the christmas morning post ...

Mr Robin the Postman
Is waiting at your door
With my Christmas greetings
And wishes quite a store!

The Christmas Morning Post 1934 - Printed by Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd

Well, after work today, I finally got around to stopping off at my very handy local sub Post Office, nearly didn't as it was tipping down with rain, yet again, and there wasn't a car parking space in sight, after having cursed everyone who wanted to be out at that very second and not relishing getting drenched, I decided to give up on the idea and just get straight home. Then I thought, do I really want to go back out again in the deluge later on, so with that in mind and with one quick turn of the steering wheel, I decided just to go round the block one more time in hope of finding someone pulling out from a space, bingo, a prime spot had just become available right outside the front door, finally my luck was in.

Anyway the main purpose of going was first and foremost to get a card posted off to my Grandpa, my only surviving grandparent, he is in his nineties and lives in Majorca, secondly to buy stamps for the cards which have to go through the post for friends and family, second class I hasten to add, and last but not least to check whether some of the fancy cards with embellishments I wanted to send would need the new large stamp tariff, after poking them through the gap several times, I found two of them did! Just a warning to everyone, make sure to check yours if you are not sure, as recently I sent a fancy birthday card to a friend and she later told me she had to go and pick it up from her Post Office and pay a fee of about £2.00 to be able to bring it home, luckily she is a good friend and we had a laugh about it, although at the time I was very annoyed with the postal system, it seems to me that every direction you turn nowadays there is invariably someone out to rob you?

Talk about spoilt for choice, we have two local Post Offices, the larger one is situated in the main part of the village and a much smaller sub Post Office which is just on the outskirts. Unfortunately the smaller one of the two is constantly being threatened with closure, why I don't know, as when I pass by there is always a steady stream of customers going in and coming out. I hope it doesn't, it would be a great shame and the very personal service it provides, something which is severely lacking in this day and age, would be greatly missed by me and the others who choose to use it.Please help to save your local Post Office by supporting them with your custom.

As Jane put it so well, this post has started a national debate! I must say though all of you support your local post office which is great, I would so miss the personal service which my little one provides, not that I am completely putting down the main post office, it is handy for car tax etc, although I always try and avoid it, one because quite often there is a queue snaking right outside the door and two there is a patronising figure of a man who works behind the counter, one Christmas I was in the queue and he refused a lady Christmas stamps, just because she wanted a bulk lot, I did ask myself at the time can he do this, what sort of customer service is he giving? Talking of Christmas stamps, Jane wants biggers stamps with more value for money! Joanna's life is made more difficult with this sizing business, can they make it any harder for people who need to use the parcel service for one reason or another and my dad would join you in saying, such a shame to lose the night train. Leslie, I hope they can find a counter in one of your shops, so that you still have the use of a local post office and as Catherine says they are a lifeline out in the country, my dad lives out in the sticks and his village post office closed years back and the village shop took over a counter, and now they have had to close, due to lack of custom, such a shame. How are the elderly or young people come to that, who don't have transport, supposed to get to the larger post offices, where my dad lives there is about one bus a day, and you have to walk about two miles to the bus stop, Jane would have to catch a ferry! I do love England but living here is becoming more difficult day by day.