It is not every day a Hollywood megastar signs the front page of the local masthead.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Yet, there was John Travolta, outside the Oak Flats branch of the Bendigo Bank on Monday, signing the front page of Illawarra Mercury for a happy local.
That photo, taken by former Mercury photographer Andy Zakeli, is going "straight to the pool room".
It was a pretty cool thing for our newsroom to see, especially as we worked hard to bring our readers the news first and well before anyone else had been able to confirm his visit to the region.
Standing at the back of Andy's image is another face this region knows well.
Local paramedic Norm Rees is often the first face those in need of urgent help see during his day job and he is a good friend and supporter of the Mercury.
However, few might know he also provides security to the stars in his spare time. You, our loyal subscribers, can read about it first as he reveals to our journalist Kate McIlwain what it is like to be on guard with Travolta for a day.
These are the insights we love bringing to you and will continue to do so.
Our Mercury team worked hard to put you right in the picture of Travolta's visit, bringing you all the news, images and video from the day.
We'd have to also say John was a pleasure to deal with and we'd say "Welcome Back Travolta" any day.
Julian O'Brien
Editor, Illawarra Mercury