Paper caper not a hit with Beatle George

BACK in the 1960s, I lived on the same council estate as Beatle George Harrison’s family. The newsagent didn’t own a shop so sent out the papers from the back of a van. I had a part-time job collecting his bills every Friday evening. It was always obvious when George was at home because his red Ford Anglia would be parked outside and I had to fight through a crowd of girls at the gate. I usually dealt with his parents, but one evening I was accosted by George with his slow, nasal drawl: ‘Now listen here, because I wanna have a worrrd with you! Why is it that all of my mates get their music papers on a Thursday morrrning, but I don’t get mine till Thursday evennning? It’s reallly embarrrasssing!’

I had no idea why that was the case, so apologised and gave him some guff. He announced: ‘Well, it’s just not good enough, so I’ll have to cannncel them!’ The family still got the Radio Times, TV Times and News Of The World, so I met George many more times, though he was always frosty with me. He seemed to be very tall and intimidating but, of course, he was standing on the doorstep, and I learned later he wore Cuban heels. He must also have been like royalty in not carrying money because he always had to return inside to fetch the few shillings in small change to pay the bill. I often wonder if it was George moaning to the other Beatles that inspired the line in Lady Madonna: ‘Wednesday morning papers didn’t come.’ Brian Rushton, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcs.