A bit of a do

There aren't many BBC journalists who would turn up to their leaving do in a tiara - and enjoy it. Sally-Anne Thomas did last night at Bush House. It was a splendid send-off, after an innings of nearly 38 years, most of it spent in the World Service Newsroom. Sally-Anne joined in 1972, as a BBC news trainee alongside Jeremy Paxman, amongst others. This photo, from the Ian Richardson archive, has her at the newsroom blackboard, in the days of bakelite phones, ashtrays and Roneo duplicators.

















The tiara was a gift from the dawn shift (night shift to those unfamiliar with Bush House argot) as Sally-Anne edited her last day shift. The shifts there work as teams - and last night was a celebration both of Sally-Anne for her editorial leadership (and attention to style) and those teams. Round the clock, they perform two important tasks - the obvious, of covering world news quickly and authoritatively, and second, and more difficult, prioritising those stories for a world audience. Their collective wisdom and experience means they are more sure-footed than most in choosing what is significant from all that is happening around the globe, and their running orders influence many more news operations in the UK and worldwide. I hope, and expect, Sally-Anne will be able to pass on much of that wisdom as she moves, full cycle, from trainee to trainer.