Dear Capital Kiwi,
Ahhh, so good to know there's a kindred spirit out there. When I had an idea about how a feature could be laid out I was instructed to "go talk to the guys in makeup."
Starting out in hot type and being on the rotation to make up pages I worked with type that was upside down and backwards to me ! (You're smiling and nodding, aren't you?) It was not easy to learn to read that way but a very handy skill for a reporter. I can still remember the relief when the chases were locked and the forms were ready to go. Whew! It was only the kindness and generosity of "the guys in makeup" that I didn't make more of a fool of myself in the early day than I did. wow