Royal Mail

It has just been announced that the Royal Mail lost £100 million last year on its letters business alone.  This comes as no surprise to me at all. Not only is the price of sending a letter ridiculously high - but now you not only pay by weight, but also for the size and shape of your letter or card as well, making things incredibly complicated. So many people now find that birthday cards don't arrive, or if they do the recipient has to pay a huge surcharge, simply because the sender has put an ordinary first class stamp on the card, when the envelope doesn't quite fit the Royal Mail's measurements and so should have had a large first class stamp on it instead.  Madness and greed! 

I have known a number of friends who have been extremely upset when they have received nothing on Mother's Day. Not because their children forgot, but because the Royal Mail decided that they wouldn't deliver the card because it had the wrong type of first class stamp on it.  One friend of mine waited three months for her Mother's Day card to finally be delivered, and then had to pay a £1-26 surcharge for the privilige!  When there is so much competition from email and other services, the Royal Mail should have competitive pricing to retain customers.... and surely losing £100 million in one year should show them that they're doing something wrong.

  To cap it all, today I was asked to leave the Post Office.  Why?  I had my little West Highland Terrier with me.
  "Sorry, we don't allow dogs in here," said a counter assistant.
I pointed out that I had been going into Post Offices every week with a dog for years.
  "Last week a dog had a little accident in here, so we have to be strict," she said.
  "So, if a child has a 'little accident' are you going to ban all children as well?" I said.
  "I've just told a man with a dog to leave, so we can't have one rule for one and one for another..." she chuntered.
  I hastily pointed out that the only reason I had a dog with me is because the Royal Mail has closed down all our small local branches, and the only Post Office available to me is in the centre of town - and so I combine it with dog walking.  We used to have a very friendly branch at Marine Parade in Eastbourne, where not only were dogs welcome, but they gave out dog biscuits to everyone who had a dog with them.  But today our main branch has pulled the Welcome mat from under my feet.
  "No wonder the Royal Mail is losing so much money!" I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, as I stormed out.
 
   I shall not be returning until I have something urgent to post. And then you can be certain that I shall have the dog with me.  Well, I've become so forgetful in my old age.... I didn't know that dogs aren't allowed in the Post Office.....


http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/Core-Letters-Business-Loses-skynews-307619961.html?x=0

Duke of Edinburgh's 90th Birthday

Happy 90th birthday to Prince Philip, who celebrated this milestone yesterday. I see that the Queen gave him a new title as a birthday gift. I suppose it's difficult to know what to give him at that age, and at least it was easy for her to wrap!