The Edinburgh Reporter February 2023

10

JOHN PREECE, who was “our” photographer for more

than a decade, was an integral part of The Edinburgh

Reporter team, and we are very sad that he has died

suddenly, aged 65. We will miss him terribly.

I am not quite sure how we first met - he just seemed

to appear sometime and never went away again. He took

photos mainly of sport - the internationals at Murrayfield

were his favourite, but then the SRU restricted press

accreditation to a handful of photographers. Undaunted,

John went to Edinburgh Rugby matches instead. He

covered hockey of all kinds - and polo at Dalmahoy.

Although a former Boroughmuir pupil, John went

to Stewart’s Melville home matches. President,

Bill McNie, remembered him on the club’s

Facebook page: “John has been taking

photos at Inverleith since 2009. He

initially asked if he could take some

photos at a game against Dundee High

for the ‘Courier’. He then went on to

have photos from Inverleith published

in ‘SCRUM’ magazine.

“He also did match reports on our

games for The Reporter - that’s why, along

with his impressive array of camera

equipment, he always packed a wee voice

recorder so he could note significant passages

of play and scorers.”

And that is exactly what he did. His previous

career as an analytical scientist with the NHS,

and his attention to detail stood him in good

stead.. I asked him many times to explain how,

when taking photos, he could also watch (and remember)

the match. He replied that he took a lot of photos of the

score board, but made it all sound pretty easy.

He also undertook some writing about other topics on

our website. He said words were not really his thing

(although his pithy emails and WhatsApp messages

do not represent that) and he did a very good job.

He absolutely loved the Book Festival and of course the

fact that it meant hanging out with other photographers

in the tent in Charlotte Square. He was chuffed to go to

Valencia with Scottish Hockey in early 2017 , and just last

September he was delighted to be back out at the

Climbing Arena at Ratho to photograph the athletes

scurrying up walls there.

Latterly he really enjoyed the inside set up shots

at theatre or ballet performances. Our December

front page is an example of that. Living in Linlithgow

did not prevent him from turning up at city press

calls, just not terribly early in the morning. He parked

somewhere in Murrayfield (probably at the stadium!)

then got into the city centre and just walked everywhere

with his backpack.

Our library of photos has been much enriched by

his skill and effort over the years. I only wish that he

could have heard some of the tributes that I have heard

from other press photographers, who, on hearing of

his untimely death, praised this “nice guy” for his

photographic talents. He would have just shrugged his

shoulders I am sure, but I don’t think he knew how good

other professional snappers thought he was.

Phyllis Stephen

OBITUARY

JOHN L PREECE 1957 - 2023

THE COUNCIL has agreed to sell the WHALE Arts Centre
to the community in a Community Asset Transfer (CAT)
which will generate £125,000 in income for the council.
WHALE Arts was set up by the community in 1992 and
is a charity and social enterprise.
Granton Community Gardeners will acquire 10
Wardieburn Road again from the council in a CAT. The
gardeners have occupied the land for the last five years
using it to grow food and hold community events. The
price for this parcel of land is to be £40,000.

Community Asset Transfers

HEART OF NEWHAVEN and the

Eric Liddell Community are among

five Scottish organisations which

have been awarded funding from

the Meeting Centres Seedcorn

Fund to create meeting centres for

people affected by dementia.

The Meeting Centres Seedcorn

Fund is a partnership between The

Scottish Government and Age

Scotland’s About Dementia project.

Meeting Centres offer a social

space and community-based

support for people living with

dementia, their families and

unpaid carers. Support is designed

around attendees’ individual needs

and activities are selected by

members themselves, based upon

their interests.

Research suggests that the

flexible and person-centered

nature of Meeting Centres can help

people affected by dementia

adjust to the changes that often

follow diagnosis and contribute to

long-term positive outcomes.

The new Meeting Centres will

provide hyperlocal, tailored

support to the people who live

with dementia, unpaid carers and

their families.

Support for local worthy causes