Courier reporter is moving on up
AFTER nearly a year to the day at The Courier, the paper’s trainee is moving south to pastures new.
Ben Ramage, 25, joined the paper last year on November 2. He is now moving on to another reporter role in Dumfries, at the Dumfries and Galloway Standard.
The Courier sat down with him to chat about his time in Kintyre.
Q: How have you found your time at the newspaper?
Ben: Campbeltown has been a great place for me to properly learn the trade. Moving from a university lecture hall to a real newspaper office in a place miles from home where I knew absolutely no-one was pretty daunting, but I was so relieved to find that Kintyre is full of friendly people who have gone above and beyond to help me settle into the place and job.
Q: What has been your favourite story? Ben: There have been quite a few stories I have loved covering, mainly involving bagpipes and the odd bit of Carradale jewellery heading into space, but the most rewarding was covering the Quesada memorial cairn.
It was difficult to stay emotionally unattached to the story given the size of the tragedy, but I was really pleased to be able to help the cairn come to fruition. I’m really glad it stands there now in memory of the heroic deeds of ordinary Kintyre folk.
Q: What will you miss about Kintyre?
Ben: Coming from having lived in cities all my life, I never thought I would enjoy the peace and quiet as much as I have.
While it’s been a total lifestyle change, I have really enjoyed being away from traffic jams and the noise in cities. The beaches and the scenery driving up the coast to Tarbert and Carradale on a sunny day will definitely stay in my heart for years to come.
Q: What has been the hardest part of the job?
Ben: Definitely the photography side. While we learned basic photography skills at university, I was totally unprepared for how difficult it is to take proper, newsworthy photographs for stories. Luckily the senior reporter here Mark is an expert and he has taught me a huge amount in a short time to greatly improve my photography skills.
My favourite photos are probably Dougal Jones on his stunt bike down at Bellochantuy and the bagpipe boys on Westport beach during the MOKRUN.
I’d like to apologise wholeheartedly to anyone I asked for a photograph who didn’t want one, and thank anyone unfortunate enough to have agreed to having one taken by me!
Q: Are there any characters that you’ll remember when you look back on your time here?
Ben: There are lots of great people here. I’ve been overwhelmed by how friendly and supportive the community is. When there’s a good local cause, everyone puts their hands deep in their pockets which is becoming a rare thing.
The determination to save the community’s buildings and heritage is also amazing. I can’t thank every individual as I’d run over my word count – not for the first time! – but there are a lot of people who I need to thank for all their help; the whole team at the Courier Centre for keeping me right on many occasions, Dave McQuilkan, the footy guys Alex McKinven, David Paterson and Nonnie, Superman James Lafferty, Cathie Duncan, Tommy Kelly, Billy Martindale, Agnes Stewart, Alan Baker, Gordon Evans and Elizabeth Walker.
Q: Tell us something Courier readers might not have found out about you?
Ben: I took two years out after school before going to university to try and ‘make it’ in a band. I used to play drums in a group called Young Vinyls and we did a lot of touring. We supported some big bands such as Primal Scream, Reverend and the Makers and White Lies, and we were signed to a Scottish label.
Playing at the Cavern Club in Liverpool was one of my proudest moments. Unfortunately, the prospect of working two pub jobs to subsidise the dream for potentially years on end proved too much and I decided university was a safer bet for a decent living.
While that has proved the case so far, I do miss the excitement of heading off to gigs and the recording studio. Search Hands in Google for one of our better songs!