‘Old school’ Selsey postman Steve Millett is calling time on 42-years of service as he looks to retire this September.
Better known as ‘Budgie’, Steve started working as a postie in Haselmere in 1983, but transferred to Chichester and, later, Selsey in 1987, where he’s worked ever since.
It’s no easy job; 4.30am starts, 25,000 steps a day, and all the fun of England’s typically unpredictable weather, but he says the thing that’s kept him going – and one of the things that’s been hardest to say goodbye to – has been the people on his route.
"It’s the customers that make it for you. When I first joined, I worked with this old boy called Tom, who was the spitting image of Postman Pat, and he was my training officer. He told me ‘budg, you’re here to serve’ and it stuck with me. It’s the way you’re trained, I think.
"It’s knowing that Mrs Jones likes her post put round the back because she can’t get to the front door, or where certain people like you to put their parcels, and that’s just how I’ve always done it.”
News of Budgie’s retirement spread fast, and locals have been quick to point out the difference Steve has made in their lives over the years. One post, on the Selsey Grapevine Facebook page, garnered hundreds of responses
"There were all these genuine comments of appreciation; it really took me back. I didn’t realise how many people appreciated what I did. It’s more than a job. It’s more than putting bits of paper through people’s letterboxes."
Budgie will officially retire on the week commencing September 1 and, as his time with Royal Mail comes to an end, he’s looking forward to taking his dog on long walks, tending to the garden and spending time with his loved ones.
"I’m going to give my feet a good rest,” he said. “But I love my gardening and it’ll be nice to potter around with it, and not have to do it quickly. I want to take up photography again; I like taking landscape photos and that sort of thing. I’m not someone that gets bored easily and I love the outdoors, so there’s always something to do.”
