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The completely useless irrelevant thread

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I was a afternoon newspaper boy standing on the corner of Beaufort and Walcott streets in mt Lawley 1963-64.
My claim to fame is the day that President Kennedy was shot and died I sold the most papers outside of Perth.
Total 365 at 6/- a dozen plus tips. WAN also gave me a 10/- bonus.
It was a good site and I usually averaged about 30/- or $3 a week.
 
I delivered papers on my bike with the papers in two canvas satchels strung across the rear carrier.
Had a trailer that I towed behind on Saturdays cos of the extra load all due left wing wankers who read the Age which was about 3 foot thick on the weekends.
And I lived in a hilly area, bike had poor brakes, it rained a lot, and the newsagent used to beat us with a telephone pole if we missed a paper.
And you boles reckon you had it tough!
Mick
 
milk run , early in the morning, and still dark... Mr Davis and his Bedford truck, we'd hang off the back, feet on a dodgy stand plate and hanging on to handles.

Go out to the houses with 6 full pints in the carrier, then change out for empties plus / only when correct change located. Had to memorise the hiding spots, run after the truck as he rolled on. Sometimes changed orders made for a lot of running out n back.
 
Luxury!
Mick
 
for all you newspaper boys out there, here's an occasional gig.

The world's only four-yearly newspaper has hit the kiosks again in France with the release of a new issue of the satirical La Bougie du Sapeur.

The 20-page tabloid only comes out on 29 February - or once every leap-year. The first edition was in 1980, and this is issue 12.

Conceived by a group of friends who "wanted to have a laugh", it has a print run of 200,000. It is priced at €4.90 and more than meets its costs.

"After the first issue sold out in two days, the newsagents were clamouring for more copies - so we said fine, but only in four years' time!", says editor Jean d'Indy, whose main job is running the French equivalent of the Jockey Club.

"The paper's still put out by a few pals. We meet in a bar and toss around ideas over drinks. We have a lot of fun, and if the reader does too, that's the icing on the cake," Mr d'Indy says.
.

I like it
 
We used to have a yearly University take on th local papers here years ago. Not sure if it is still going, but the one that sticks in my mind was The Daily News the afternoon rag, (which I used to work on) came out as The Daily Spews. The Weekend News, The Weakened News, The West Australian, The Worst Australian. Was always good fun reading them
 
In the 60's when I was 13, I delivered papers in Capel, a small town South of Bunbury, before I caught the school bus.
So up at 5.30am, deliver the papers get home and catch the old bedford school bus at 7.30am, $1 a day.
I would give it to Mum to bank for me, when I had saved enough to buy what I was after, I went to Mum and I got "sorry son I needed it for groceries".
Hence I run my own SMSF, fck letting someone else look after my money, a lesson well learnt.
 
at 13, you had hollow legs. all this extra exercise, burning the calories, your poor mum couldn't put the food on table quickly enough

( ...mainly modern emojis like pizza n tacos, not many basic fare from the 60s, like bread / dripping)
 
Dona Ferentes said:
at 13, you had hollow legs. all this extra exercise, burning the calories, your poor mum couldn't put the food on table quickly enough

( ...mainly modern emojis like pizza n tacos, not many basic fare from the 60s, like bread / dripping)
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That's why I never complained about it, my parents were poor, so it actually didn't bother me she was telling the truth.
I was just explaining that just because you do a paper round as a kid, doesn't mean you will end up rich. Lol
When I started my apprenticeship in 1970 I was on $17.32 per week, I paid 32c tax, paid mum $10 board and kept $7 for myself.
Still managed to save enough to go to Melbourne from Kal on a holiday at the end of 1st year. Lol That was a hell of a trip 1971 across the nullarbor in HG two young kids, only one with a license, those were the days.

I helped Mum out all the way until the end, which was 91 years old last year, she was always there for us if we needed a baby sitter, a bed, she could knit and sew amazingly and we all have heirlooms.

But it did highlight to me, that people should take responsibility for their own money and if they don't they shouldn't complain if they lose it. Lol
 
Just relised that what I was paid to sell the daily News wasn't 6 shillings a dozen it was 6 pence
 
I was a paperboy and used to sell the Herald at the Melbourne Cup. Earlier in the day they would buy it for the form guide, then after the cup they would republish it with the red writing in the empty space on the front, then an hour later another edition would come out with headline and photos.

I remember selling the Herald three times to one bloke who had picked the winner.
 
@mullokintyre Hang about Mick whilst I go get my harp and bucket. The harp for a sad tune and the bucket for the crocodile tears.
 
Pinching the milk money was always a hot activity in the low socio area, the kids used to go to school early and do a detour through the posh areas.
Another one was kids jumped the back fence at the pub and threw empty sherry flagons over the fence, the kids outside would catch them and take them to the bottle shop for a refund, flagons always were a good refund. Many copped a thick ear, if the publican caught them.
The early 1960's were tough times in W.A, pre mining boom.
 
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We were also on the lookout to find that little bit extra coinage. In our case the Mt Lawley golfcourse surrounds (lots of bush in those early days) was a good hunting ground for empty beer and cool drink bottles. Can't remember what the Bottlo gave for empties Too far back for the grey matter.
Can you imagine today's kids doing what we did 60 odd years ago to get some pocket money.
 
Yes back in the 60's in Bunbury there was a cool drink factory called Stokes, it is funny how refunds for returns was stopped and has now been re introduced with fanfare, as though it is a new idea.
I think S.A never stopped and it was always noticeable how much less empty bottle litter there was on the side of the roads in S.A than W.A back then.
In Capel back in the day, old Jim the bottle O, used to operate the old Bedford school bus, now that was a real heap of junk, it took ages to get to Bunbury.
I once won a $1 bet, that I wouldn't climb out the rear window emergency exit and stand on the back bumper while hang onto the pram hooks. It went really well, until I looked over my shoulder and mum was driving the car following the bus, that was another thrashing I copped.
The funny thing is, I worry about the grandkids when they are doing something not very dangerous at all, weird really.
 
We had Weaver and Loch on Beaufort Street, always good for a bit of coin.
 
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