I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which
is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on Tuesday 11 August.-a The letter is dated 24 July.-a The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a Saturday, for example.-a Surely less mail to handle should mean greater speed and efficiency?-a When I was a child many people had no telephone
and almost all communication was by mail.-a If I addressed a letter to anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in
the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon.
Bah!-a I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
On 13.8.26 12:31, Mrs Nemo wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital
(which is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route
between the Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an
appointment...on Tuesday 11 August.-a The letter is dated 24 July.-a The
envelope is stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on
a Saturday, for example.-a Surely less mail to handle should mean
greater speed and efficiency?-a When I was a child many people had no
telephone and almost all communication was by mail.-a If I addressed a
letter to anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the
morning in the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same
afternoon.
Bah!-a I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
For the moment I am not on the receiving end of communications from the hospital but given the insistence of my local surgery in going to
enormous lengths not to speak to me I would have thought much lesser
sums could be invested in enabling a hospital to either phone someone or send an email.-a I understand the latter are not fool proof but most organisations now refuses to communicate in any other way.-a So what is wrong with the hospitals at least trying?
I remember how impressed I was when a firm texted me to say a repair was underway and later to collect the item.-a Obviously nothing is repaired these days but I must be talking about 25 years ago.-a The NHS has this
app which reminds me when the surgery needs a blood pressure test which
I never do - so what is wrong with hospitals?
On 13/08/2026 13:18, Kosmo wrote:
On 13.8.26 12:31, Mrs Nemo wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital
(which is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route
between the Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an
appointment...on Tuesday 11 August.-a The letter is dated 24 July.-a The >>> envelope is stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on
a Saturday, for example.-a Surely less mail to handle should mean
greater speed and efficiency?-a When I was a child many people had no
Are your pharmacy deliveries by volunteer?>>telephone and almost all communication was by mail.-a If I addressed a
letter to anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the
morning in the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same
afternoon.
Bah!-a I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
For the moment I am not on the receiving end of communications from the
hospital but given the insistence of my local surgery in going to
enormous lengths not to speak to me I would have thought much lesser
sums could be invested in enabling a hospital to either phone someone or
send an email.-a I understand the latter are not fool proof but most
organisations now refuses to communicate in any other way.-a So what is
wrong with the hospitals at least trying?
I remember how impressed I was when a firm texted me to say a repair was
underway and later to collect the item.-a Obviously nothing is repaired
these days but I must be talking about 25 years ago.-a The NHS has this
app which reminds me when the surgery needs a blood pressure test which
I never do - so what is wrong with hospitals?
My hospital uses a specialist secure messaging system to (optionally)
send letters as well as sending a physical copy.
On 2026/8/13 17:59:55, Joe Kerr wrote:
On 13/08/2026 13:18, Kosmo wrote:
On 13.8.26 12:31, Mrs Nemo wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital
(which is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route
between the Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an
appointment...on Tuesday 11 August.-a The letter is dated 24 July.-a The >>>> envelope is stamped 2nd Class but no date.
I take it there's no franking mark as such.>>>
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on
a Saturday, for example.-a Surely less mail to handle should mean
greater speed and efficiency?-a When I was a child many people had no
Only if they keep the same number of staff, vehicles, etcetera. If
they're cutting those in proportion - which I guess they have to do as
the income from postage is less - then the same number of postie-hours
per 100 (say) letters will have more difficulty if those 100 letters are
now spread over a wider area and/or number of days.
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which
is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the >Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on >Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a >Saturday, for example. Surely less mail to handle should mean greater
speed and efficiency? When I was a child many people had no telephone
and almost all communication was by mail. If I addressed a letter to
anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in
the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon.
Bah! I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs NemoYou have reminded me of Wuthering Heights - the semaphore flag version.
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which
is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the
Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on
Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a
Saturday, for example. Surely less mail to handle should mean greater
speed and efficiency? When I was a child many people had no telephone
and almost all communication was by mail. If I addressed a letter to
anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in
the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon.
Bah! I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
If you still have a public library in Wrexham, under no circumstances
must you ask to borrow "The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett." I fear for your health if you do. For me, one of the most
joyous things about this collection is not just the contents of the correspondence but the rapidity of the exchanges.
On 13/08/2026 21:16, Nick Odell wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs NemoYou have reminded me of Wuthering Heights - the semaphore flag version. Perhaps that is how Barrett & Browning managed to communicate so rapidly?
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which >>> is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the
Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on
Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a
Saturday, for example. Surely less mail to handle should mean greater
speed and efficiency? When I was a child many people had no telephone
and almost all communication was by mail. If I addressed a letter to
anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in
the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon.
Bah! I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
If you still have a public library in Wrexham, under no circumstances
must you ask to borrow "The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett." I fear for your health if you do. For me, one of the most
joyous things about this collection is not just the contents of the
correspondence but the rapidity of the exchanges.
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs Nemo[snip]
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which
is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the
Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on
Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
I wonder if your hospital has thought of popping their mail into atime that in one service doctors' letters were being dictated onto tape,
post box outside their premises? Around here, many of the pillar boxes
still have the stickers with the Covid 19 legend: "NHS Priority Post."
Maybe that might work better?
A few years ago I was told by a source I considered reputable at the
On 13/08/2026 21:16, Nick Odell wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs Nemo[snip]
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which >>> is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the
Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on
Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
I wonder if your hospital has thought of popping their mail into atime that in one service doctors' letters were being dictated onto tape,
post box outside their premises? Around here, many of the pillar boxes
still have the stickers with the Covid 19 legend: "NHS Priority Post."
Maybe that might work better?
A few years ago I was told by a source I considered reputable at the
the tapes were then posted to India where they were typed up and mailed
back to the patient. It was never clear if the letters went through a
second pass of being checked for accuracy.
john
Bah!-a I say.
Hereabouts we have the NHS app with Anima (I call it Enema) which is linked with our horsepiddal and our surgery (and now Boots for prescriptions)
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs Nemo
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which
is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the
Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on
Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a
Saturday, for example. Surely less mail to handle should mean greater
speed and efficiency? When I was a child many people had no telephone
and almost all communication was by mail. If I addressed a letter to
anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in
the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon.
Bah! I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
If you still have a public library in Wrexham, under no circumstances
must you ask to borrow "The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett." I fear for your health if you do. For me, one of the most
joyous things about this collection is not just the contents of the correspondence but the rapidity of the exchanges. I'd have to dig out
my copy to give you an actual example but it went along the lines of a
letter arriving with the first post being replied to that morning, the
reply arriving with the midday post and the response being posted in
the afternoon and being delivered in the evening. They only lived
several miles apart but even so.....
Hereabouts they seem to try to deliver second class mail along with
the first class when possible. Otherwise a Royal Mail van will turn up
on my street a couple of times per week to distribute the second class
mail and the junk mail to our doors.
I wonder if your hospital has thought of popping their mail into a
post box outside their premises? Around here, many of the pillar boxes
still have the stickers with the Covid 19 legend: "NHS Priority Post."
Maybe that might work better?
Nick--
On 13/08/2026 21:16, Nick Odell wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs NemoI am sure that I have read that there used to be up to seven deliveries
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which >>> is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the
Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on
Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a
Saturday, for example. Surely less mail to handle should mean greater
speed and efficiency? When I was a child many people had no telephone
and almost all communication was by mail. If I addressed a letter to
anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in
the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon.
Bah! I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
If you still have a public library in Wrexham, under no circumstances
must you ask to borrow "The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett." I fear for your health if you do. For me, one of the most
joyous things about this collection is not just the contents of the
correspondence but the rapidity of the exchanges. I'd have to dig out
my copy to give you an actual example but it went along the lines of a
letter arriving with the first post being replied to that morning, the
reply arriving with the midday post and the response being posted in
the afternoon and being delivered in the evening. They only lived
several miles apart but even so.....
per day (and presumably a corresponding number of collections). I've >certainly read of people sending postcards to make plans for later the
same day.
Hereabouts they seem to try to deliver second class mail along withThis is something I have wondered about for decades (vigades?). They
the first class when possible. Otherwise a Royal Mail van will turn up
on my street a couple of times per week to distribute the second class
mail and the junk mail to our doors.
have to deliver the mail at some point. Doesn't separating out the
second class and storing it for a day or two cost more than simply >delivering it? Or is some cynical body (you know who you are) going to
say that it is just a ploy to charge higher rates for a premium
(otherwise known as normal) service. Most people seem to use first class >these days anyway.
NickI wonder if your hospital has thought of popping their mail into a
post box outside their premises? Around here, many of the pillar boxes
still have the stickers with the Covid 19 legend: "NHS Priority Post."
Maybe that might work better?
The hospital is probably a large user of the postal system and so will
have it collected directly from them.
Nick
Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
On 13/08/2026 21:16, Nick Odell wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs NemoYou have reminded me of Wuthering Heights - the semaphore flag version.
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which >>>> is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the >>>> Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on >>>> Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a >>>> Saturday, for example. Surely less mail to handle should mean greater >>>> speed and efficiency? When I was a child many people had no telephone >>>> and almost all communication was by mail. If I addressed a letter to
anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in >>>> the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon.
Bah! I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
If you still have a public library in Wrexham, under no circumstances
must you ask to borrow "The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett." I fear for your health if you do. For me, one of the most
joyous things about this collection is not just the contents of the
correspondence but the rapidity of the exchanges.
Perhaps that is how Barrett & Browning managed to communicate so rapidly?
Hereabouts we have the NHS app with Anima (I call it Enema) which is linked with our horsepiddal and our surgery (and now Boots for prescriptions) Take as an example yesterday: I had 6 communication spread across text and
email; all of these were with links for me to open a secure route to read messages in Enema. They only related to two matters, one of which was to confirm my annual diabetes review which they had previously requested I
make via another message from Enema (having sent me an email and a text message requesting me to open Enema and make the appointment some weeks
ago). I made the appointment via Enema and it was confirmed with date, time and the name of the nurse I would be seeing, and moments later, this was confirmed on the website. I had another text massage and another email
later, both directing me to open Enema as I had a new massage to read; this
I did, only to see that rCysomething went wrongrCO. I had my booking and as this was not the first time I had experienced strange error massages, I decided to ignore it.
Now having not yet received a reminder for this appointment, I sent a
massage via Enema requesting confirmation - only to be informed I did not have any appointments booked. I then rang the surgery and had to listen to the usual recorded massage about how much more efficient it would be if I were to use EnemarCa..
On 13.8.26 12:31, Mrs Nemo wrote:
Bah!-a I say.
However my local council has a new way of wasting money.
I pay the monthly poll tax by SO.-a This month it went through on the
10th of the month as it set not to go out before my pension arrives.
I have just received a letter dated 12th of the month (on the 14th)
saying I am in arrears with the poll tax payment (and yes I know it is
not really a poll tax payment).
How can I be in arrears on 12th of the month when the money clearly went
off to them on the 10th of the month?-a Whilst I assume the letter cost
very little to produce it obviously cost nearly -u2 to get it here.
So if they moved the reminder date out to the 15th how much would they
save?
On 14/08/2026 09:06, Mike McMillan wrote:
Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
I did, only to see that rCysomething went wrongrCO. I had my booking and as >> this was not the first time I had experienced strange error massages, IOh yes!
decided to ignore it.
Now having not yet received a reminder for this appointment, I sent a
massage via Enema requesting confirmation - only to be informed I did not
have any appointments booked. I then rang the surgery and had to
listen to
the usual recorded massage about how much more efficient it would be if I
were to use EnemarCa..
There is a special irritation when - having exhausted all possible ways
to deal with some company or agency - you finally fall back on phoning
them, being caller 37 in that infinite queue, and constantly being
reminded at one minute intervals that:
"It's So much easier to contact us via our App/Website!"
On 14/08/2026 20:32, Sam Plusnet wrote:
On 14/08/2026 09:06, Mike McMillan wrote:
Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
[snip]
I did, only to see that rCysomething went wrongrCO. I had my booking and as >>> this was not the first time I had experienced strange error massages, IOh yes!
decided to ignore it.
Now having not yet received a reminder for this appointment, I sent a
massage via Enema requesting confirmation - only to be informed I did not >>> have any appointments booked. I then rang the surgery and had to
listen to
the usual recorded massage about how much more efficient it would be if I >>> were to use EnemarCa..
There is a special irritation when - having exhausted all possible ways
to deal with some company or agency - you finally fall back on phoning
them, being caller 37 in that infinite queue, and constantly being
reminded at one minute intervals that:
"It's So much easier to contact us via our App/Website!"
On 2026/8/15 0:4:46, Steveski wrote:
On 14/08/2026 20:32, Sam Plusnet wrote:Indeed.
On 14/08/2026 09:06, Mike McMillan wrote:
Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
[snip]
I did, only to see that rCysomething went wrongrCO. I had my booking and asOh yes!
this was not the first time I had experienced strange error massages, I >>>> decided to ignore it.
Now having not yet received a reminder for this appointment, I sent a
massage via Enema requesting confirmation - only to be informed I did not >>>> have any appointments booked. I then rang the surgery and had to
listen to
the usual recorded massage about how much more efficient it would be if I >>>> were to use EnemarCa..
There is a special irritation when - having exhausted all possible ways
to deal with some company or agency - you finally fall back on phoning
them, being caller 37 in that infinite queue, and constantly being
reminded at one minute intervals that:
"It's So much easier to contact us via our App/Website!"
<LW>
The proportion that tell you your position in the queue I have the
feeling has gone _down_ in the last decade or two. (I've never had a
position as high as 37 though!)
It's the fear of that sort of delay that puts me off going for the apparently-generous "100 free minutes" or whatever; doesn't take too--
many such calls to use that up. And the (landline) ones which are
"unlimited, up to an hour - you can always hang up and dial again" ones, which are good for chatting to friends, are no good for being on hold.
Do most people really use first class, most of the time? I keep both
types of stamps (and the Large Letter variants, just in case) but I
only use First Class when I've been sufficiently disorganised not to
get a piece of mail in the post to meet a deadline.
Sadly, the days when I could aim to get a birthday card to appear on someone's doormat on the morning of their big day are long gone. If I
can getit to arrive any time in advance of the occasion I count that
as a success.
On 14/08/2026 10:23, Kosmo wrote:
On 13.8.26 12:31, Mrs Nemo wrote:
Bah!-a I say.
However my local council has a new way of wasting money.
I pay the monthly poll tax by SO.-a This month it went through on the
10th of the month as it set not to go out before my pension arrives.
I have just received a letter dated 12th of the month (on the 14th)
saying I am in arrears with the poll tax payment (and yes I know it is
not really a poll tax payment).
How can I be in arrears on 12th of the month when the money clearly
went off to them on the 10th of the month?-a Whilst I assume the letter
cost very little to produce it obviously cost nearly -u2 to get it here.
So if they moved the reminder date out to the 15th how much would they
save?
<tic>
Perhaps they have an accountant telling them they are not chasing up bad debts quickly enough?
On 14/08/2026 20:21, Nick Odell wrote:
Do most people really use first class, most of the time? I keep both
types of stamps (and the Large Letter variants, just in case) but I
only use First Class when I've been sufficiently disorganised not to
get a piece of mail in the post to meet a deadline.
Sadly, the days when I could aim to get a birthday card to appear on
someone's doormat on the morning of their big day are long gone. If I
can getit to arrive any time in advance of the occasion I count that
as a success.
Do 'Young Folk' send cards? Or is it text/facebook/snapchat etc. instead?
Hereabouts we have the NHS app with Anima (I call it Enema)
with our horsepiddal and our surgery (and now Boots for prescriptions) Take as an example yesterday: I had 6 communication spread across text and
email; all of these were with links for me to open a secure route to read messages in Enema. They only related to two matters, one of which was to confirm my annual diabetes review which they had previously requested I
make via another message from Enema (having sent me an email and a text message requesting me to open Enema and make the appointment some weeks
ago). I made the appointment via Enema and it was confirmed with date, time and the name of the nurse I would be seeing, and moments later, this was confirmed on the website. I had another text massage and another email
later, both directing me to open Enema as I had a new massage to read; this
I did, only to see that rCysomething went wrongrCO. I had my booking and as this was not the first time I had experienced strange error massages, I decided to ignore it.
Now having not yet received a reminder for this appointment, I sent a
massage via Enema requesting confirmation - only to be informed I did not have any appointments booked. I then rang the surgery and had to listen to the usual recorded massage about how much more efficient it would be if I were to use EnemarCa..
Do most people really use first class, most of the time? I keep both
types of stamps (and the Large Letter variants, just in case) but I
only use First Class when I've been sufficiently disorganised not to
get a piece of mail in the post to meet a deadline.
Sadly, the days when I could aim to get a birthday card to appear on someone's doormat on the morning of their big day are long gone. If I
can getit to arrive any time in advance of the occasion I count that
as a success.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few peopleI had that too. If anything, I've received post more often since.
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a Saturday, for example.
On 14/08/2026 20:21, Nick Odell wrote:
Do most people really use first class, most of the time? I keep both
types of stamps (and the Large Letter variants, just in case) but I
only use First Class when I've been sufficiently disorganised not to
get a piece of mail in the post to meet a deadline.
Sadly, the days when I could aim to get a birthday card to appear on
someone's doormat on the morning of their big day are long gone. If I
can getit to arrive any time in advance of the occasion I count that
as a success.
MTAAW.
I recently had to use a 2nd Class stamp for a birthday card and
therefore sent it a week in advance.-a My friend to whom the card is addressed lives a 30 minute walk from here over the fields.-a I'll be interested to find out how long it took to arrive.
Not being a young folk, I wouldn't really know. The grandchildren are
all too young to send cards themselves - though one is particularly
keen to learn how to write a list in time to send it to Santa Claus
this year - but seem to enjoy receiving them. The grown-up children,
parents of said grandchildren, both send and receive cardboard, cardy
cards to each other and to the upper and lower generations but I
suspect they might be in a minority since their birthday and Christmas
card displays are not as crowded as they might be.
Nick
On Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:40:18 +0100, Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com>
wrote:
On 13/08/2026 21:16, Nick Odell wrote:Do most people really use first class, most of the time? I keep both
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs NemoI am sure that I have read that there used to be up to seven deliveries
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital (which >>>> is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the >>>> Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an appointment...on >>>> Tuesday 11 August. The letter is dated 24 July. The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people
used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail on a >>>> Saturday, for example. Surely less mail to handle should mean greater >>>> speed and efficiency? When I was a child many people had no telephone >>>> and almost all communication was by mail. If I addressed a letter to
anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in >>>> the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon.
Bah! I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
If you still have a public library in Wrexham, under no circumstances
must you ask to borrow "The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett." I fear for your health if you do. For me, one of the most
joyous things about this collection is not just the contents of the
correspondence but the rapidity of the exchanges. I'd have to dig out
my copy to give you an actual example but it went along the lines of a
letter arriving with the first post being replied to that morning, the
reply arriving with the midday post and the response being posted in
the afternoon and being delivered in the evening. They only lived
several miles apart but even so.....
per day (and presumably a corresponding number of collections). I've
certainly read of people sending postcards to make plans for later the
same day.
Hereabouts they seem to try to deliver second class mail along withThis is something I have wondered about for decades (vigades?). They
the first class when possible. Otherwise a Royal Mail van will turn up
on my street a couple of times per week to distribute the second class
mail and the junk mail to our doors.
have to deliver the mail at some point. Doesn't separating out the
second class and storing it for a day or two cost more than simply
delivering it? Or is some cynical body (you know who you are) going to
say that it is just a ploy to charge higher rates for a premium
(otherwise known as normal) service. Most people seem to use first class
these days anyway.
types of stamps (and the Large Letter variants, just in case) but I
only use First Class when I've been sufficiently disorganised not to
get a piece of mail in the post to meet a deadline.
Sadly, the days when I could aim to get a birthday card to appear on someone's doormat on the morning of their big day are long gone. If I
can getit to arrive any time in advance of the occasion I count that
as a success.
--NickI wonder if your hospital has thought of popping their mail into a
post box outside their premises? Around here, many of the pillar boxes
still have the stickers with the Covid 19 legend: "NHS Priority Post."
Maybe that might work better?
The hospital is probably a large user of the postal system and so will
have it collected directly from them.
Nick
On 14/08/2026 09:06, Mike McMillan wrote:
Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:Oh yes!
On 13/08/2026 21:16, Nick Odell wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:36 +0100, Mrs NemoYou have reminded me of Wuthering Heights - the semaphore flag version.
<shopping@cedarbank.me.uk> wrote:
I have just (13 August) received a letter from the local hospital
(which
is only a few miles from here and almost on a direct route between the >>>>> Wrexham Sorting Office and my home) informing me of an
appointment...on
Tuesday 11 August.-a The letter is dated 24 July.-a The envelope is
stamped 2nd Class but no date.
Quite recently Royal Mail sent a leaflet saying that as so few people >>>>> used mail now, their service was being reduced - no 2nd class mail
on a
Saturday, for example.-a Surely less mail to handle should mean greater >>>>> speed and efficiency?-a When I was a child many people had no telephone >>>>> and almost all communication was by mail.-a If I addressed a letter to >>>>> anyone living within a few miles of me and posted it in the morning in >>>>> the postbox marked "LOCAL" it would be delivered that same afternoon. >>>>>
Bah!-a I say.
(Incidentally, I am now awaiting delivery of an urgent prescription
which the Nurse admits may take 7 days to get to me.)
If you still have a public library in Wrexham, under no circumstances
must you ask to borrow "The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett." I fear for your health if you do. For me, one of the most
joyous things about this collection is not just the contents of the
correspondence but the rapidity of the exchanges.
Perhaps that is how Barrett & Browning managed to communicate so
rapidly?
Hereabouts we have the NHS app with Anima (I call it Enema) which is
linked
with our horsepiddal and our surgery (and now Boots for prescriptions)
Take
as an example yesterday: I had 6 communication spread across text and
email; all of these were with links for me to open a secure route to read
messages in Enema. They only related to two matters, one of which was to
confirm my annual diabetes review which they had previously requested I
make via another message from Enema (having sent me an email and a text
message requesting me to open Enema and make the appointment some weeks
ago). I made the appointment via Enema and it was confirmed with date,
time
and the name of the nurse I would be seeing, and moments later, this was
confirmed on the website. I had another text massage and another email
later, both directing me to open Enema as I had a new massage to read;
this
I did, only to see that rCysomething went wrongrCO. I had my booking and as >> this was not the first time I had experienced strange error massages, I
decided to ignore it.
Now having not yet received a reminder for this appointment, I sent a
massage via Enema requesting confirmation - only to be informed I did not
have any appointments booked. I then rang the surgery and had to
listen to
the usual recorded massage about how much more efficient it would be if I
were to use EnemarCa..
There is a special irritation when - having exhausted all possible ways
to deal with some company or agency - you finally fall back on phoning
them, being caller 37 in that infinite queue, and constantly being
reminded at one minute intervals that:
"It's So much easier to contact us via our App/Website!"
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