A village postmaster travelled 550 miles to personally deliver a letter in time for the next day, because he had forgotten to put it in the last post.
The letter contained the passport of a friend of the sender, who had paid for a guaranteed next-day delivery so that it would be in his hands by 9am.
But David Shepherd had neglected to process the envelope and only realised at the close of the working day that it had not been picked up in time to be delivered as promised.
So he shut up shop and undertook what would be a long and complex overnight journey from Cornwall to East Sussex, involving a car journey and four separate rail and tube journeys, so that he could fulfil the Royal Mail’s guarantee.
July 16th, 2017 in
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A shocked sports journalist got home to find a parcel which was posted through his window had landed in his toilet.
Sam Cooke, 22, from Manchester, arrived at his house to find two cards on his doormat.
One said the parcel had been put through an open window. The second read: “I’m really sorry I think your parcel might have fallen down the toilet…Accidently (sic)”.
Thankfully, the box, containing printer ink, was “too wide to hit the water”.
Pictures of the apologetic postie’s cards and box in the loo have been shared thousands of times on Twitter since Mr Cooke posted them on Twitter.
Royal Mail has apologised but Mr Cooke didn’t kick up a stink.
He said: “There’s honestly nothing to apologise for, the parcel is absolutely fine, gave me and thousands of others a good laugh.”
Though he has said he will keep the window closed in future.
April 3rd, 2017 in
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The prices of first and second class stamps are to rise by 1p from 27 March, Royal Mail has announced.
It will take the price of a first class stamp to 65p, and second class to 56p.
Royal Mail said the price rises were necessary to maintain the universal service – the principle that it delivers letters across the whole of the UK for the same price.
A stamp for large first class letter will rise by 2p to 98p. A large second class letter will go up by 1p to 76p.
The increases are in line with the rise in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which rose by 1.8% in the year to January.
February 25th, 2017 in
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Southampton football fans have celebrated their team reaching the EFL Cup final by painting the city’s post boxes in the club’s famous stripes.
Two red post boxes have been given white stripes to match the Saints’ colours since Wednesday’s semi-final win over Liverpool at Anfield.
The makeovers have been met with support by local business owners and residents who called it a “fun” change.
But Royal Mail said it planned to remove the stripes as soon as possible.
January 28th, 2017 in
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- A new set of six Special Stamps marks the timeless characters and absorbing mysteries of ‘The Queen of Crime’, Agatha Christie
- In a twist befitting the genre itself, the stamps feature hidden elements, relating to key scenes and principal characters. Amateur sleuths can find them using UV light, body heat and good old fashioned detective work – preferably with a magnifying glass. While not the first time Royal Mail has used these design features on its stamps, it is the first time all three have been combined in a single stamp set
- Royal Mail has also created a 3D animated version of the artwork on The Mysterious Affair at Styles stamp
- 2016 marks the centenary of Agatha Christie writing her first detective story – The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in which she introduced the much loved character of Hercule Poirot to the world
- The stamps represent some of her greatest novels. Included in the set are: Murder on the Orient Express, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and A Murder is Announced
- Christie is the biggest selling novelist of all time
- The stamps were designed by hat-trick design company co-founder, Jim Sutherland
- Royal Mail will provide a special handstamp on all mail posted in a postbox in Agatha Christie’s town of birth, Torquay. Mail posted in the box, sited at the junction of Torwood Gardens Road and Babbacombe Road (A379), will have a special handstamp applied for five days from 15-19 September, 2016
September 16th, 2016 in
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A friendly postman whose habit of stopping to chat with everyone on his round got him the sack has won a last minute reprieve.
Richard Kemp was due to be replaced after 25 years after the Royal Mail took exception to his refusal to speed up deliveries.
Speaking after the decision was announced, Mr Kemp said after hearing of the decision: “My heart has been ripped out.”
However, loyal residents in the village of Kentisbeare, Devon, launched a last-ditch campaign to save the 48-year-old.
and started A Facebook petition started as news of his impending departure spread was signed by more than half the village’s 950 residents.
It prompted an unusual climb-down from Royal Mail, with a spokesman conceding: “Mr Kemp is staying on his original round in Kentisbeare.”
July 5th, 2016 in
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A couple have been told to restrain their cat or risk the Royal Mail suspending deliveries to their house.
Matthew Sampson and Laura Lowe received a letter from Royal Mail warning of a “potential hazard affecting mail deliveries” at their home in Patchway, near Bristol.
The letter says the postal service has been “experiencing difficulties in delivering mail” to the address “becuase of the actions of a cat”.
It goes on to say the couple’s postman reported that when he posts their mail, their cat “snatches the mail and puts his fingers at risk of injury”.
May 3rd, 2016 in
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The price of a first class stamp will go up by 1p to 64p and second class by 1p to 55p from March 29.
For the second year running Royal Mail have limited their annual price increase for 1st & 2nd stamps to 1p, the same increase applies to large letter 100g & 250g, though for larger items the price increase is more substantial.The price for small parcels goes up by 5p and for medium parcels up to 6p in each category. The prices for sending a letter to Europe has been hit hard again, rising by 5p to £1.05.
Stamp prices have increased substantially over recent years, particularly the period leading up to the Governments sale of shares in the now privatised Royal Mail. The graph below shows how the cost of a 1st class stamp has increased despite this being in a period of low inflation.
Royal Mail said ’stamp prices were among the best value in Europe.
The price of a first class stamp in the UK remains well below the European average of 78p, and below the 64p figure for second class letter.’
February 21st, 2016 in
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Royal Mail reaches it’s 500th birthday
The postal service was created in 1516 when Henry VIII knighted the first Master of the Posts, Sir Brian Tuke, although originally only accessible to the king and the royal court, Charles I opened the postal service to the public in 1635, later becoming a public service with the passage of the Post Office Act in 1660.
The postal service underwent significant reforms in the 1800s, many of which were introduced by Rowland Hill who introduced the first true stamp, the Penny Black, in 1840.
In the 20th Century Royal Mail announced important changes, setting up the postcode system in 1959 and introducing mechanisation of post sorting.In recent years the Royal Mail has been sold into private hands and no doubt we will see more major changes.
February 16th, 2016 in
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A man claims he has been sending letters for free for years using DIY stamps featuring his own face
Angus McDonagh, 64, says he has duped Royal Mail with over a hundred of his designs on letters posted all over the world.
Many feature his own face in the Queen’s traditional side profile complete with a comic eye patch or weird hat.
At Christmas he has created some of himself with a white Santa beard while others have used family photos.
Mr McDonagh, an architect who calls himself an ‘anarchist philatelist’, began his personal freepost system three years ago in protest at bland stamp design.
A spokeswoman said: “We would like to make it clear that it is a crime to create or use counterfeit stamps.
January 9th, 2016 in
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