From Southville to Pennard Hill Cottage.....The Mail Man Cometh!

I have been harking back recently to days gone by and finding more old pics as well as chatting about old laners with family and friends. I got to thinking about some of the lovely people we have been lucky enough to have delivering our mail. For many years it was the realm of the little dynamo Lillian (Dobby) who knew everyone by their first name and often had a cuppa with us as well as attending our gatherings. Lillian was moved by the powers that be despite a petition to keep her. After a few fillers in she was followed by the lovely Tony who fed tidbits from his sandwiches to the dogs and could often be seen doing his round like the pied piper of dogs. He was a sweet and generous soul who when misfortune came upon people on the lane would donate bits and bobs to help them out. Tony retired and again we had some fillers in whose name I do not recall (feel free to comment with anyone you remember). For the last eight years we have been blessed with the human smile machine that is the wonderful,friendly and ever helpful GRIFF!! 

This morning we got chatting and he told me he had never seen anything like The Lane before he came here and wondered what the hell he'd signed up for. He now loves his round on The Lane and delights in the characters and changes that he sees on an everyday basis. He always has a smile and little Tink adores him. Blue however took great pains to bark at him through the window and Griff would often laugh at him through the glass much to Blue's chagrin! Whatever the weather Griff manages to get the post to us, even in the worst of the snow it was only a couple of days before he was trudging through the snow and slush to give us our letters and parcels. Whenever he is on holiday other people stand in for him and can often been seen wandering aimlessly with a forlorn look carrying a large stack of post as yet undelivered.....we try to help with directions and advice but plainly some of them just give up and we eventually get a catch up post when Griff thankfully returns. I have in the past asked him to put in holiday requests with us in writing so we can prepare for the inevitable disruption...he roared laughing and said he'd just cancelled a holiday that was booked for the following week because there was no-one able to cover the dreaded Sandy Lane round. He tells me he wouldn't want to change his round now and I for one hope he doesn't. Thank you Griff for the waves, the smiles, the chat and of course THE POST!!