The milkman continues to be relevant today in our changing times

THE milkman continues to be relevant today.

Many of the services that existed when I was young have either become obsolete, vanished or operate only in a reduced or limited capacity.

The post-war years and Swinging Sixties saw milkmen, bread deliveries, coalmen offloading sacks of coal across densely built housing estates, doorstep services of groceries, green groceries, beer and soft drink goods and products.

Many small firms and suppliers are now confined as relics of a distant past, stored in the memories of those of a certain age.

Changing habits, times, access to

car ownership, an increase of women working full- and part-time after marriage, and discounted supermarket prices competed against the home delivery.

Coal is no longer unloaded by the hundred weight in sacks. Brewing beer and wine at home became popular in the 70s, another factor affecting traditional home delivery.

The milk service run by both large and small companies, however, adapted to changing times and habits. They widened their range, offering milk, bread and groceries, modernising to become commercially diverse.

This extended service aided many elderly isolated people and those with disabilities to live independent lives by remaining in their own homes. Those who find themselves in this position are often people where family support, for one reason or another, is limited, or due to social circumstances not being available at all.

The milk roundsman has provided social contact. A gap has been filled without involving statutory agencies such as social services, carers, or residential or local authority homes.

Despite continuing customer reductions, the milk roundsman still plays an important part in 21st century life. Michael Howourth Derby