Filling space

Curse of writer’s block

Sir, – Frank McNally frets that he will have nightmares about having blank spaces instead of his usual musings in an Irishman’s Diary (June 9th).

The late lamented proprietor of the equally late lamented Longford News, Vincent Gill, had similar sessions of disturbed sleep.

Being the owner, reporter, photographer, printer and editor, he would sometimes have a fuller week than pages. On one occasion when the press was ready to roll and a huge blank hole in the middle of the front page still to fill, he inserted a large black square on the page, the caption read “Granard after dark”.

Needless to say sales in that town took a while to recover.

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– Yours, etc,

JOHN K ROGERS,

Ballydorey,

Rathowen,

Westmeath.