The First and Probably Last Time
Posted: Wednesday, 19 March 2008 |
1 comment |
Today I needed to go to the post office. No big deal... right? Well it becomes more difficult when, you dont drive, you need to be back at a reasonable time for a telephone appointment and you have a young child in tow. The nearest PO is just 1/2 a mile away, the next one nearly 4 miles away. Fortunately I got the closer of the two and all was well.
I was met with a barrage of cars, lots of people and of course the lovely lady who runs our PO. There was filming going for for a Gaelic 成人快手 programme about the PO, so after waiting a few minutes while they filmed, I was invited into the building. Yet as I did so, I was greeted by the sorry sad state of the building, or the bare shelves and nearly empty fridge, but by the thought of so many years of people saying hello. where children ran about and of course where the Highland "wifies" caught up on all of the juicy ( sorry meant community) gossip. I guess I felt what can be best described as the spirit of the community ghost!
I bought a pint of milk....which I really needed, and the paper and dealt with my letter, while they were filming what was happening, and yes when the camera was pointed at me, I did blush and smile...!!
Now Imagine if that closest PO was no longer there? It is stark reality that we are losing our local PO as it is one of them earmarked for closure in April. A sad reality that soon a PO open for nearly 30 years will close its door for a final time so very soon.
Profit before service, yet another sign of things to come. We can blame it on many things, the internet being the obvious one. It is another sign of what fels like another highland clearnce, brought on by the drive of a consumerist, profit driven society,... yet again. Young families are moving into the area, so thankfully our school will stay open.... but for how long, we are talking here another 15 years here and that school roll will drop and they will build a more central primary school.
So since moving here it is the first and sadly probably the last time I will say hello in the local PO. Now I have an 8 mile journey ahead of me if I need the service. Happy Days!!!
Then again life goes in circles doesnt it and what comes around goes around.
Posted on Over the Sea to (Sunny) Skye at 11:19
Comments
What a shame about the post office. I miss letters. I wonder what we're going to do for biographies of the great and the good in the future, when there's no tangible archive of their lives. People don't keep emails the same way the would keep their letters. And what a thrill it still it still is, picking up a handwritten envelope from a friend from behind the front door of a morning! Island Bloggers unite.... pick a pen friend from amang us, and Get Writing! Use them thar post offices! (Mind you, the amount of time spent on the puter these days, my handwriting is not fit to be seen anymore...)
Hope Later from not there yet
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