Penny pinching ideas from the ‘auld git’: Derrick Healy and his money-making schemes  

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Hello, my lovely would-be penny pinchers.

I was recently talking to my dad about his life. We were discussing the 1930s, a time of poverty.

Families were large and everyone was expected to contribute to the family pot.

The 1926 general strike had left its mark on the country. The 1929 American stock market  crash and political unrest in Europe affected families financially.

Dad started to tell me about Derrick Healy and his money-making schemes. Dad was about 10 years old when Derrick let him in on his newspaper sales.

They used to ride dad’s bike, actually aunty Eva’s bike, piled up with newspapers to sell to the workers. Their destination was the the Stanley Tool factory gates. Buses brought the workers to the factory at the start of their shifts. As the workers filed through the factory gates Derrick and dad sold their papers.

The “foire de gras”, as Del Boy would say, was that they did not have any change. No ha’pennies or farthings resulting in most workers telling the boys to keep the change.

“This time next year bruvver, we’ll be millionaires.“ In reality, the lads would earn up to £4 a week each extra for the family pot. 

– Susan Denton

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