As I write this...

[stephen500]

I write this from home, nearly half way into my final weeks annual leave.
It was 1977 when I joined the Post office, as it was back then as a young postman seconded to Post office Telephone south for two years in Croydon.
That was a great time, taking the internal mail around with a bunch of young lads and a young postwoman.
We worked Monday to Friday, had free meals and a pair of shoes with a jacket as a uniform.
Some times we would go around the telephone exchanges dropping small pouches off and once a month I would get to go to the regional headquarters in south London.
Once I got to 18, that came to an end, with the news I would have to work Saturdays now! So it was of to Croydon mail centre, but that lasted about a day, before I got a transfer to Mitcham sorting office. Two deliveries, finishing no later than 12:30 pm Mon to Fri and 10:30 am on Sat.
No households at the start, one pouch and a bike. Specials were registered and you either got 2 and half hours overtime for taking bills or took them over three days. Eventully I went driving and the vans were great, Dodge and Leyland vans, where the doors could be left open or held back with the seat belt. No seat belts were required then and you had to pull up a lever to turn the engine off, which once led to me driving down streatham road with no key in the steering lock as I had been sorting out the parcels at the back and forgot to put them back in the steering, fortunaltly I noticed before any damage was done.
Actually I became a driver, because the Post office paid for my driving lessons, well they consisted of two weeks lessons with a post office instructor and I failed first time and had to have another two weeks, which I passed.
My driving test was taken by a post office instructor and my license is stamped "London Postal region".
Next I would become a PHG in Mitcham, with a small locker handling registered letters, COD, charges, business replies. Busy but enjoyable.
Once married I would soon discover that we couldn't afford a house in London and I put in a transfer to either Chester or York.
York rejected me because of my sick record, but a conversation with my "welfare officer" (yes we had them, when the service actually cared about it's employees) got me my transfer to Chester Mail centre.
I took coding there, 2000 items in an hour, taping into a keyboard codes to send letters around the country.
From there it was back to lockers again, this time scanning items in using barcodes and guns.
In 1999 we moved to a new Mail centre in Chester.
They introduced MAA coding which I hated and the special deliverly locker was at least ten times the size of the old locker, where I would spent the next 21 years of my service. We handled about nine times the volume of the old lockers and eventully more packets and parcels than letters.
The work would get harder and certainly a lot less fun, although we still had a good laugh.
That brings me to today. Part way through my last weeks leave, having been given a very good send off by my friends in Chester Mail centre and the special delivery locker there. I will miss them, but not the work.
I retire just before my 60th birthday. Volumes fluctuate between normal, or what was normal and a deluge, perhaps caused by covid.
Long term nights is not good for my health and change is coming and I don't like change and certainly not what I am hearing from this pay round.
The union has been good and bad for all of us.
Without the UPW, I wouldn't have been forced to join a pension scheme and wouldn't be able to retire this early.
But if the CWU had pulled it's finger out, I might have got my back pay for 2020-21, still perhaps there will be no back pay and what are the strings going to be.
What changes are coming for you? I hope they are not too bad. But don't hang around for ever. Know when it is time to go.
I knew as I drove to resign, I could still change my mind, but I banged the letter on the table and that was that.
Did I make the right decision? I don't know.
As I drove away with gifts and the best wishes of my friends, I did in fact shed a few tears, a far cry from my anticipated cheers of joy I had thought about previously when driving through the barrier for the last time.
But whether I would have changed my mind, if I had the chance to do so (I don't) I don't know.
But it is the people I miss, not really the work and I don't think that is going to get better over the next few years.
1977 to mid 1980 and Jan 1981 to Dec 2021. Post Office and Royal Mail.
Good luck in your fight ahead.

[Yamr1]

Great reading all about your years in the royal mail.
Hope you all the best in your future ex postie

Stay safe

[Manboat]

Good luck for the future, take it easy

[tinkerdil]

First class Stephen.

[stephen500]

Oh nb, I missed out one thing, I spend about a year as an acting manager, but got fed up doing nothing, so went back to being a PHG.

[Peahead]

All the best for the future
You have earned your rest

[thelastsuspect]

Good luck mate I am sure you have done the right thing 100% I am hoping to go myself when I reach 60 in two years time, if not sooner!
Enjoy your retirement you deserve it.

[andyman606]

Thanks for that Stephen enjoy your retirement and consider it a job well done you have earned your retirement relax and do everything you ever wanted to.

[fly-catchers]

Same here. Most of the people I worked with were likable. Though there were quite a few who's only concerned was with their owns welfare over everyone else. Most of the people I delivered to were friendly and looked forward to seeing you. And the people out walking who you saw regularly and had brief chats with was good.
But the overloaded job with ever increasing mail and extra roads just randomly added on made the job impossible and exhausting. With no improvements in sight. Add on painful knees and feet from increasing age and distant you had to walk and retiring was really the only option available! I saw in the new look Courier a postie in his 80's still working! Remarkable or mad its hard to say!

Got some nice gifts from my regulars. Nothing from anyone in the office! But expected nothing less! Time to move on...

[rainbowwarrior72]

All the best with ur retirement give it a few years and u'll be back for Christmas. I hit my 30years next year and I know how you feel and us oldtimers will keep fighting for managable and fair change and retaining our working t&cs. I personally think after this Christmas even Start & Keith at the top will have to rethink certain things as even them will have had brought it to their attention that this Christmas has been a disaster in places and it hasn't been down to CoVid its been down to not enough staff, cost cutting, and change that hasn't worked. Tbh even the managers are admitting it too

[stephen500]

Same here. Most of the people I worked with were likable. Though there were quite a few who's only concerned was with their owns welfare over everyone else. Most of the people I delivered to were friendly and looked forward to seeing you. And the people out walking who you saw regularly and had brief chats with was good.
But the overloaded job with ever increasing mail and extra roads just randomly added on made the job impossible and exhausting. With no improvements in sight. Add on painful knees and feet from increasing age and distant you had to walk and retiring was really the only option available! I saw in the new look Courier a postie in his 80's still working! Remarkable or mad its hard to say!

Got some nice gifts from my regulars. Nothing from anyone in the office! But expected nothing less! Time to move on...

That is so sad to hear that you got nothing from colleagues in your office. I got lots of things and a lot of thought went into the gifts.
As said, sad to hear you did not.

[burtons]

Thanks for the interesting article Stephen.all the best for the future.

[fly-catchers]

Same here. Most of the people I worked with were likable. Though there were quite a few who's only concerned was with their owns welfare over everyone else. Most of the people I delivered to were friendly and looked forward to seeing you. And the people out walking who you saw regularly and had brief chats with was good.
But the overloaded job with ever increasing mail and extra roads just randomly added on made the job impossible and exhausting. With no improvements in sight. Add on painful knees and feet from increasing age and distant you had to walk and retiring was really the only option available! I saw in the new look Courier a postie in his 80's still working! Remarkable or mad its hard to say!

Got some nice gifts from my regulars. Nothing from anyone in the office! But expected nothing less! Time to move on...

That is so sad to hear that you got nothing from colleagues in your office. I got lots of things and a lot of thought went into the gifts.
As said, sad to hear you did not.

What made it worse was the DIM gave me a card from the office saying he would drop off any other contributions from the office! There was nothing in the card and surprise surprise two weeks later nothings turned up! It would have better if he had said nothing! plus he said I was owed 5 hours wages based on out standing leaves and that's not appeared either! Just a bad taste in the mouth, and a regret I didn't claim lots of sick leave over those 32 years! So absolutely no regrets leaving this sinking ship!!

[twoloops]

These are the letters I would like to see printed in the Courier, do not ever kid yourself that you are anymore than a RM pay number.