By post I don’t mean electronic mail, I mean snail mail. The way we used to communicate with each other, by writing letters. Though most of what I get in the post these days is bills… And even a lot of those are now paperless!
How Is Your Post Delivered?
What is Snail Mail?
The phrase ‘snail mail’ or ‘smail’ is sometimes used to describe mail that is slow to be delivered. It’s earliest appearance as a phrase was around 1942. It refers to mail that has a considerable lag time between when the post is written and when it is delivered. Hence the comparison to a snail and slowness. This type of mail is also called paper mail, postal mail, land mail, post or mail. This compares to electronic mail or ’email’ that is almost instantaneous.
According to Wikipedia, second-class mail used to be called snail mail because it was slow compared to first-class.
The phrase ‘surface mail’ was also used in contrast to ‘air mail’. Do you remember sending letters by airmail? We used to use really thin paper that would fold into an envelope so that the cost was kept to a minimum. I would write in really small writing to get as much in the letter as possible! By definition it is sent by air for part of its journey.
Delivering mail
Post Offices are in charge of receiving, sorting and delivering postal mail. Each office, sometimes called a sorting office in the UK, is responsible for a specific geographic area.
My Dad used to work in Brighton Sorting Office. For many years he was a postman, delivering mail on foot in the Hove area. That included what became my school, Brighton and Hove High School. where he would take pause and have a cup of tea with the French teacher every morning.
My Dad tells tales of how the mail was bundled up and then went on trains to be delivered to different parts of the country. In Brighton the sacks of mail would be collected from the mail train and then he and his colleagues would stand and manually sort the mail ready for delivery. In the early days this was all done by hand, but gradually aspects of sorting have become more automated. The postal code and then bar codes have revolutionized mail sorting.
However, at the end of the day, unless you go and collect your mail, it still comes down to a post person to actually deliver the post to your door.
Let’s look at how post is delivered in three countries.
Post Delivery in the UK
In the UK, delivering mail involves the post person walking the streets with a bag of mail over their shoulders or on several bags in trolleys. Obviously, as I would imagine in most other countries, in rural areas vans are used.
Don’t get my Dad started on the changes in uniform over the years in the UK. In my Dad’s day, he had to be dressed smartly in his black uniform, with a tie and polished shoes. These days he shakes his head when he sees people delivering mail today in shorts and trainers, even if that is the uniform. Having delivered mail for a short period over a Christmas period during a break from college, I have to say it is very hard work, no matter what you are wearing! I don’t mind providing the mail is delivered.
Post Delivery in Denmark
I visited Copenhagen in Denmark a couple of years ago. One of the things that struck me was the bike lanes and the heavy reliance on bicycles as a means of transport. I mentioned it in a blog post at the time.
Post delivery was no different. I came across someone delivering mail and was delighted to see the specially adapted bicycle, complete with crates to carry the mail!
Post Delivery in Italy
In Italy white Fiat cars are often used for post delivery, bearing the yellow and blue logo of Poste Italiane on the side. In the towns, in typical Italian fashion, bright yellow Piaggio scooters are used as shown here.
We used to have a postman who used one of these scooters to deliver our mail. Now, our road is unmade (what are called white top roads here in Italy). To say it is bumpy would be an understatement. However, he persevered for years and then one day he drove down the drive in one of the white Fiats with a big smile on his face. I bet his rear end was smiling too!
So, how is post delivered where you live?
Before you go
My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.
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Thank you for reading!
fascinating post! I didn’t know that the term snail mail had been around that long. As always I love your dream like images.
Always fun researching these things Audrey. Glad you like my images.
I loved this. My smail or snail mail is delivered by the mail person to the mailbox and we need our mail key to retrieve it. They drive a little white truck. It’s here about the same time every day. 🙂 But I must admit, I do a lot of Amazon ordering so my mailman and I have become very good friends. 🙂 It is different everywhere huh? I enjoyed this article.I guess it’s different everywhere. 🙂
I guess because of where we live we get mail on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday one week, Tuesday and Thursday the next week. We can go two weeks without seeing anyone! Amazon deliveries come by courier – don’t get me started on my courier stories, that could be the subject of another blog LOL. Glad you enjoyed the article.