Wanted: staff for the ‘mystery’ supermarket

11:21am Friday 16th May 2008

MORRISON'S are being extraordinarily coy about their plans to reopen the former Safeway supermarket in the High Street, a store they acquired and then closed.

Our staff in Northallerton were told of Morrison's intention of opening the store's doors again almost three weeks ago. Inquiries made to Morrison's head office in Bradford resulted in a flat denial of any such intention.

Then last week the firm placed a recruitment advertisement in this newspaper offering jobs"at our brand new Northallerton store".

When our staff quizzed Morrison's again, the company did admit that it was opening a new store in the town but refused to confirm that it was re-opening the old High Street Safeway. Now that is a puzzle, because unless Morrison's has somehow managed to build a supermarket in Northallerton without our, or anybody else's, knowledge, we can't think where the staff they have recruited are going to work.

Much missed

THE Darlington & Stockton Times offices in Darlington and Northallerton have been rather sombre places this week following the death of our colleague, Brian Redhead. A tribute appears elsewhere in the newspaper but his passing leaves a big gap in our ranks.

Everybody who came across Brian, knew he was a character. At times he could be difficult, but more often than not he was cheery and helpful. In his work he was always professional, setting a wonderful example for his younger and less experienced colleagues.

He was that rare thing these days, a journalist who was content to chronicle the life and times of the town where he was brought up. If the bright lights tempted him, they never overcame his love of Bedale, North Yorkshire and the Darlington & Stockton Times, the newspaper where he began his career as a cub reporter 44 years ago.

It was somehow strangely fitting that the moment Brian passed away last Thursday afternoon, the last copies of last week's edition D&S were just coming off our press. We will miss him greatly.