Snail Mail

I haven't had any time this week to sort through the photos of Mount Usher, as I got called into work on one of my day's off. Also I've been having unusual difficulty making buttonholes on a shirt for C. In the end I actually had to take one of the cuffs off the shirt and make a new one, as it got too frayed unpicking one buttonhole several times. I don't know what the problem was - each time I tried a trial one on spare fabric it was absolutely perfect. I was almost at the point of deciding that I'd do them by hand in work tomorrow, but I have no black buttonhole twist. Time to clean the machine thoroughly, and possibly get it serviced.

The photo challenge on SCS this week was Snail Mail, post offices, post boxes, so on.
I was hoping to get a photo of the GPO, but after getting some nice buttons yesterday I didn't have to go in to town today - and I DID have to try and get those darn buttonholes finished.

The old post office on James's Street.

The new (and very welcome) self service in the shopping centre. Saves a lot of time unless it's a big package.

I was also thinking of how, when I worked in Guernsey, the postman used to collect our post as well as deliver it. Any outgoing post we had, we could leave on the table in the hall, and he'd pick it up when he was delivering the incoming post. I can't remember for sure, but I feel there must have been a similar arrangement when I worked in Suffolk, because I don't remember going to a post office all that often, even on my days off, and I used to write four or five letters a week. When I worked in Brodsworth Hall, the postman used to deliver most of the shopping, too. The fish man came once a week, and meat came in bulk and went into the freezer, but everything else came via the postman. I'd ring the post office after dealing with breakfast and give Gracie, the postmistress, my order, and along it would come a couple of hours later.

I was trying to remember if the pillar boxes were always green even when the vans and PT colours were orange. But I couldn't remember!