You may remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that, in days gone by, the vehicle licence disc that you are obliged to display on your windscreen, also used to carry certain personal information. Your name and address, for instance.

I’m surprised that it took so long for someone to throw his hands in the air in horror and change the system.

It was just a bit of skeet, but it came in handy if you happened to spot a vehicle that was parked in an unusual place. Wink-wink, nod-nod, know what I mean?

The subject of what is defined as public knowledge or private information crosses my mind more than a few times when I sit down to write a column.

The Examiner, sister paper of the Independent, regularly features a front page of a long-ago newspaper like the Isle of Man Times.

It opens the eyes to compare the lay-out and the editorial stye of a last generation newspaper.

But there are certain regular features in these old papers which can be classed as sadly missed or well rid of.

It’s all down to your age and sensitivities.

For example, there was a weekly list of the wills and testaments that had been left by prominent islanders and granted probate.

Then there was another list of High Court judgements. This was the Court that would sit and publicly decide if a debt was owed and legally collectable. Presumably, this had the effect of reporting to and informing the public of someone who is slow to pay their debts.

A valuable news item to all and sundry, that the person in question owed the plaintiff an unpaid debt.

The next group of winners or losers, depending on how you look at things, was the list of the recent divorces that had been through the Divorce Court.

The juicy part of this section was that if the Decree was granted on the grounds of adultery - who was the co-respondent?

There was nothing malicious or ill-feeling intended, it was just the way that things were done in those days.

And finally there was the information made public by the police to the world and his wife that the driver and passengers involved in that traffic accident on Saturday night were ’so and so’ from Peel.

But that’s life. As I see it, if it’s real, tell the story.

When I was 11, I started my first job. An after-school paper round.

Base camp was a shop on Prospect Terrace. It was 69 years ago. My territory ranged from Hawarden Avenue to Cronkbourne Village and Willaston estate.

Wages were somewhere in the range of ten shillings per week (50p), and I worked seven days a week. A boy and his bike. Rain or shine. It can only be described as slave labour.

I doubt that in today’s enlightened world that an employer would be allowed to exploit a young lad in such a way, but there you are.

It did me no harm. In fact, it taught me many lessons.

In those days there were several local newspapers. The Isle of Man Times was both a weekly, and a three days per week daily. There was the Examiner and the Mona’s Herald, the Peel Guardian and the Ramsey Courier.

During the football season, there was the Green Final with all the English football results and the local sports news.

I have always been an avid follower of the local offerings, and have seen many ups and downs.

Much more photography and colour print and unfortunately some spelling and grammatical errors. But who’s perfect?

That’s life and all things change and now, would you believe, I’m on the other side.

For as long as it may last, thank you all for your support.

Without any doubt, it’s just as hard to write the thing as it is to deliver it.