Respected former newspaper editor and local councillor, Ann Galbraith, dies aged 83

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Heartfelt tributes have been paid to legendary former reporter, editor and councillor Ann Galbraith after her death aged 83 was announced at the weekend.Former Ayr Grammar School pupil Ann (née Patterson) had a choice of career between journalism and music: she was a fine opera singer and had thought about joining her friend Pat Hay in pursuing that line (Pat became a principal singer with Scottish Opera).Journalism it was, and she started out working locally – although moved to work at the Sunday Mail (aged around 21) in around 1962, which on occasion saw her broaden her expertise to writing horoscopes.She also worked for a time with the Ayrshire Post.Ann lived in Girvan for a number of years.

During her time there, she reported on the ‘Duel in the Sun’, the Open Championship cliffhanger between victor Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry.She also ran a popular local restaurant ‘La Bonne Table’ with her husband, Wallace Galbraith (of the family of Galbraiths the bakers, which used to be at the site of Marks & Spencer in Ayr).Other famous encounters in the name of journalism included seeing Elvis when he was at Prestwick Airport in 1960, and meeting film legends Sean Connery and Robert Powell at Turnberry.Ann became chief reporter of Scotland’s oldest weekly newspaper the Ayr Advertiser before becoming an outstanding editor during the 1990s and into the 2000s.And she was famed for her One Woman’s View column, in which she took aim at the establishment, often the council, on issues she felt very strongly about.She was a dedicated professional with high standards and great at motivating and encouraging her staff, but also at times, keeping them on their toes.Ann was also the first woman to chair the Scottish Region of