My mother and her relatives were prolific letter-writers. So was my father, although his letters were either to my mother, when he was working away, or correspondence with fellow naval historians as he did his many decades of research.
I still have bundles of their old letters and postcards. Every now and again I open the box and have a little read, enjoying the sight of their familiar handwriting.
Almost every day the postman would push a pile of letters dropped through their letterbox, not the boring circulars which I receive, but personal letters. I began thinking about postboxes around here and what a challenge it must be for temporary postmen when our lovely regular one has a holiday.
Here is a small selection of post and parcel boxes found on a rural postal round in Lincolnshire.
Some are positioned on fences, to save the postman a long drive down to the house,
A black painted mail box, barely visible through the ivy and attached to a tree trunk.
The post is collected once a day, six days a week, from the red Royal Mail post boxes, though that may soon change.
This beautiful house was formerly a railway station. Built into the actual wall of the house, between two windows, is a bright red post Royal Mail postbox where mail can be posted, while mail deliveries are through a typical letterbox in the front door.
An elderly woman lives there, I didn't take a photograph of the front of the house with the box as I didn't want to worry her. That box also gets emptied once a day, though I doubt there is anything in it most times as there are only nine houses in this hamlet and two of those are holiday lets.
My post today: two circulars. One personal email and a whats app msg.
The letter boxes in your villages are more interesting than round here!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the postman has already gone down to 3 days a week deliveries - mainly junk too.
I found out how varied they are when |I volunteered to deliver village information sheets, a while ago. My least favourite are the traditional slit ones, they tend to fight back!
DeleteWe have a mailbox at the bottom of our hill. It's always empty except for insurance papers for the car and a monthly navy magazine. Any Xmas cards arrive in February. I've stopped sending them. I used to write long letters home, to friends and family. Then email came along. Most people use the PO here to pay bills or send parcels.
ReplyDeleteYour mail boxes are an interesting look into the past lol
Boring junk mail and bills usually make their way into our box, Linda! Nothing nearly as personal as a handwritten letter - my fault - because I don't write any either. Plenty of emails and texts, frequent and fast communication, not nearly as exciting as when the post used to be delivered when i was younger.
DeleteLetter boxes on walls, gates etc. seem to be more common around here than they were in the past. I imagine the postmen quite like them because they invariably mean they don't have to trek to the frontdoor. I don't have one myself but most the neighbouring properties around here do. As for letter writing, like Linda says, the email came along and my letter writing stopped. I don't get letters now, just junk mostly. I can see the postal deliveries dying out altogether one day and I don't think I would miss them to be honest.
ReplyDeleteFar too much junk mail these days. The way the Post Office keep increasing the price of stamps, and talks of reducing deliveries, there is no incentive to use snail mail when there are much more speedy modern ways of communication. A shame, in some ways, no bundles of letters for future historians to peruse and to ponder over! I do know that my handwriting has suffered from lack of use - my typing speeds have greatly improved though! Have a good weekend.
DeleteWe have letter boxes at the road and the postman reaches out of the mail truck to fill the box.
ReplyDeleteOur town postmen tend to walk their rounds, sometimes using a little cart, in the country they drive around but have to get in and out of their little vans. they like wearing shorts and show off their well toned legs!
DeleteHow the world is changing! Some of the mailboxes are almost works of art. Thanks for the presentation!
ReplyDeleteIf I remember to take my camera, Katerina, I will photograph one or two which are quite unusual. Have a good weekend.
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