Okay, sorry (again) for lack of updates in the last two and a half months. We don't have a good
excuse so I won't bore you with a bad one. Back now though so from July 1st, regular updates again...
Tuesday 1st July 2008: With Euro 2008 over and the new football season five weeks away (or six for those Prem supporting fans!) we had a good start today thanks to an email to us thanking one of our paperboys who helped his elderly mother with her rubbish whilst out on his round when he saw that the lady was struggling. Deeds like this are often taken for granted so not only huge credit to the lad for lending a hand but also to the lady's son for letting us know about it. Needless to say we've passed it onto the boy involved. Papers were well on time with all in by 4:25am. One of early adults is having a bad spell of luck and in recent weeks he's damaged his back getting his dog out of his car and caught a bug resulting in some violent
vomiting (sorry if you are eating!). Then last night in his garden he slipped over and did his hip in although he still came in to do his papers today, albeit with a significant limp!! Hottest day of the year today apparently. Great for us hay fever sufferers :(
Wednesday 2nd July 2008: Sun and Times almost beat me today and the main lot were in by 4:30am so no complaints there. They did forget to pack our Indy's but even they arrived by 6am which meant we caught all but the early adults. Tennis mania seems to be taking over due to a Brit reaching the quarter finals for the first time in eons. One customers was obviously looking forward to it more than most as she barely stopped talking about it whilst buying her paper, although she did state how `good it is to see the English doing well`. I didn't have the heart to point out that Andy Murray is Scottish! All kids in today although one did have the luxury of a lie-in as it was her birthday and her dad did the round for her.
Thursday 3rd July 2008: Deja vu from yesterday really although the Sun and Times were a little bit later and the Indy's
arrived with the rest of the main van. Whilst walking to work today, I knew I was being followed as I heard footsteps and after
having a quick glance over my shoulder, could see someone a distance behind. Having watched too many horror films since my teen days of
the video nasties, all sorts of things were going through my mind with the possibility of Hannibal Lecter or the lead zombie from
Zombie Flesh Eaters looking for a piece of `early morning newsagent`. As I got closer to the office, I found the key in my pocket so
I could get in quick and away from whatever was there and having reached
sanctuary, closed the door and had a quick peek through the
keyhole to see an Asda worker in full `Jolly Green Giant` uniform making his way to work!
Friday 4th July 2008: American Independence Day today but as we're in the UK, it's just another day really. Both vans arrived together today so the
Sun and Times man drove and did two drops up the road before coming back to us which was fine. One chap has just been in to buy a paper and was listened to music on his headphones. This meant him shouting his request at me at an unfeasibly loud volume which initially made me jump. When I politely asked if he could reduce the shouting level as there is a new born baby (literally a day old!!) in the flat upstairs, he screeched back "Pardon?" at which stage I gave up as a bad job.
Saturday 5th July 2008: Papers were in later today, arriving at 5am, however 10 minutes before we had a phone call from the wholesalers as they thought that someone had labelled up Mail bundles as Mirror and vice versa. On a Saturday we have 5 bundles of Mail and 4 Mirror so this would have left us with too many Mirror and not enough Mail. When the driver arrived and we checked them, all of ours were spot on leaving the anticipated problem elsewhere. It's a bit showery this morning although thankfully it does seem to have eased now (6:40am) so hopefully the kids will get done in the dry. With the papers late and a few of us waiting to get cracking on the inserts, it is amazing how diverse the discussions range as today we went from Ken Dodd to the quality of theatres by the way of the Frome Festival and which one of us could use the toilet at exactly the right time and therefore avoid helping to unload the van!! Who says that the art of conversation is dead?
Sunday 6th July 2008: Not quite the stuff of legends today but not far off! It began badly with late papers as the main
van arrived just before 5am and the NotW and Times about five minutes after -
not good with stacks of inserts to plough through. The former was blamed on the Racing Post (and it's
sister paper Betting Shop and the Scottish Mail) whilst the latter was probably due to the `new look` Sunday Times. We had a new lad
start today or at least he would have done had we told him what time to come in. Subsequently he arrived later than our cut off by
which time I was out doing it - just a lack on communication on our part though. Among all of this, the weather decided to take it's
summertime anger out on us with strong winds and heavy rain a constant factor and as a result, me and I daresay many others in
our news delivery team, got soaked. We only had two people ring about wet papers though and even one of those mentioned that she was
sorry to bother us with an unreadable paper. The other was more sarcastic and stated bluntly that if he pays for a paper to be
delivered he expected to be able to read it. My day was finally brightened when I got home and saw one of our three cats (Bourbon)
who had obviously been caught in a downpour and looked like a cross between a drowned rat and a porcupine! Much the same as last
Christmas actually when, as a kitten, he jumped onto the toilet without realising that the seat was up!!
Tuesday 8th July 2008: The weather for the rest of the week sounds, to put it bluntly, crap with today apparently the best day although when it began raining at 4:30am when the van pulled up, we feared the worst but it seemed to be a quick shower. It was a bit odd on the way in today as it was extremely quiet.
Admittedly it's hardly a hive of activity at silly o'clock but I usually hear things in the distance or see a car drive by or get chased by an Asda Jolly Green Giant but nothing. I felt like an extra from 28 Weeks Later and was waiting for a snarling Robert Carlyle to come tearing out of South Parade as I arrived.
Wednesday 9th July 2008: According to Virgin Radio, today will be the wettest day on record and whilst that may be an
exaggeration, it's has started as expected with steady rain leading into pouring rain which shows no sign of slowing up. Ironically the papers were all early with both vans arriving before 4:20am which at least gave us a head start. Actually I needed it as the alarm jolted me into life today (I'm usually awake before it goes off) and I had all sorts of trouble waking up properly and even walking the dog in the rain made little difference. Since then, a combination of pepsi, Nurofen and corned beef and tomato ketchup sandwiches seems to have done the trick although looking at the weather, if I stick my head out of the door for a few seconds that should bring me to my senses as well!
Thursday 10th July 2008: Better weather today although it would have struggled to be worse than yesterday. Everything in nicely on time with no major problems to report especially as one of our adults has been away all week. One of the great innovations of recent years is online banking and whilst some may not trust it (we do!) we find it totally invaluable. One payment we make each Tuesday was mysteriously deleted from our list this week and when I went to add it again, I was told I had to sign up
to PINsentry which is an additional level of security and involves them sending me a calculator type box through the post.
Unfortunately we have been unable to make this payment since and, at the time of writing I am still waiting for it to arrive. Yes, online banking is great until something like this happens!!
Friday 11th July 2008: Tomorrow is shaping up to be a good morning because as well as one of our adults being away all week, another is away tomorrow only as is one of our normal lads. Still, we will cope somehow but fingers crossed for no problems with delayed papers!! A repeat of today would be welcomed as all were in before 4:30am. I outdid myself though when bringing the bundles of papers through to the back room as I piled some up a bit lob-sided and they toppled over straight onto the fire
extinguisher which let out a short, sharp blast of watery foam! If It tried to do it another 100 times I probably wouldn't be able to!
Saturday 12th July 2008: Well it could have been worse, but could have been bloody better as well! Sun and Times nice and early but the Mail delayed the main batch and although they weren't on a re-run (the worst scenario!) the van
didn't get to us until 5am. Still we battled through with two of our adults away and whilst some rounds were later than normal, they were all done by a reasonable time. Black mark to the Indy who put their Saturday price up by 10p today and only let us know about it today - well after we've done all of the accounts for the week! Hence we've had to add the money onto next weeks invoices which will cause more confusion. These things are sent to try us. On the plus side, the sun is out and shining brightly - hooray!!
Sunday 13th July 2008: Quite a surprise early today as I arrived at 3:30am to find the News of the World and Times already in!
The main batch followed at 4:15am and apart from a minor mix up with Observer mags, no problems. The new lad (See last Sunday)
didn't turn up at all this week so it may well be that we have another round to cover by next Sunday. My work colleague had a bit of#
a rough night as he was awoken at 1:30am by a friend ringing his door bell in need of a shoulder to cry on but he did manage to stay
awake until it was time to go home which is always a good thing I reckon.
Monday 14th July 2008: The early morning comfort of a warm duvet on my day off was shattered today when my Spooks tone burst into life on my mobile to let me know that a text had arrived. A quick glance at the clock showed 5am and the news was that Denise was ill and wouldn't be in. So after a quick dog walk, shave and wash, I was in fresh and raring to go (well not quite but it sounds good!). Thankfully there were no problems paperwise although a message on the answerphone did accuse one of our Sunday lads of stealing the Barry Manilow CD from her paper. Further investigation found that she actually has the Express whose offer meant that the customer had to send off for the CD (It was free only with the Mail!). Whilst such confusion is understandable, this could have meant an ear-bashing for our lad although it does beg the question as to why anyone would want to steal a Barry Manilow CD in the first place!! Full credit to the customer involved as she has just rung to apologise for the error.
Tuesday 15th July 2008: Denise is still off with the dreaded lurgy so as I type I am around three hours into the marathon `work from open to close` stint and with a few things happening at home today, the last thing I wanted was late papers or re-runs today. Thankfully the gods felt some sympathy for me with the main van in at 4:10am and the Sun and Times not far behind. One of our early adults will go out and start his rounds if the Sun/Times are late and I then ring his mobile for a few rings when they arrive (he
doesn't answer it I should add). Having done this, he's usually back within 15 minutes but half an hour later this morning there was still no sign of him returning. As I tried ringing again he turned up. Whilst out and about, he'd realised his phone was on his kitchen table! I can imagine his dogs going berserk at 4;30am today with his phone blaring out at home.
Wednesday 16th July 2008: Another `open till close` day today with Denise still suffering from Dutch Elm disease or something similar and although the papers weren't quite as early as yesterday, they were still nicely on time with no problems. School breaks up next week so naturally enough a lot of kids are booking holiday time off which always takes some planning during the summer. We have a good bunch with us at the moment with many willing to muck in and do extras. Speaking of which, one lad came in today asking if I could check the opening times for Sainsburys as it was his friend's birthday and he'd forgotten a card! We've all been there eh although I am one up on my wife as I can at least say that I have never forgotten our wedding anniversary!!?
Thursday 17th July 2008: Denise is back from her kidney infection but before that the papers were a bit later although nothing
major. The early morning message on the wholesalers helpline stated that the Irish
Independent was late (we only have one customer
who sometimes buys it so no problem there) and I was speculating whether it had anything to do with my Leeds United team winning
a friendly in Galway last night. My fellow early colleagues (who either hate football or couldn't care less
about it) were more curious
as to how Leeds managed to actually win a game with rumours that Galway fielded a team of
leprechauns particularly cutting. Besides, their
goalie was at least four foot three! It was noticeable this morning how it's gradually getting darker in the early hours, or should
I say taking longer for daylight to arrive. Summer has barely begun and we're already getting into autumn mode.
Friday 18th July 2008: Just a normal routine morning today which is great. All papers in at a decent time as we all the deliverers although two that aren't at school had to be hiked out of the marking up room when the cut off time arrived. That is the one thing that I don't look forward to during the summer hols and we can hope that we don't have to sack any as we had to last summer. To be fair, the current crop of lads and lasses are very good, polite and reliable and not the stereotypical idea of teens portrayed in the media.
Saturday 19th July 2008: Unlike yesterday, today started with a stutter as the Sun and Times turned up minus the Times and despite a van search from the driver, they were not on board. He rang the depot for us and to be fair to them, we had them in just over an hour which was superb. By then, some of our early adults were on the road so thanks to the wonder of mobile phones, they all came back for what amounted to 15 Times and by 5:45am we were back to a normal morning. A few of the Tele mags are missed the TV insert which is a major pain as that's the section most people want. We think we've weeded out the missing ones and hopefully all that have gone out are complete. With the main papers a bit later, we tend to try and rush things a little resulting in a number of near collisions between myself and one of the early adults. Close Encounters of the Newspaper Kind.
Sunday 20th July 2008: There were a lot of stragglers around first thing today with around half a dozen lads sat on a wall
not far from the office although there was one with them riding his bike around an almost deserted road who looked, at most, around
13 or 14! That aside, papers were nice and early with all in by 4:10am. We had two new boys starting today and both did well although
one did get a bit confused but he did exactly what we'd ask them to do and came back to the shop and we managed to get it sorted with
very few problems. Some of our best deliverers in the past have not always had the best of first days so things will get easier for
him. I forgot to put the Observer into one batch of papers and arranged to meet her on her rounds to pass them on to save delaying
her any more. When I got there,
I couldn't find her anywhere and after ringing her mobile, discovered that her car was literally a few yards behind mine but just around the
corner. I've said it before, but how ever did we manage with situations like this before mobiles?
Tuesday 22nd July 2008: Wow, papers lovely and early today with the main van in at 4:10am and the Sun and Times only a few minutes behind. Tuesday is the heaviest day for mags with all the TV stuff in and a large number of womens glossy mags also in so it takes a while for me to sort them and get them ready for delivery. I do have a tendancy to pile them up on a chair and usually they stack neatly with the occasional wobble. Today however, there was no warning wobble as they just gave up and slid all over the floor. I blame the Angling Times with their free bit of plastic on the front. There are some strange noises nearby at the moment as it sounds like seagulls but in some sort of pain. Hopefully it's something different as we're a good 40 miles from the coast.
Wednesday 23rd July 2008: Another stunningly early start today with Sun and Times in at 3:45am and the bit batch not long after 4am. I was back in the office by 5am with all rounds set up and sorted which is almost unheard of. We had bloodshed out the back today as one of our early adults cut himself on some plastic strapping although he didn't notice until some blood appeared on one of the packing sheets. Not quite to the standard of Saw and it's sequels but bloodshed nonetheless. As long as he doesn't go running off to one of those `have you been injured in an accident that wasn't your fault` groups then I think we'll be okay! The kids break up from school today so we'll start taking bets on how long we'll hear those immortal words - "I'm bored!"
Thursday 24th July 2008: Papers not as early but still nicely on time which is good especially for a Somerset Standard morning. It's the first day of the schol hols but credit to all of our lads and lasses who were all in on time with the last two in and out shortly before out 8am cut off time. One of our long term deliverers has been accepted for a weekend job at M&S in Bath so whilst it restricts what he can do for us, it's all the first step on the employment ladder and whilst he is staying with us for now, we obviously wish him all the very best.
Friday 25th July 2008: It was humid last night and I had trouble getting to sleep and was less than thrilled when I woke up five minutes before the alarm was due to spark into life. Things didn't improve when I took our golden retreiver Floyd, out for his early morning walk. He was a little too nosey with an empty vodka bottle which someone had left on the pavement and nudged it over with his nose. As we were on a slight slope, it then rolled loudly towards the kerb so in a desperate attempt to stop the noise, I tried to stop it with my foot as Floyd - freaked out by the sudden noise - pulled me away from it! Now, a freaked out Floyd was a bit too strong and I couldn't stop the bottle from faling off the kerb and continue to roll down the slope! Still, papers were on time with no problems as the deliverers begin to drift away on holiday and the ones that are left continue to cover and make my life considerably easier!
Saturday 26th July 2008: Quite quiet out and about first thing considering it's a Saturday morning with a distinct lack of revellers making their way (presumably) home. Sun and Times did brilliantly today with a 3:40am arrival and the main batch was just after 4:30am so very good for a Saturday. Denise is away on her travels for a week and a bit so it's the start of a long haul for me so I'm even more grateful to those deliverers covering extra rounds, especially in the coming week or so. None of the papers had any free CDs/DVDs today which is a massive bonus and they all seemed comparatively thinner than usual although I don't expect that will last.
Sunday 27th July 2008: Black mark today to the Sunday Mirror who not only managed to supply us (and others I guess) with a
full bundle of 32 papers which actually contained 22 papers and 10 extra Homes and Holiday supplements but also managed to leave
out a large number of the free atlases which should have been inside the paper. Our other two full bundles were okay but it still left
us short and our wholesalers had no extras. A plus point however to our News of the World and Times driver who, thanks to late papers, came
to us first and left those who open later despite having to drive past many of them. Plenty of Sunday deliverers away but we battled
through with help from other Sunday lads and two of our daily deliverers, not to mention doing two myself. I put some weight on whilst
away at the end of May so doing rounds will help get me back to a deceny BMI, although somewhat stupidly, my colleague and I decided
that a McDonalds breakfast would be a good idea once the rounds were finished!! One lad didn't turn up but he rang later in the day
to tell us that he was away and had forgotten to tell us.
Monday 28th July 2008: With Denise away for a few days I have a long week ahead of me although I wasn't in until 6am today instead of the usual 3:30- 4am time. When I arrived I was told that whilst the main papers were on time, the Sun and Times weren't in until 5:30am so we spent a while playing catch up. One lad should have been back from holiday today but didn't show so I had to get that covered at the last second. Hopefully we'll find out what has happened during the morning. Sad news today that Weston Super Mare pier has been destroyed by fire! We are only an hour away and planned a day out there in a fortnight.
Tuesday 29th July 2008: Back to normality today with the 3:30am starts although the Sun and Times were also back to normal with an equally early arrival. The main lot were in at 4:30am but the Mirror were in a real mess with a number in a poor condition, not helped by a free mini Argos catalogue inserted into some of them. Still, why should we mind the extra weight for our deliverers at no extra payment for us or them. Okay, out of sarcasm mode now!! My daughter won an iPod in a geography competition at school last week but as she's already got one, I bought it off of her and used it for the first time yesterday afternoon whilst walking one of dogs. Only after an enjoyable blast of Coldplay and The Killers did I realise that I was singing along to it! No wonder I had a few strange looks!! Still, I suppose they couldn't `Read My Mind` could they...
Wednesday 30th July 2008: The Sun and Times man almost caught me out today as he arrived only shortly after I did! One of our early adults is away, leaving us with a significant number of rounds to cover, however we seem to have got through it will minimal, if any, delays which is credit to those covering. Fantastic news in the Mirror today as Miley Cyrus (yeah, I'd not heard of her until a year go either!) is considering quitting her Hannah Montana role. Yeeesss!! I've been unlucky enough to catch parts of this `show` before doing something more interesting like washing up or hoovering and would be delighted to see it off the screens as it really is the very worst of american teen TV drivel. Smiley Circus, sorry Miley Cyrus, is only 15 and will doubtless go onto different things which judging by a recent controversy, could involving modelling. Speaking of 15 year olds, a very happy birthday to our niece who lives oop north.
Thursday 31st July 2008: There was s strong smell of smoke in the air as I walked the dog and then walked onto work today and we later discovered that some cretins had set fire to a deralict factory near the town centre last night. That was as exciting as it got really with it being a nice smooth morning with no major problems to report apart from one time-locked door which decided not to open for our deliverer which was a bit of a pain.
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