Happy Birthday Gracie Webster, newsagent
By Andrew Grant-Adamson • Nov 4th, 2006 • Category: Journalism, Newspapers, magazinesGracie Webster, newsagent in the village of Debenham, Suffolk, is 78 today and still going strong. She was married, moved into the High Street shop and had her birthday in November 48 years ago.
Every morning she is up and sorting papers for the delivery boys and girls hours before most bedroom alarm clocks sound. The job has got tougher as the papers have got heavier.
This morning she shoved four copies of The Daily Telegraph into my hands to demonstrate their weight. Several pounds at least. Grace worries about the way they have made the job harder for the kids she employs on the delivery rounds.
She always has a twinkling eyes and a smile. As journalists we tend to forget the contribution to the business made by Gracie and others like her who carry and sort bundles of papers and magazines in the dark hours of the morning.
So I wish Gracie Webster a very happy birthday. If you would like to join me in congratulating her and the others who ensure the papers and mags get to the readers, please leave a comment.
Andrew Grant-Adamson is Andrew Grant-Adamson is a journalist who now teaches a new generation of writers, subs and editors at the University of Westminster.
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