The journalist who was at the centre of reporting the world's highest profile financial crime in history has retired from a newspaper career spanning nearly half a century.
Donnie Macinnes worked at the Stornoway Gazette for all his working life.
Popularly known as Donnie Gazette he has clocked up 43 years at the Stornoway-
The Gaelic-
He sacrificed a chance to watch his beloved Rangers play in an European cup tie to attend the job interview and clinched the post after six months of learning shorthand at night classes.
Donnie repeatedly refused the desk-
Ironically, that came to the fore, when he was temporarily in charge when, in 1991, Western Isles Council risked going bust after investing £24 million in the crashed BCCI bank.
It was the preferred bank of dictators, money-
Initially, the council had no idea who much they lost and -
Another deadline push was Donnie despatching photographer John Mackinnon to snap a picture of a crashed coastguard helicopter which went down during a rescue mission off the west coast in October 1988.
He said: "The paper was going to press in four hours but we got the photographer out on another helicopter to the scene. We splashed with the picture and printed at 2pm scooping even the 6 o'clock news that day.
"I enjoyed that sort of drama, chasing the story and getting it out first."
Donnie also had the experience of Princess Anne checking what he wore under his kilt at a presentation at Buckingham Palace a few years ago.
Donnie said: "I told her I remember her going ashore off the Royal yacht Britannia at Lemerway when she was a wee girl," in a reference to his parents' home district of South Lochs.
He says: "I am going to miss all the people at the Gazette and the people across Uist, Barra, Harris and Lewis I was in touch with.
Some his journalistic exploits are worthy of the comedy skits he and pal Tom Maciver
performed. He was also involved with local drama. The keen Gaelic singer competes
at every national Mod with the award-
He plans to spend more time with his drama and culture interests including the Lewis feis where has been a drama tutor.
He and his wife Cathy were delighted when their first grandchild, Ruairidh Donald, was born six months ago to daughter Eilidh and her husband Malcolm, from Bragar. Their son Iain is a presenter on Gaelic current affairs programme, Eorpa.
Donnie Gazette signs off after nearly half a century 25/7/10