Read All About It

Have you watched or read the news recently? TV, Internet, Newspapers, Social Media…read all about it. In case you haven’t, let me give an overview. It just so happens that plane incidents, terrorism, mass murders, protests, wars, suicide bombers, match-fixers are all the rage in 2014.

When I was 12-years-old until the age of 16, I was a paperboy. Big sis did the afternoon round, I did the morning round. I was paid £5.20 for getting out of bed at 5.40am six days a week and an extra £3 for Sundays. I could sleep in on Sunday though, that was a 7am gig, but the papers were quadruple the size. The scars on my right shoulder are a testament to that. Strangely enough, there’s a significant correlation between people who read the Observer with its 27 supplements, and their houses having the smallest letterboxes known to mankind.

I was a speedy and reliable paperboy…..aside from the knee injury I picked up from football when my dad drove me round the round for a month, and the morning after the night I thought I would blow my hard earned cash on a two-for-one chocolate cake deal from Jack Fulton’s and demolished them in my bedroom unbeknown to my mum– subsequently redecorating my bedroom walls.

I loved nothing more than to sort the papers, fly around Crossgates on my BMX (failing tragically to jump curbs that could not be jumped) and read the papers. I started on page 3 (come on, I was a spotty teen boy, it’s what they do), moved to the back pages for the real sport, and then glanced at the front to see what was going on in the world. It usually wasn’t great, so the sport took prominence in my reading.

Fast forward twenty years (shit, I’m old), and I’ve grown out of page 3, still read the sport, but the front pages interest me less. In fact, I do not really read newspapers any more, and haven’t for years. I’ll go as far as saying they will not even exist in 5-10 years’ time. I watch the news, or log on to bbc.co.uk, and all I see is misery and unhappiness. It is grim, grim beyond belief. There are some days when I have a hectic life, a bit of travel and I don’t get the chance to read the news. I am not missing anything much.

After I have scoured my usual websites, I’ll have a look on Facebook. News of the people within my inner circle is of more interest to me much of the time than the Six O’Clock News. The only reason I am on Facebook is to connect and keep in touch with people I wouldn’t usually connect with on a regular basis without it. There are so many school friends, uni friends, former work colleagues, friends, even some family that are on there, and I can keep up to speed on their lives, and them on mine. There are pros and cons to the likes of Facebook, but there is nothing I enjoy more than to read about those people. I want to hear about theirr happiness, achievements, memorable moments. I’m less keen on the Big Brother chat, the whingeing about having a bad day, the bitching, the vague messages that cry out for the question ‘what’s wrong darling’.

This last week, I’ve read about amazing educational achievements, seen pictures of ridiculously cute new-borns and some not so-new-borns, shared birthday fun with people, supported a Man Utd fan in his jovial abuse of Liverpool, organised a couple of catch-ups with people who live 4000km or more away from me, seen fabulous holiday pics, read about all the parents whose kids are moving on to big school (time flies)….I could go on. I’ve enjoyed reading and seeing it all. It has far more influence and feeling on me and my life than the Six O’Clock News which is frankly miserable. That is not meant to trivialise or ignore what is going on in the world right now, but everybody needs some positivity in their lives.

So, I’m calling it now. I want to hear about your positive happy stories. I won’t judge, I won’t think you’re showing off, or being a jackass. I’ll skim over the trivial whinging stuff. If I want to suffer a bit of misery and downtime, I’ll start reading the papers and watching the news again. It’s the positive stuff that gives me my energy, and I’ll always read all about that.