61 Years A Window Cleaner + Other News

Arthur's 61 years of window cleaning: Window cleaner Arthur Thornton has put away his chamois leather and bucket after more than 60 years in the job. The 84-year-old, who started out cleaning windows after leaving the Navy when he was 23, celebrated his retirement with family, friends and customers at a party last week at Changes Cafe in Prenton last Tuesday. He started with brother Freddie. But Freddie’s Ill-health forced Arthur to carry on by himself and for the next 48 years he went on to work across Merseyside. For the last few years he has concentrated on cleaning the windows of businesses in Woodchurch Road, Prenton. He retired last month.
On his retirement Arthur, who is originally from the Kirkdale area of Liverpool but now lives with his wife of 53 years, Rita, at their home in Tranmere, told the Globe that he would miss the job. He said: "I've very much enjoyed doing it, and I'm going to miss the people I've cleaned windows for. "Sometimes when I'm by myself I have a little cry, because I know I won’t be doing the round anymore. But life's been very good to me." He started off with a bike, then got a motorbike and side-car to carry his cleaning equipment around in. The father-of-two's nephew Paul has now taken over the round. Arthur is also a steward at Tranmere Rovers Football Club on matchdays and plans to take a holiday in Llandudno.
Jan Gill, owner of Changes cafe in Woodchurch Road, where the party was held, said: "Every Sunday morning he brightens up everybody’s day and used to clear the tables for us when we were busy. He is a lovely man and I’m going to miss him." Jilly Jones, an adminsitration clerk for nearby Clive Watkin Partners Estate Agents added: "I've worked here for four years and known him throughout that time. He will be much-missed and it must be very strange to give up work after 61 years in the same job."

A Nelson man has died after a motorcycle accident at Golden Downs, south of Wakefield. Mark William Herron, 38, died in Nelson Hospital yesterday after his life support was turned off last week. Detective Senior Sergeant Wayne McCoy said no- one would be charged in relation to the accident and Mr Herron's death had been referred to the coroner. Mr McCoy previously said Mr Herron travelled down the hill and was on the wrong side of the road when he crashed into a ute on Stock Rd on May 22. Mr Herron suffered head and internal injuries in the crash and was flown to Nelson Hospital by the Summit Rescue Helicopter. Dennis Noland, of Nelson Window Cleaning, said Mr Herron had worked in a supervisory role at the business for more than two years. Mr Noland had worked with Mr Herron for six months after his wife bought the business. Mr Herron would be missed. "He was loved by a lot of people; he got on well with everyone." Mr Herron loved his bike and was normally very careful when he rode, Mr Noland said.

Consumers take aim at debt collectors via federal lawsuits: When Vicki Higgins (pictured) saw a strange name on her business phone's caller ID in 2008, she didn't know that Patenaude & Felix law firm would become an unwelcome part of her life. The Export resident filed a federal lawsuit May 6 in the hopes of ending the relationship. Patenaude & Felix, through its local agent, Carnegie lawyer Gregg Morris, tried to collect $5,685.94 plus interest on a Target credit card Higgins never had. Early in the dispute, she called Target and talked to a representative who confirmed that the account with the same name as hers had an Ohio address and different birth date and Social Security number. That didn't stop the retailer from suing Higgins in Westmoreland County Court to collect. Higgins hired a lawyer. After he demanded Morris prove she was the account holder, Morris had the Westmoreland County court dismiss his lawsuit Sept. 2. Higgins said the series of phone calls, form letters and then Morris' lawsuit in Westmoreland County Court came at the worst time. Her late father had terminal lung cancer and was living with her, diverting time she could spend with her husband, two sons, granddaughter and her window cleaning and landscaping business.

Cheque campaign petition gets 12,000 signatures: Twelve thousand people have signed up to a petition to save the cheque book. Campaigners for the elderly are trying to gather more than 15,000 signatures to ensure a council debate on the demise of cheques. They fear many people, especially older members of the community will be unfairly discriminated against if cheques disappear as they do not use the internet and getting to the bank is difficult. They also fear the elderly are likely to keep more cash at home – leaving them vulnerable to theft. "Both young and elderly find cheques useful when sending money to grandchildren or relatives, or when paying the window cleaner, gardener or the babysitter.

Why are some people highly successful in life, while others just get by? Authors Jeff Brown and Mark Fenske say the difference between the high-achieving and the merely average is due not to IQs, life circumstances, financial resources, social connections or luck but to the workings of the brain. In "The Winner's Brain," Brown, a Harvard cognitive-behavioral psychologist, and Fenske, a neuroscientist, present evidence showing that the brains of the high-achieving operate differently from those of the average person. Brain scans measuring neutral activity show these processes at work, they say. They also write about a very focused high-rise window washer, London cabbies who have enlarged their hippocampuses by memorizing city routes and the Central Park Jogger, who pushed herself to recover lost motor skills and become a motivational speaker after she was attacked and left for dead in 1989.

Sisters fight for justice: The family’s nightmare began on October 18, 2008, when Chris, a 39-year-old father of one from Chadsmoor in Cannock, decided to go out for the evening with a couple of friends. It was just after midnight when he was crossing the bridge in Market Street, Hednesford, when 20-year-old window cleaner Ashley Lunn, of Sandpiper Close, Hednesford, crashed into him. At Lunn’s court case at Stafford the jury was told that Lunn had been beaten up by a group of young people earlier that night. Bent on revenge, he returned to find them and mounted the pavement in his Volkswagen Golf GTI. But it was innocent bystander Chris who bore the brunt of Lunn’s anger. Lunn was jailed for 14 years after being convicted of manslaughter – but that was reduced to 11 on appeal. He is likely to get out in just five-and-a-half years.

From window cleaner to one of Russia's richest men, Alfa Group founder Mikhail Fridman has always set his sights high. And now it appears his telecoms dream may come true. Of the original oligarchs who rose to prominence under Boris Yeltsin, Alfa Group founder Fridman is one of only two still in the game. He set his heart on telecommunications early on, and in April he cleared away the last obstacle to fulfilling his dream: to create a "Vodafone of the East". "Fridman always made it clear that everything in the group was for sale – but not the phone business," says a former Alfa Group executive (who didn't want to be named) talking about the group's strategy. Fridman's chubby figure and jolly demeanour is deceptive – in business he can be ruthless. And trouble has tended to follow in the wake of many of Alfa's purchases in the telecom sector.

Fish Window Cleaning Opens First Franchise in New Mexico: Robert and Sonia Chancey have opened New Mexico’s first Fish Window Cleaning® office at 3700 Osuna Rd. NE, Suite 603. The Chanceys previously opened the first Molly Maid franchise in New Mexico in 2005, and it is now the largest residential cleaning service in the state. Robert Chancey said they were opening the new business because, “We have seen the need for a window cleaning company… (and) received several requests for this service.” Chancey is a graduate of New Mexico State University where he received a B.S.B.A. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he served six years in the U.S. Navy as a sonar electronics technician. He also held sales and management positions with Radio Shack and Shell Oil Company.
In preparation for running the new business, Chancey and his operations manager, Paul Duran, completed four weeks of pre-training work and an eight-day training program at Fish Window Cleaning headquarters in St. Louis, Mo. Fish Window Cleaning has over 220 locations in the United States and is the largest window cleaning company in the world. The organization is ranked 182nd on the Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500, 19th for financial health on the AllBusiness AllStar Franchise 300, and received the Franchise Business Review’s 2010 Franchise Satisfaction Award for placing 43rd among the top 50 large system franchise organizations.

Psychologist Suzi Cresswell scores a hit with Jade Fry Private Eye book: The latest page-turner is called 'Jade Fry, Private Eye: The Summer Fete Robberies', and has just been published. It is aimed at eight to 12-year-old girls who would normally be classed as reluctant readers. They can follow the inquisitive youngster as she tries to find out who gnabbed a valuable pearl necklace, a crime that creates uproar in the village. Suspects include a window cleaner, the new stable lad, and radio DJ Eddie Hotspur.

Biking culture gets a makeover: At a Dutch Bike shop, you can forget about spandex, helmets, pedal clips or any of the other typical biking paraphernalia. The Seattle, Washington-based retailer wants to take customers - mostly baby boomers - back to the carefree days of childhood, when riding a bike was full of whimsy. "People think that this is messing with the paradigm of biking," said company founder David Schmidt, 39, a self-proclaimed nonconformist who previously owned a window-cleaning business where he regularly repelled off the side of commercial buildings like Seattle's Space Needle. "The bike culture is almost its own little group." By Schmidt's accounts, it's an unfriendly world filled with attitude and disdain. His company, which operates stores in Seattle and Chicago, is offering a non-intimidating alternative to lure the relaxed crowd. Customers are encouraged to come into the shop to just hang out, often with a complimentary glass of beer. Many are well-heeled and of a certain age, with pocketbooks fat enough to afford price tags of up to $3,000.