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Wanderers Ways. Neil Thompson 1961-2021

Sunday papers , does anyone bother any more


crawshawbooth

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30 minutes ago, gonzo said:

The Blackpool gazette always had a green too. 

We always had the Manchester Evening news and pink in our house as they sold it at a newsagents in town and it was the closest my dad could get.

My aunt used to post Mondays BEN to us every week.

I still have that copy of you and your lad in the Ben in my car.

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9 hours ago, MancWanderer said:

Used to love doing the pools with my Dad and then sitting through the football results on Grandstand on a Saturday afternoon

Was always Vernons. He hated Littlewoods - think he had some business fall out with the Moores family? 

I was Vernons.

I was very under-18 but bullshitted the co-ordinator I was of age.

I was 'handy' for my age 😃 but was well aware I could've been mugged as I did my g/l, Lever Edge, Farnworth rounds with a bag of cash on me.

After I'd done the paperwork on Thursday I'd drop the take and the entries on Friday, minus my cut at a holding house - a little old lady's, who on any given Friday could've had about £2-2.5k in cash on her premises (other collectors' takes an' all)...

She lived alone.

The organiser of Vernons Bolton was obviously not the sharpest tool.

How she never got violently robbed by an observant smackhead remains a mystery.

Like I wrote though - the launch of The National Lottery killed the pools almost overnight.

Edited by Youri McAnespie
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20 hours ago, Youri McAnespie said:

I was Vernons.

I was very under-18 but bullshitted the co-ordinator I was of age.

I was 'handy' for my age 😃 but was well aware I could've been mugged as I did my g/l, Lever Edge, Farnworth rounds with a bag of cash on me.

After I'd done the paperwork on Thursday I'd drop the take and the entries on Friday, minus my cut at a holding house - a little old lady's, who on any given Friday could've had about £2-2.5k in cash on her premises (other collectors' takes an' all)...

She lived alone.

The organiser of Vernons Bolton was obviously not the sharpest tool.

How she never got violently robbed by an observant smackhead remains a mystery.

Like I wrote though - the launch of The National Lottery killed the pools almost overnight.

I collected for both on a Thursday evening. Fairly sure the co-ordinator bloke lived just off Bradford Road, near Minerva.

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On 23/11/2020 at 23:45, Traf said:

I collected for both on a Thursday evening. Fairly sure the co-ordinator bloke lived just off Bradford Road, near Minerva.

Conflict of interests there, Traf. Littlewoods and Vernons

Did I imagine it or did they both get in bed with Ladbrokes after if went tit-up after the launch of the lottery.

Vernon's co-ordinator was called Graham - glasses, bald with gray remaining hair, he was married but a bit fey.

Like I said the collector for the collectors was a little old lady who lived (alone) near St Billy's school/Pennington Road.

I didn't want to shit her up but I didn't want to see her front page of the BEN sporting two black eyes - so I mentioned being careful etc. once when I made the drop.

I reckon' other agents did similar as soon her son or daughter would visit during the drop-off time window (4-7pm iirc).

Was good money for someone 15yr old onward. 12.5% for one night and a bit of maths/paperwork and Friday drop, ten minute job. Resurrected my BMX - unused for years and even though at (then) 6 foot I looked a twat, I'd burn my round in half the time.

 

 

Edited by Youri McAnespie
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25 minutes ago, Youri McAnespie said:

Conflict of interests there, Traf. Littlewoods and Vernons

Indeed. Had to make sure they both didn't know. The reality was that around 80% of the collections were from houses doing both as well as the Spot The Ball.

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I used to give Littlewoods collectors the evil-eye as the prizes were bigger, thus bigger stakes and greater commission/wage - most had tiny rounds and made the same as lads like me who had to work harder - and now I find out about double-agents earning more still. 😠

My round was huge - from St. William's on Lever Edge to Bradford Road and up to Our Lady of Lourdes on Plodder Lane and nearly every Road & Street inbetween, including the entire 'Concrete' Estate and the more salubrious Water's Edge 'Estate', Bradford Road seemed interminable.

But it was the more the merrier - bigger take for them/bigger cut for me and I was young and had my trusty BMX...😀

Bought a lot of vinyl with my wage at the time - 18 to present years later it became very rare, stuff I got for buttons. Done well flogging them in recent years.

Sold one bought for £4.99 from Powercuts for £229 to a German a few years back. (Enslaved - Hordanes Land MLP).

It were crap an' all (the music - the record was pristine).

A link to confirm - not my auction, flogged my copy for less a couple of years earlier..

https://www.popsike.com/ENSLAVED-Hordanes-Land-MLP-original-press-MINT-LP/320493155254.html

All riveting stuff this ...😪

Edited by Youri McAnespie
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The rent man used to collect on our poverty ridden council estate in the early 60s with a little leather satchel over his shoulder, how he never got jumped, I will never know. Suppose folk were pretty trustworthy. The only things what got robbed were the telephone kiosk and the cig machine.

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