Tuesday 1st April 2008: April Fools Day and thankfully we didn't get caught out although one of the early adults said that he was going to ring in ill until he realised that I probably would have rang around at 4am to get the rounds covered. Virgin Radio had plenty of `angry from Cheltenham` ringing in when they announced that the EU were banning pints in pubs and even had an actor posing as an MP in favour of the ban putting his point across! Oh and papers all in on time with the Sun and Times a bit later than the main vanm.
Wednesday 2nd April 2008: Bit of a shock to the system today when the main van turned up not long after me at 3:40am!! I had all the mags sorted and papers on the benches by 4am although the Sun and Times were later again and in around half an hour later. That said, if we could guarantee everything in by 4:30am every day then we would bite their hands off in acceptance. School hols next week so we have letters going out today with the usual rules and regulations to remind our deliverers that whilst they may have plenty of time, we still need papers done by a reasonable hour. The majority are very good though and are a credit to us.
Thursday 3rd April 2008: It's getting colder and wetter which isn't good for a Thursday although apparently the weekend will see snow and ice! We shall see! Papers later than yesterday (no surprise really) but still nicely on time on what has been a smooth morning.
Friday 4th Friday 2008: Misty and cold but papers on time which is good. Most of the kids broke up from school yesterday and with one exception, all were in and out on time today. My wife and daughter are both huge Doctor Who fans so I drove them over to Cardiff today to see the Dr Who exhibition and had a good day out. The leisure centre that it's in is almost impossible to find though with the signs non-existant and I found myself wondering if it would have been easier to find Elvis riding Shergar on the deck of the Mary Celeste. Maybe SatNav would have helped but I still like maps and hand written pieces of paper and the `excitement` of looking for road signs at every junction and roundabout.
Saturday 5th April 2008: Some start today with all papers in by 4:10am which is wonderful for a Saturday and all the extra work that the weekend entails. One of our new-ish lads messed up a couple of calls by given them each others papers but that was just about the only problem. The weather is certainly getting colder but despite the forecasts, I remain hopeful that the apparent snow and ice on the way will not materalise. Wishful thinking.
Sunday 6th April 2008: Papers very early again which was good as I had a couple of rounds to get sorted, however the weather started dry and then turned nasty with rain followed by a couple of heacy snow showers and from around 5:45am to 7am it looked like a scene from a Christmas card! It all looked nice but it's a pain in the donkey when you're out in it trying to deliver papers! Still, I did send an email to Virgin Radio and they gave a `special mention` on air to all news deliverers around the country which was appreciated.
Monday 7th April 2008: I'm in on a Monday as I'm swapping my day off this week due to a visit to London (not for pleasure sadly!) so it was nice to get the Sun and Times in first with the main lot arriving a few minutes afterwards. I had a bit of a bitty night as my niece sent me a text just as I was dropping off to sleep and then during the night I got uop to go to the loo and once back in bed, put my glasses on the bedside table and knocked them off when I swept the duvet across me. I eventually found them by leaning out of bed and dragging my hands across the floor in the dark!
Tuesday 8th April 2008: Back to reality today with the Sun and Times in just after 5am although the big batch were nice and early. Two big stories in the papers today with the Princess Diana inquest finally over and after around £12m spent we are told she was killed by a drunk driver and the chasing papparazzi which most of us could have told them for nothing! The other is that the mother of abducted Shannon Matthews apparently knew where she was all along and only set it up to make money!! She'll be welcomed on her housing estate now won't she? It's said that they used a plot line from Shameless (appropriate eh?) for the idea so how about using some plot lines from a film as punishment for everyone involved in this seedy plan which cost goodness knows how much and involved the time of a great many police and public. So how about using the Saw films for their punishment. I'm sure there will be no shortage of people to play Jigsaw or Amanda!!
Thursday 10th April 2008: The Sun and Times delayed things yesterday as I was off to London however no such problems
today as they were first in with the main van not far behind. Our early adults were all out and on the road by 4:40am which is
excellent for a Standard morning. Whilst driving to the outskirts of the big smoke yesterday I did some thinking about the batch
of new deliverers that have started in the last month or so and how well they have done. For most 13/14 year olds, this is their
first experience of work and on being relied upon to do a specific job and it has to be said that they have all settled in exceptionally
well. A customer once told me that in a survey of top business(wo)men in the Telegraph a few months ago, a high percentage quoted `paperboy/girl`
as their first job! I can quiet believe it
Friday 11th April 2008: Another flyer today with the main batch in very early and the Sun and Times close behind at 4:30am.
My business partner is away for a few days after today and sods law being what it is has caught
tonsillitis from her grandson (is it
catching??) and whilst she came in an hour late today, didn't last the morning and hopefully will get to see a doctor and get something
sorted before the holiday kicks in. One of our long serving lads turned 16 today and although he started on a daily round, switched
to Sunday only round a couple of years ago but often helps out during the week during school hols and has got me out of many a fix
over the past months. So a big Happy Birthday to him and hope that he sobers up in time for his Sunday rounds after booking Saturday
off this week!
Saturday 12th April 2008: Ouch! A bump down to earth for us today with the Sun and Times lovely and early but the big lot
not coming in until 5:10am. The main culprit was the Mirror Group (Mirror, Indy, Racing Post) but according to our driver, almost
every paper was later than usual coming in. I actually rang the wholesalers to find out how late they were and the van arrived as the
night manager was telling me that they were `extremely late` although his wording was slightly more colourful! For a couple of hours,
everything else was a ripple effect as I messed up a couple of rounds whilst trying to rush things but all told it went reasonably
smoothly as things settled down.
Sunday 13th April 2008: A it's midway through the school hols it was no surprise to have loads of kids away today so major thanks to the daily deliverers who helped me out by covering various rounds. I still had three to do myself but thanks to all papers in by 4:30am, I was all done by 7:45am which was great. We had a lady ring later on to say that she only had one paper instead of two delivered. Having checked, she has only ever had one Sunday paper although when I mentioned this to her she was adamant that she's always had two. I agreed to get her `missing` paper up to her only for her to ring back with an apology. She stopped the other paper over a year ago but woke up this morning in a daze completely forgetting that it had been stopped!
Monday 14th April 2008: For the fourth Monday in the last five, I am in on my day off for various reasons although today I did have a bit of a lie in and didn't need to get into work until 6:15am. That said, I was still awake just after the usual time and spent an hour reading (Broken Angels by Richard Montanari - very good!) before coming in. It's the second of the two weeks that the kids have off of school and to give them credit they are all coming in on time with no problems (tempting fate now!). In the past, we've had some who've needed a crowbar to get them out of bed on off-school days but the current bunch are excellent.
Tuesday 15th April 2008: Great start today with the main van in just after 4am and the Sun and TImes only around half an hour later which was still fine. All deliverers in on time again which helps hugely expecially as it's a long week for me, however a combination of Pepsi, corned beef and tomato sauce sandwiches, Virgin Radio and the odd bag of cheese and onion crisps are easing me through! Some good cover `scare` stories on the Express today who warn that those `extra white` toothpastes may not actually work (shock!) and that our favourite takeaway may not be safe to eat. Hmm, cutting edge stuff from them.
Wednesday 16th April 2008: Bit of a surprise today with the Sun and Times in first at 4:10am. They've been pretty good so far this week so hopefully they are returning to their pre-Xmas times although it's probably tempting fate to even consider it. The main van arrived before 4:30am so it was a good start for us and actually things went smoothly enough right through with the only problem being one of our adults oversleeping and one of our lads having bike problems yet he was still only marginally late.
Thursday 17th April 2008: It's been a good week for the arrival time of the papers and the trend continued today with all in by 4:30am which is always welcomed on a Somerset Standard day. One of our lads was on a sleepover and despite taking his newsbag and alarm clock, still managed to have an unauthorised lie-in! He did eventually come in by which time I had the round covered, however it's his first mistake since starting a month or so ago so he's forgiven! Although it's the middle of April, the weather is more akin to January and whilst it's dry, it is very cold with a chilly wind cuting right through you.
Friday 18th April 2008: Me and my big mouth yesterday! With the Sun and Times in just after 4am, the main van was later and came in at around 4:45ma. The culprit was (drum roll please!) the Daily Mail which didn't get into Bristol until 4am according to the driver. All kids in today although the one with bike trouble on Wednesday is still having difficulties but again he was only a few minutes late.
Saturday 19th April 2008: No early pre-runs of all the Saturday supps and inserts today which was a pain as we can usually get on with the mass of Tele extras whilst waiting for the main van to arrive. It turned out that one of their drivers didn't show up overnight and everyone else was chopped and changed around to compensate. This made for extra work for us and well as the van drivers when the main batch arrived at 4:45am with in excesss of 20 bundles in with the main lot of papers which are normally delivered in the very small hours and here when I arrive. By then, the Sun and TImes ended a good week for them with another early arrival just after 4am. Had a decent chat with one of our longer serving papers lads this morning whilst I was sorting the papers out the back and was refreshed to hear how level headed he is. There are a great many teenagers out there who DON'T conform with the stereotypical idea that us 30 & 40-somethings have of them. Indeed those that want to get up and do a paper round in all winds and weather deserve credit and respect as far as I'm concerned.
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