There's more to life than newspapers

I really miss UK newspapers. I used to read two a day when I lived in London, I remember when you had to pay for the Evening Standard! At the weekend I'd get the papers delivered, usually the Saturday Guardian, the Sunday Times and the News of The World for a bit of scandal. Now I live in Oz and the papers are bloody awful! When anyone I know visits the UK I get them to bring me a Sunday Times back, its not as good as it used to be, but its practically the only thing I miss from the UK that I can't get here. When I make my next trip back i will be buying all the papers! I love the internet, but reading online is just not the same.

What are the qualifications required to count as a hobby? Where are official hobbies registered?

Of course there's more to life than newspapers. There's more to life than whatever your simple little pleasures are, too. It doesn't mean you would grumble if they were suddenly unavailable.

Mt father has limited mobility due to chemo, but is supposed to walk thirty minutes a day. He hates it, so the trip to the shop to get his newspaper is the only thing that motivates him - 16 minutes each way.

What a bizarre post. Just because you don't read newspaper doesn't invalidate the choices of others.

You bought a lottery ticket, which some regard as a Stupidity Tax. Your choice.

It does to him. So why question it?

My DP's hobby is spending some time in the local library reading the papers. He goes to our local library and has some quiet time there

pretty sure that doesn’t count as a hobby

I don’t read newspapers (like 95% of the population) but I do find your post a bit weird. Why do you care? And why all the detail on your shop!

I buy The Times every day and I feel lost without it. I read all of it apart from the obituaries which I save to read over breakfast the next day.

You don't have a clue. My dad has very bad health issues, walking is a major effort for him. He walks to the local shop twice a day to get the papers and for the exercise. It makes a huge difference to him and there's plenty like him. Don't be so ignorant.

Not everyone can, or wants to read papers online.

My DP's hobby is spending some time in the local library reading the papers. He goes to our local library and has some quiet time there
With papers, you get no shitty pop up ads, no comments arguing about it all, no further bullshit follow up articles and constant updates.

Well I’m 45, so certainly not that old and buy a paper every day. Much prefer it to reading it online. As others have said, it’s routine and you have read it and that’s it, no constant updates. I get my local one too, will miss it if it ever stops.

You seem to be inventing a series of straw man arguments based on absolutely nothing. Other papers besides tabloid rubbish are available. Reading newspapers doesn’t involve treating them like Holy Writ. Good journalism is important, and deserves to be paid for by whatever means. You have the same 24 day as everyone else. You just choose not to read newspapers.

Since when did Waitrose do free newspapers? That stopped ages ago surely?

I get a voucher for a free paper every day.

Apparently those that work on the kiosk / customer service desks are some of the worst abused in all of retail so I always try to remember to smile at them. They probably think I’m a nutter.

Since when did Waitrose do free newspapers? That stopped ages ago surely?

I work in a shop with a Pharmacy. It's closed between 1.15 and 2pm every single day for the pharmacist to have a lunch break. The absolute worst customers for complaining about this are elderly people who have had a very minor inconvenience coming in while they're shut. It makes no odds how often the pharmacy staff explain. Those elderly people just love to complain.

YANBU

We used to have a small family newsagents shop. The abuse we got when papers hadn't been delivered, or Sunday supplements were missing, or we hadn't been sent enough bingo cards etc was unbelievable.

Some people are absolutely insane.

We tried our best to deliver "something" when there were strikes or a lorry broke down, etc., but we could only work with what we had. We'd send the paper boys/girls out with the right papers we had, but had to give them whatever was left to deliver to those whose papers were missing, so it was a bit of a lottery what customers got. Obviously, teenagers don't understand the nuances of politics, etc., so sometimes someone who usually got, say, an Express, would be delivered a Mail, or someone wanting a Sun would set, say, a Star, etc. Customers were welcome to bring it back if they didn't like the substitute. 99% of customers were fine and understanding and would occasionally bring it back. But once we had a completely out of control raging customer who came in and threw his Daily Mail at us, threatening to burn the shop down (literally), and telling us he'd smash our windows if we delivered the Mail ever again - he was a Guardian reader! Needless to say we called the police on him and banned him!

@notedbiscuits

I don't have the time to read a newspaper

you have the same 24 hours as everyone else - you choose not to read the paper 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Likewise you choose to post boring threads on MN

How do you get from someone being cross that an item they'd gone to a shop to buy and finding it not there to them having nothing in their life but that item?

I buy the Guardian on a Saturday. I really like reading the physical newspaper and it's really annoying if it's not in the shop or parts of the paper are missing. I wouldn't complain at a shop assistant but I might complain to them.

There's more to life than most things, honestly.

I don't think it's unreasonable to have a little grumble about it. I doubt anyone there was claiming the newspaper was their life! They just wanted an item that you'd expect to be available, and they couldn't so they moaned.

I still but newspapers at the weekend, I'd be a bit disgruntled if I couldn't get one.

Perfectly put, @ComtesseDeSpair.

Though I do agree with @Thelnebriati that it isn’t the kiosk staff’s fault, and they shouldn’t be getting flack for it.

How narrow minded of you to believe everyone should live life the way you do

If there hadn't been a milk delivery yet wouldn't you (and every other customer that morning) be whinging to the staff?

I get my free newspaper from Waitrose so I can do the crossword.
The paper is also handy in winter for lighting the fire.

I think there is more to life than buying lottery tickets. But that’s just my opinion, which is different to yours