I buy the local newspaper every week and am quite enjoying it. It’s been around since 1854 (beating out the Milton Champion by six years). There are the obvious sections: local & regional News, COVID, Sports, and Entertainment; the last is referred to as Gaan Oot(‘going out’). There are the sections more typical of island, rural, and farming communities: bird watching, The Marine Scene, Young Farmers, and the Cattle & Sheep Market with every animal sold listed along with its price. The classifieds are extensive compared to at home and include small business notices, personal notices, births & deaths, and (and this is very cool) if you are not a business and have something to sell (under a certain price point – I think ) then you can post it here for free. Oh, and NO FLYERS!
But my favourite segment has to be this week’s Christmas wishes. There are three full pages of people wishing friends & neighbours a very Merry Christmas – there must be 200+ notices from individuals, couples, & families. What a lovely thing to do.