THERE is a widespread belief that journalists of yesteryear enjoyed long, liquid lunches, ran up eye-watering expenses bills and spent a considerable amount of their time getting up to all kinds of mischief.

And the colourful memoirs of an award-winning BBC journalist now living in St Dogmaels do absolutely nothing to dispel such notions…

“…of Cabbages and Kings”, by Tim Richards, is a rousing litany of his varied adventures in a career encompassing 25 years as a BBC freelance reporter, producer and programme editor after investigative reporting with the Western Mail in Cardiff and the Sunday Times in London.

Born in Llanelli in 1947, Tim lived in Devon and both south and west Wales as a youngster before taking a law degree at Birmingham University.

Having joined the BBC in Cardiff he switched to the Western Mail for a number of years before returning to the Beeb in 1978.

Three Welsh reporter of the year awards at the Mail, two more awards at the BBC and several travel awards were to follow.

Describing his memoirs, Tim – who has long-time family links with Cardigan (“My great aunt lived on Gwbert Road and had an ironmongery business in Cardigan.”) – says: “This book is NOT a novel. It doesn’t have a plot, so it doesn’t need to be read from page one relentlessly onwards to the bitter end.

“It is a personal recollection of things which have happened to me which I think have been significant in the world during my lifetime – or they are just funny or downright weird.”

And the book is literally crammed with memorable anecdotes, including Sir Laurence Olivier’s surprise cameo as the barman of a Devon hotel, Tim’s recollections covering Llanelli’s legendary win over the All Blacks in 1972 and lunchtime conversations with Sir Anthony Hopkins at the BBC club in Llandaff.

But just to remind readers that a journalist’s life was not all fun and games, Tim’s book also recalls meetings with politicians, memories of various military conflicts and a suitably bizarre encounter with the now-disgraced Jimmy Saville.

Tim, who has been living in David Street, St Dogmaels, since 2006, can truly claim to have worked through something of a golden era for his profession.

This entertaining, fast-paced, highly readable – and occasionally tongue-in-cheek - account serves as a fitting reminder of just how much fun could be derived from the job in those less-pressured and more innocent times.

*”…of Cabbages and Kings”, by Tim Richards, is priced at £10 and copies can be obtained from the author at timgordonrichards@sky.com or from St Dogmaels Post Office or the Awen Teifi bookshop in Cardigan.