As years advance, much in the world of newspapers goes backwards … unless, it seems, you are in a certain part of Wales.

We all know that the Western Mail has dumbed down – in order to attract some of the millions of Welsh readers of the Mirror (that’s what Western Mail and Echo always said, but I fancy they meant The Sun, because that paper has far more readers in Wales).

And our evening papers are usually printed in far-away towns, meaning that they are now “morning” rather than “evening” papers.

But on attending the Royal Welsh Show last week, I was astonished to be accosted at the exit by an old-style newspaper-seller.

At about 3pm, the paper he was selling was that evening’s. And the leading articles on both the front page and on an inside page were about that day’s happenings at the Builth Wells show – written in a sensible fashion to appeal to intelligent people, rather than idiots.

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