Last updated 11:06, Saturday, 12 July 2008

After 50 years with butchers Cranstons, ‘van man’ Colin Johnstone has hung up his apron.

Colin Johnstone

Colin spent more than 40 years touring the lanes and roads around the Eden Valley.

But he wasn’t just a butcher and salesman – he was odd job man, roadside rescuer and a confessor.

He has helped rescue an elderly man from his bath, discovered a dead body and listened to family secrets.

“You had to be of a very discreet nature to do the job, people would tell you all their secrets,” he explained.

“All kinds of personal stuff, some of it they would not even tell their husbands!

“I would usually forget what they had said by the time I reached the next village.”

Colin starting working at Cranstons in Kirkoswald straight from school at the age of 15 when the staff numbered only four.

When he was 17 he went out two days a week with the van driver, knocking on doors and getting customers out for him to serve.

He would help slaughter and butcher the animals at Cranstons’ Kirkoswald base on a Monday, then spend the week driving round villages such as Armathwaite, Lazonby, Great Salkeld and Low Hesket.

“At the start of the week, people would buy sausages, mince, stewing steak, all the cheaper cuts,” he said. “But on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, most people would buy a roasting joint. We would sell frozen chickens, but out of 120 customers on a Friday, only six or so would buy one.”

Over the years, Colin has seen tastes and cooking habits change.

He said: “At one time it was meat and two veg, then as more people went abroad for holidays, they would make more exotic meals. I think meat has improved in quality over the years.”

The rise of the supermarkets and the increasing number of women going out to work spelled the end for the mobile shop and Colin handed in his keys five years ago after 40 years on the road. “In the early days, housewives stayed at home to care for the children and there was always someone home,” he said.

“As time progressed, women went out to work, so there were not as many people to serve, the business moved on and I moved from the vans into the main business at Penrith.

“It was a bit of an adjustment to work inside, but I can’t complain,I haven’t spent years driving around Slough or London!

“The sad thing is that it is the old people who miss the mobile shop the most.

“They miss someone knocking on their door, asking how they are and helping them offload any problems they have.”

Now he’s looking forward to a celebration meal from the company next week and added: “I have plenty to do – I enjoy walking in the hills, golf, fly fishing, I have a sister in London to visit and a nice girlfriend who likes travelling.”