Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Gran, 82, on her bike at 5am for paper round
Anger as PM blocks official report on compensation
I love going out to do the daily deliveries and find it keeps me fit PAULINE BRIDGE WHO WORKS SIX DAYS A WEEK
GRAN Pauline Bridge is believed to be Britain’s oldest paper girl, working six days a week at the age of 82.
The retired newsagent gets up at 5am to do her rounds by bicycle and aims to carry on till she is 90.
Pauline took over the duties from her grandchildren 10 years ago. Since then she has made more than 50,000 deliveries and cycled at least 5,000 miles – come rain, shine or snow.
“I deliver to 32 houses on my route, which is about a mile and a half, and I love it,” she said. “I find it keeps me fit.”
The mother of two, who has six grandchildren aged 17-27, went on: “I started when the youngsters had to stop as they were off to college. I felt sorry for them and let them keep what I earned, as then it’s like pocket money for them.
“Every Christmas the customers send me cards and say, ‘You’re the best news deliverer because you always bring the paper early in the morning’.
“A lot of them are older people who like to read their paper at breakfast.
“Most of them give me a £10 festive tip. That’s the kids’ Christmas bonus.”
Pauline, from Southampton, added: “I cycled a lot when I was younger. My bike
is 40 years old now but I don’t want an upgrade. We bought it for my daughter’s 11th birthday and I like it.
Her husband, 80, also completes a daily paper round but on foot.
Pauline said: “He does his under protest but I tell him it’s good for him.”
Daughter Lisa Huggett, 52, said she was “proud” of her mum, adding: “She keeps fit by doing loads of cycling and always goes out whatever the weather.
“You’d think she would wait until a bit later on when the rain or snow stopped but no – she still gets up at 5am.
“Mum would say, ‘People are waiting for their papers’. She’s very serious about it and says she’ll keep going till she’s 90.”
If Pauline finds one of her tyres has a puncture, the task of mending it at 6am falls to Lisa’s husband Brian, 53.
Youngest granddaughter Megan, 17, believes Pauline could be Britain’s oldest paper girl, saying: “I can’t see anyone else her age doing what she does, Monday to Saturday without fail.
“She’s amazing, dedicated – and loved by her customers. All of us in the family are very proud of her. We can’t believe what she’s still achieving at her age. She puts us youngsters to shame.”
VICTIMS of the London Docklands IRA bombing – exactly 25 years ago today – say they are still battling for justice and compensation.
They branded Boris Johnson “a disgrace” for blocking publication of an inquiry into the attack, which killed two people and injured more than 100.
The investigation, ordered by the Conservative government, was also tasked with examining the level of payouts to those affected.
But the PM refuses to allow disclosure of the results, claiming the matter is too sensitive and citing “security issues”.
Docklands Victims Association president Jonathan Ganesh, badly injured in the outrage, said: “This is a cover-up. It’s shocking, a disgrace. Two people died and three more have taken their own lives as a result of that night 25 years ago. We deserve to know what happened.”
He said the Government had put victims under “tremendous strain”, adding: “People have been left in utter desperation at the way they’ve been treated.
“The Government should make a stand. They have done very little to help and the worst thing they’ve done is raise our expectations.”
Employees in Canary Wharf ’s many buildings fled and the Daily Mirror’s HQ in the main tower was evacuated for a number of hours after the bombing on February 9, 1996.
The IRA broke a twoyear ceasefire with the
blast near South Quay station. The huge, 3,000lb bomb had been wrapped around 10lb of semtex, which gave it even more destructive power.
The semtex was reportedly obtained through a secret deal with Colonel Gaddafi’s regime in Libya.
Newsagent Inam Bashir, 29, and colleague John Jeffries, 31, were killed outright inside their shop.
The death toll would have been much higher but police were able to evacuate parts of the area after the IRA gave a coded warning.
The explosion, just after 7pm on a Friday, caused damage estimated at £800million.
In 1998 IRA member
James Mcardle, a 29-year-old farm labourer, was convicted of the bombing and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
He was allowed to walk free two years later under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
In March 2019, former Charity Commission chairman William Shawcross was appointed to advise the government about compensation from attacks using Libyan semtex.
He submitted his report last year. It is yet to be made public.
Anger over the non-disclosure comes as police in Northern Ireland warn of “rising tensions” there over Brexit issues. Chief Constable Simon Byrne said the public needs to “step back from the brink” of violence over the concerns.