Delivering news in any weather

READ all about it . . . Jean Sinclair with regular Denshaw customer Peter Gray

DEEP snow and sub-zero temperatures were no match for one dedicated couple who battled wild winter weather to deliver the Oldham Evening Chronicle.

But five months of helping Saddleworth residents catch up with the local news has taken its toll on Graham and Jean Sinclair, who have decided to take a well-deserved break.

The pair stepped up to the job of supplying locals with their daily Chronicle fix after Denshaw Post Office closed last year.

Residents found themselves having to travel to Moorside, with some taking the bus to Oldham to pick up their Chronicle.

Jean said: “We didn’t realise just how much the paper mattered to people — we have had regulars that have come every day since we’ve been selling them.”

The couple volunteered to sell the paper in November, 2009, opening up the village hall in Denshaw as a drop-in centre for readers eager for their local news.

They even went the extra mile in the deep snow, delivering papers from their house in Huddersfield Road to the doors of local customers.

Peter Gray, of Dumfries Avenue, Denshaw, says he has been reading the Chronicle for as long as he can remember.

The 75-year-old said: “It’s a big part of my day, sitting down with a drink and reading the evening paper, it’s my life.

“There is nothing in the village now, somebody needs to put something back into the community.

“What Jean and Graham have done has been absolutely brilliant for us.”

The duo have sold more than 1,400 copies of the Chronicle since they started, making £150 commission.

They have now pledged to donate the money to Dr Kershaw’s Hospice in Royton and Christ Church, Denshaw.

Mrs Sinclair said: “We have managed to recreate a real atmosphere here, it’s like the old post office.

“People come in and have a natter — that’s what’s missing from the village, that community feel.”

Holidays and the couple’s love of the garden mean that they are no longer able to commit to the daily service.

Luckily for residents, a new business is offering Denshaw readers the chance to have the Chronicle delivered direct to their doors.

Bill Roberts, owner of Oldham Direct Delivery Services, said: “I’ve listened to the demand —people really want to read the Chronicle. It’s an institution — with a very loyal readership.”

To inquire about having your papers delivered, call 01706-880 609.