Postman

Every year, at Christmas time in Britain, before this tradition was replaced by the posting of messages on social media, the amount of letters being sent by post multiplied many times due to the sending of Christmas cards. In order to cope with this huge increase in demand, the British Post Office hired temporary workers for the two weeks before the 25th of December*.

This kind of work was perfect for me. It could be done during the school or university holidays and would provide funds for this time of year, when the number of parties and celebrations meant an increase in expense. The nearest post office to the village where I lived was Timsbury, about three miles away from Farmborough. As people expected to receive the post in the morning, I had to wake up at about 6am and cycle to the next village. My postbag was usually waiting for me, having been packed by the local postmaster, who must have started work at goodness knows what time! The letters and parcels had all been sorted in packs, held together by an elastic band. Within the packs, the letters were usually in the order in which the houses in the road or street would appear as one walked up the road, and the packs would be selected according to the route indicated by the postmaster. Therefore, the job in itself was straightforward enough. It just involved walking to a particular street, locating the pack of letters and matching the house number on the letters the buildings around me. The only drawbacks were the fact that it was mid-winter, and so often freezing cold, and having to drag myself out of bed at a time when it was still dark outside. However, by about 11am, all the letters would have been delivered, and after a brief stop at the Post Office to return my now empty bag, it was time to cycle home again. I did this job for two or three years consecutively in my mid-teens.

* With the growing influence of e-mail and e-cards, this tradition is slowly but surely dying.