The New Job

Those of you who are regular readers will know that October 2017 I was made redundant from a job I had grown to love and had been in for 10 years. There followed 6 months of unemployment, hundreds of job applications filled in and numerous interviews attended, before gaining a position within the NHS. The job itself was fine, varied and not too taxing, but the atmosphere and staff within the unit was toxic so it wasn’t long before I was casting my eye over the ‘situations vacant’ websites!

After three attempts I managed to get a job as a Postie! Not everyone’s cup of tea, early mornings, out in all weather etc but for me it is perfect and to cliche it completely I am living the dream, helped of course by some amazing weather lately, I might fill differently when it is pouring with rain!

Six weeks in and I am beginning to get to grips with it all, I have rural routes, drive about 45 miles a day and walk between 6 and 9 miles a day, lots of farms, farm tracks and narrow Devon lanes. It’s a new job so obviously it has not been without its challenges and disasters……

• I lent on a gate to reach a postbox and promptly broke a rib, now I open the gate!
• The van key literally came apart in my hands, leaving me with just the metal part, did a running repair with two elastic bands
• One red post box would not open for me to collect the post, fortunately having given my best Damsel in distress performance a local resident and a can of WD40 rescued me
• I have been nibbled by two dogs and terrorised by one
• I had the pleasure of delivering a letter from HRH Queen Elizabeth
• On greeting some calves outside a barn with the words ‘good morning beautifuls‘ a reply came from inside the barn ‘Good Morning‘ I’m assuming it wasn’t one of the four legged creatures but didn’t hang around to find out!

Daily I talk to cows, sheep, dogs, cats, pheasants, squirrels and once a fox’s tail as it disappeared under a gate.

I deliver post in to various receptacles, wooden boxes, metal boxes, plastic storage containers, ammunition boxes, up ended milk churns and occasionally normal letter boxes in doors, but even these vary. Some boxes are like vices seizing your fingers, others are so small everything has to be folded to get anything through them, some come apart in your hands (!), yes the struggle is real!

Here are some pics taken while out on my rounds, next blog post will be about running!