They say you should never blow your own trumpet, but as I could not persuade our Editor at Large, Paul
Savill, to do the blowing I feel I have no choice...
The Archer
owes its entire existence to a meeting in a local pub, a few too many beers and a bright idea that was far too bright to leave behind at closing time.
The first issue back in February 1993 was a simple A4 paper without any pictures. Its declared aim was to foster a sense of community in East Finchley by covering things that mattered to local people. By the time I joined the team, in July 1993, the group of friends had increased to 16 and The Archer had started to become the newspaper it is today.
A quick trawl through the archives reminded me of some of the major events of the last six years, starting with founder Andrew Taylor deciding to abandon ship about two weeks after I joined, something I hope was coincidence.
Within two years we had committed our first libel, within three we had been praised by the Guardian and within four we had been reported to the Cat Protection League. Despite all this and a severe financial crisis in our fourth year, we survived. We got soaked at the rain sodden 1997 festival and then enjoyed the beautifully World Cup free sunny afternoon in Cherry Tree Woods last summer. We stirred up a hornet’s nest with a three-line picture caption about the pavilion and someone even thought Ricky Savage was serious when he suggested concreting it over.
Through all this, Paul Savill expertly edited the paper until this summer when, after five years of wielding the blue pencil, he decided to become a back seat driver and pass the role on to someone else. Since then we have tried to make sure that we do not let the original idea of being a proper community newspaper get forgotten in a press day panic. I hope we have succeeded.
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