Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Monday* Mail Out: Rain Mail...


Q: 25.6.12



I regret to advise that the purpose of this correspondence is to inform you that we will no longer be requiring your services. On two occasions last week when I went to collect the mail in the evening I was mortified to discover that every piece was wet. I appreciate that on those particular days it had rained quite a bit, but part of your responsibilities as a letterbox is to protect the mail from the extremities of the weather, and in this area I'm afraid that you have failed.

Therefore, as soon as I decide on what to replace you with you will no longer harbour the responsibility of holding my mail. I appreciate that it has been a solid 30-year stint on your part, and since I'm not an entirely cruel master, I have decided to retire you to the garden. 

Yours,
~S. 


*Yes, I realise it is Tuesday. This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but unfortunately I was engaged in mortal combat with an unrelenting headache and it just didn't happen. So let's just pretend it's Monday, okay?


Written correspondence has been a hobby of mine for a long time, & Monday Mail Out is a weekly feature whereby I can share my love for the lost art of letter writing. I hope my experiences will encourage others to send out letters on Monday too, and have them rediscover the joy of sending and receiving mail. If you have a blog, feel free to join in.

8 comments:

  1. Our landlords replaced our dilapidated letter box (which we had actually fixed so it functioned) with the worlds crappest letter box. It's tiny and the mail sticks out of it - it doesn't fit magazines and the wind catches the mail and sends it down the street. What's more it all gets wet so I know where you are at. Just makes winter even more dismal. Unfortunately I don't think the landlords would appreciate us taking it out and replacing it with the one they got rid of. Wish I could write it a letter threatening action.

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    1. Children can fit their hands into ours. We've had mail disappear as a result of their curiousity in the past. :/ Also, sometimes the postie cannot be bothered to push the mail all the way in, so on breezey days we've come home to find our mail scattered down the footpath. I want a letterbox where the slot is too small for prying hands yet not too small for large letters. It's a conundrum!
      ~S.

      Delete
  2. Oh Sorcha, your mail! I hope your head is feeling better today. Our letter box leaks terribly too, but we are not allowed to change it. It's too small. It wouldn't be so bad, except Mr A does like to get large magazines delivered, and they tend to funnel the water straight in the slot. Infuriating!

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    1. I was reading "Is your letterbox postie friendly?" on the Australia Post website recently, since they have all these specifications when installing a letterbox, the purpose of which seems to be to ensure that the postie does not have to get off their bike to deliver the mail. True story. Ruins my idea of having a slot in the front door so the mail would fall onto the hallway floor. Oh well.
      Anyways, one of the recommendations made by Australia Post is to ensure your letterbox is able to fit magazines, so it would appear yours may be non-compliant... ;)
      Today I am thinking it might just be easier to rip out the letterbox and not replace it, just get a PO Box instead, but then I'd have to go to the post office everyday to get the mail, and I don't think I want to have to do that. I get home late enough as it is. Besides which, I'm terribly lazy.
      ~S.

      Delete
  3. We don't have a mailbox in the same way you do - we have a letter box in the front door and the post gets pushed through that. I keep going home each day and wishing that there would be interesting post there - it just seems to keep being junk or information for fostering or for other bits and pieces.

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    Replies
    1. This is what I want! But as the front door is too far from the footpath the postie would have to get of his bike and access the yard to deliver the mail, which Australia Post would not allow. :(
      ~S.

      Delete
  4. Oh, isn't it frustrating when the letters get wet?! We have a new letterbox (only this week!) and I'm hoping it means the postie can push the letters in far enough to avoid the rain! Hoping... Have to say our postie isn't always great..sigh!

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    1. Our postie is also the Mayor. He has conflicting responsibilities. Sometimes he doesn't deliver the mail at all. Perhaps all that Mayoral stuff is a little overwhelming? If I could be bothered getting up at 4am every morning I'd help him sort it. But as it turns out I cannot be bothered, so...c'est la vie! ;)
      ~S.

      Delete

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