Stan busy cleaning windows

In the fourth of our series of interviews looking at Palace people and their jobs, we spoke to Lambeth-born Stan Morris, who runs the window cleaning business ShineBright…

If you passed Stan Morris on the street, chances are you’d recognise him. After all, not only has Stan been cleaning windows in the Triangle for more than 24 years (38 in total if you count his stints in Herne and Tulse Hill) he ran a football stall outside The White Swan (now Blue Bottle) for the best part of a decade. Oh yes, and he likes nothing more than “chatting to people walking by”. Here, the charismatic Stan tells the Palace magazine about three decades worth of Palace adventures…

How did you get into window cleaning?

I remember it well. I was in the Rosendale pub, which is off Rosendale Road in West Dulwich. We’re going back about 40 years. There was this big fella called Harry Reynolds. He was an important man, a well-respected man. He had a son called Johnny Reynolds, who at that particular time was window cleaning. Harry must have seen a little bit of good in me, because he had a word with Johnny and told him to take me on for a couple of days to see how I was. I ended up staying with Johnny for a few months and that’s how I got started. So I have Harry Reynolds to thank for giving me my break.

What happened then?

After that I window cleaned for quite a long time off of Rosendale Road. Then, when I was 36, I went and worked for the City of Westminster. I probably learned more in the five-and-a-half months I was with that firm than I did in my entire time as a window cleaner prior to that. After I left that firm I worked with another fella for maybe three or four months and then I started out on my own with my business ShineBright. That would have been about 24 years ago.

And you’ve been operating in the Palace all that time?

Yeah, I’ve been window cleaning in the Palace for 24 years now.

Is it just you?

No, my youngest son Daniel works with me. I’ve got three sons. The eldest is 31, the next one is 29 and the youngest is 26. David, who’s 29, window cleaned with me for about 12 years, ever since he left school, until recently when he joined the Metropolitan Police Training College at Hendon. It’s something he’s always wanted to do so I’m proud of him. Now Daniel, my youngest son, has taken over and he’s been with me for more than 18 months.

What’s a typical day for yourself and Daniel?

We start work at 7.30am, which isn’t really that early for a window cleaner. When I was working for the City of Westminster, we started work at 6.30am. But because we’re talking about small businesses, they like to see your face, to know they are getting value for money, as every penny counts. I have about 110 premises in the Triangle that I clean, everything from Budgens to Lorenzo’s to Wetherspoon, which I start cleaning for the first time tomorrow. I also do the library. Each of these premises gets cleaned once a week, and then my boy and I usually call it a day about 2.30pm. The beauty of it is that we don’t have any travel expenses. I’ve always believed that there’s gold in your own back garden, and so it’s proved with this job.

Is it a dangerous profession?

No, not really. At least it isn’t these days. There are lots of rules and regulations in place. Certain heights you can’t go over, that sort of thing.

What does ShineBright offer that other window cleaning businesses don’t?

I will say this about myself, I’ve never lost a job due to bad workmanship. ShineBright is all about hard graft and a friendly face.

I pride myself on the fact that if people pay for 52 cleans a year, they get 52 cleans a year. If I can only do 51 cleans, due to things like snow, then I amend the bill.

That’s what we’re all about: working hard and being honest. I know one thing, the world will pass you by unless you get stuck into it. Everybody likes to be liked and respected and by working hard and being a half decent person you can achieve that. If you just stand in a corner and say nothing then what you’ll get back is nothing. But if you give then you’ll get it all back. That’s my motto.

What do you like most about your job?

The people. People are nice around the Palace. I used to have a stall outside the Blue Bottle for eight years. I sold football scarves and flags and I loved chatting to people walking by. I find it easy to like people I really do. I’m not snobbish, as long as a person is honest I’ve got all day for them.

What happened to the stall?

I packed the stall up in 2002 but while I did it I thoroughly enjoyed it. It helped me get out of debt for the first time.

How long have you lived in the area?

I was born in Lambeth and I’ve been in my current flat in Crystal Palace since 1984. My wife and I moved here from Compton Court, off Gipsy Hill. What I liked about this area is that it seems healthy. When I was running the stall I used to get up very early. I swear, if you stand outside the Blue Bottle on any given morning, especially summer time when it’s a nice sunny day, you can feel the sea breeze from Brighton. I definitely think Crystal Palace is one of the healthiest places to live in London. The air just seems a lot better.

It’s ever such a friendly place as well. A lot of people know my face now and will stop to say hello or nod at me when they walk by.

As someone who’s lived in the area for more than two decades, how has Crystal Palace changed over the years?

It’s got a bit posher, a bit more upmarket. The pubs and eating-houses are getting things like air conditioning these days. Church Road especially has really improved in the last three years. It was almost like a ghost town a few years back, but now it’s two thirds full with premises and that’s got to be good for the area.

One final question, as someone who knows and loves the area, what would you like to see happen to Crystal Palace park?

I’ve always thought that it’s not used as much as it ought to be. The stadium, for example, has been rundown for years and that’s a real shame. I hope with the tube coming to the area in 2010 we’ll start pouring more money into the park. Things certainly bode well. We’ve got 19 estate agents in the area at the moment all of who m are making a living. I think things are really looking up the area. It’s going to be a very prosperous place to live and work.

If you’d like to hire ShineBright to clean your windows or just shoot the breeze with a really nice guy, call Stan on 020 8771 9301.

First published in the Palace Mag May 07