Two former Ipswich Star journalists have collaborated to create a newsletter for residents at our Avocet Court Care Home.
Award-winning sports reporter David Allard, 73, moved to the Ipswich care home in January and is often found in the café area chatting to team members about their career paths, hobbies and their family lives.
Keen to retell these stories, David decided to launch a newsletter for his fellow residents, and he called on Athena Care Home’s communications and PR lead, Natalie Sadler – the former editor of the Ipswich Star – to help.
Both David and Natalie worked for the East Anglia Daily Times and Ipswich Star for significant periods during their journalism careers but this is the first time they have actually worked together.
“It has been a breath of fresh air having this project to work on,” said David, as the first edition of the Avocet Gazette was being printed in the background. “I have dusted off my notebook and have enjoyed talking to everyone, I have always loved dealing with people.”
David started his career as a junior reporter on the Leiston Observer, which, along with the East Anglian Daily Times, was part of the former Eastern Counties Newspapers group.
“I went there at 19 as a general news reporter. I did court reporting, inquests, you name it, I wrote about it. I really enjoyed general news but when a chance came to go into sport, I took it.”
Sport was, and still is, David’s passion, and he spent 30 years writing about Colchester United and his beloved Ipswich Town, for the EADT and sister title the Ipswich Star, or Evening Star as it was formerly.
In later years he moved on to work as a freelance reporter, selling copy to the Daily Mirror, the News of the World, The Express and more.
“In 1978, my second season covering Town they won the FA Cup final, it wasn’t a bad start for me.”
The star reporter worked with managers including national treasure Bobby Robson, Bobby Ferguson, John Duncan, John Lyall, George Burley, Roy Keane and even Paul Jewell before he retired.
The highlight of David’s career came when the legend that was Sir Bobby Robson departed Portman Road.
“He shook me by the hand and said I’m going to miss you son. We used to argue like a couple of old women over the garden fence, but we respected one another.
“It was a pleasure to be able to deal with the players too, I had all their phone numbers and we could just call them up. I even travelled on the team coach to away fixtures.”
Similarly, Natalie was just a teenager when she started out in journalism. She got her first job as a junior reporter on the Barking and Dagenham Post at 18.
She went on to become Chief Reporter for the Essex Chronicle before joining Archant, then owners of the Ipswich Star and EADT, in 2010 where she worked as a senior reporter, content manager, digital editor and then Star Editor.
Natalie said: “I never got to work with David but I recognised his name instantly, he was a legend in the newsroom. It has been a pleasure to finally get to work with him and see his skills in action.
“David is a true journalist, he makes people feel at ease and gains their trust so they feel confident talking to him. He is also a talented storyteller.
“I am sure the residents and team members of Avocet Court will enjoy reading his news and I look forward to seeing the next round of copy when we get to work on edition number two!”
