy from the Post. He and his wife Jan – a former award-winning women’s editor at the Sheffield Star who set up Boots the Chemist press office in Nottingham – quit the rat race and trained to run pubs.

Said Bob: “Jan realised fairly soon after we moved to the Lion in Kildwick there wasn’t as much money running a pub as many people think. She set up freelancing as a PR and is now a director of an agency in Skipton.

“When the chance came to take redundancy from the pub I decided enough was enough – it’s not all beer and skittles behind a bar.”

Over the years of pulling pints Bob, too, started to realise the pull of journalism was just too much.

“I decided to give it a go and here I am freelancing. Journalism and newspapers have changed dramatically but I believe there is still room for an experienced hand to go out there and do what he does best and get the goods,” said Bob. “Journalism is in the blood and I’m no different.

“I’m not going to go around chasing fire engines; I think there are far too many good and established news agencies around in that market. What I’m looking for are commissions, shifts and so on. I’m prepared to go anywhere, any time.”

Bob can be contacted on 01535 610510 or 0378 489394. E-mail him here at [email protected]
He would love to hear from old colleagues – with or without the offer of work!

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