Arthur Haliday passed his final route sheet to a local archive. The electric float was scrapped for parts in November 2021. As of 2025, the dairy depot on Mill Street is a vegan coffee shop. The barista—who has a tattoo of a milk bottle on his forearm—has no idea why the floor is sloped toward a drain in the middle of the room.
The late 1990s and early 2000s represented the valley of death for the profession. Following the deregulation of the industry in 1997, supermarkets could purchase milk from wherever they chose, slashing prices and driving the final nails into the coffin of many local dairies. Interview With A Milkman -1996- -2021-
It must have been emotional to step away after that peak. Arthur Haliday passed his final route sheet to
And with that, I bid farewell to John, the milkman, and headed out into the world, feeling a little more grateful for the unsung heroes who make our lives a little brighter every day. The barista—who has a tattoo of a milk
The old dears loved it. The police did not. But for one morning, I was a ghost. It was 1898, not 1998. I remember looking down at my mobile pager while holding Merlin’s rein and thinking, “We don’t belong here.”
But if you have to. Buy a thermal jacket. Three pairs of socks. Learn the names of the dogs before the names of the owners. And remember: nobody remembers the price of the milk. They remember the morning you knocked because their car window was left open.