Those of you awaiting with bated breath my resolution to the great newspaper buying dilemma – and I know there are a lot – will be pleased to hear that a solution has been found. On Wednesday, shrugging off the fact that it was what the Irish called a ‘grand soft day*’ I took the chance and cycled back down to the local shop which had such a casual attitude to paper-stocking the last time. There I found not one but THREE Guardians (I only bought one, though – you can’t stock up on newspapers for the next few days) and the woman announced that she’d had a word with the distributor to get more copies delivered. This seems to be the way things work around here: people aren’t huge on telling you that they’re planning on doing something to sort out a problem, they just go ahead and do it. Or not, of course, and there’s no way of telling which it will be. Coming from London, I find this a little frustrating, particularly when the plumber shows up at random times unannounced and then is put out that you’re not in waiting for him, but it does make a refreshing change from all those people (British Telecom, you know who you are) who tell you that they’re definitely going to sort something out and then do bugger all about it.
So anyway, newspapers there were – which was fortunate because by the time I got home I was so wet I’d stopped worrying about trench foot and was worrying more about trench knee – and I have secured my supply by having them set one aside for me on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I am now saving the planet the grand total of 24 miles worth of non-petrol burned per week, not to mention enriching the local economy to the tune of 80p every other day. I’m sure you can see my shining smug halo of goodness from London, if you squint a bit. It’s not easy being green out here in the country, I tell you. Next challenge: getting a bus. To anywhere…
* trans: only raining a little bit. Followed by raining quite hard on the way back
May 30, 2008 at 8:59 pm |
Never heard of guardian.co.uk? Only kidding, if I could afford it, I’d still buy a paper (though not every day). Something very comforting about sitting in an armchair with a nice cup of tea and reading the paper. Good with getting a bus service…:-)
May 30, 2008 at 9:00 pm |
Sorry, should have put “good luck”. Hope the luck passed on to you!
May 30, 2008 at 9:26 pm |
Why only those three days of the week?
Apart from Saturday when I’m at the bookshop I don’t buy papers any more but read them online.
Have you even seen any buses yet?
May 30, 2008 at 11:37 pm |
I love it! That is so cool that they just do that for someone, how very good of them!
May 31, 2008 at 2:15 am |
If you don’t mind your news a day late surely you could get someone to post you copies of the Metro, London Lite and whatever-it-is-the-other-one-is-called. You could then leave them on your chair when you get up and feel like you’d never left London
May 31, 2008 at 7:16 am |
cafe-c – even without the rubbishy-ness of my internet connection, I find you can’t read a website while sitting on our front steps in the morning sun, like you can with a paper
Flighty – we’ve seen one, you have to ring up for it though
AMP – yeah but I then felt guilty because it was a whole week before I went back…
Dom – I could try that but the other half seems resistant to dressing up in purple and shoving papers in my face as I’m trying to go from the kitchen to the sitting room. Which you need for the full London experience
May 31, 2008 at 7:16 am |
Have you asked your postman if he will deliver the newspaper?
May 31, 2008 at 7:20 am |
Are they allowed to do that? It would make sense …
May 31, 2008 at 12:25 pm |
Our milkman will deliver papers-but then you need a milkman
May 31, 2008 at 7:18 pm |
Our postman definitely delivers newspapers (from Duns). I haven’t asked him about milk …