Published: Wednesday, 7th May, 2008 16:30
Tele has changed for the better
By Elaine Bowers
Print Article
POPULAR NEWSAGENT: Joan Gray has been delivering copies of the Tele to some customers for 50 years.
Pic by: Douglas Hendry
IT’S day three of our special series on Local Newspaper Week and ELAINE BOWERS meets popular newsagent Joan Gray, who gives us her views on the Tele over the years, and chats to the paper boys braving all weathers to make sure you get all the latest news six days a week.
JOAN Gray has been delivering the Greenock Telegraph to customers for 50 years.
She was just eight years old when she started to help her mum, Emily Hall, who ran Hall’s newsagents in Finnart Street, Greenock.
Now 58 and in charge of the shop herself, Joan still finds herself posting papers through letter boxes when her delivery boys and girls have a day off.
She said: “I was brought up in this shop. My mother took it over in 1957. I have not always worked here full-time, because I was a hairdresser for 25 years, but I have always worked in the shop since I was a child — and I still deliver papers.”
As a youngster, Joan used to deliver in Denholm Street. A lot of customers who used to pop in to the shop all those years ago are still regular visitors today.
“When my mother took this shop it was empty. It had been a dairy at one time, but I don’t remember much because I was a wee girl,” said Joan, who has run the shop since 1990.
She added: “People come here long before the paper is in and they will hang about waiting for it.”
It seems local people are keen to ensure they don’t miss out on local news.
Joan said: “I think the Tele has changed for the better recently.
“There are lots of nice stories – for a while it was all doom and gloom on the front page but it has got better.
“People like the Tele and there are customers I have known since I was a wee girl.” Today, Joan says she has customers of all ages buying the Tele, from young mums to pensioners.
She added: “People like the Tele and when the Tall Ships were in it was wonderful. There was a tremendous atmosphere in the town and people were walking into the shop to buy copies of the Tele. The customers also loved the special Memories papers, especially the one about the shipyards. It was fantastic. People would come in and buy a few to send to relatives abroad.”
Joan has a team of cheery newspaper boys and girls who go out in all weathers to deliver the Tele each night – and some, like Katie McAuslan, have been known to deliver more than just the news.
Not long ago, Katie, 13, found a wee dog sleeping in a close in Margaret Street. She recognised it as the missing pet of customers in Brisbane Street who were out looking for it and returned it home safely – along with a copy of their favourite paper.
Joan said: “The owners were over the moon.”
BROTHERS Michael and Craig Telfer are well known in Greenock.
Between them they deliver copies of the Tele to nearly 80 households every night.
Michael covers the area between Curlew Crescent and Bow Road, while his twin makes sure residents in Gateside Gardens and Auchneagh Crescent are kept up to date with local news.
Craig, who has been doing his round for two years, is planning a career with the police. He enjoys his paper round but says the worst part of it is the weather.
Michael, who started his route last February, added: “Normally, we walk and the round takes 30 to 40 minutes. But, if it is raining, mum gives us a lift to the areas furthest away.”
The boys, both 15, attend Inverclyde Academy. They receive their Teles every night from distribution agent Billy Johnson.
Billy has been co-ordinating deliveries for the Telegraph for 20 years and currently has 41 youngsters under his wing.
He is always pleased when their experience of handling money and dealing with customers helps them move on to other jobs.
Billy said: “The paper rounds give the boys and girls a sense of independence. Some of the parents say the newspaper boys and girls have bank accounts and buy their football tops and CDs and don’t have to rely on mum and dad.
“Over the years, I have been asked to write a lot of references. One girl is away to join the police now, another is an architect and another a paramedic.”
Billy added that while doing their paper rounds, some of the young people also end up doing odd jobs for readers.
He said: “A lot of them cut grass. One boy managed to fix a microwave and a Hoover and my daughter used to go to the shops for pensioners.”
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
‘Jail me’ man gets his wish and protests
