A village’s postie thanked the community as she hung up her sack after more than 20 years in the role.
Sally Stiling delivered her last rounds in Bardwell today, having first started as a temp in late 2001 before taking on the village’s round in January 2003.
Villagers came out and held a farewell party for her the night before her last round as a surprise.
Over the years, Sally has seen the job change, with it initially being pen and paper and sticky labels before PDAs were introduced.
With the advent of emails came the decline of letters, but in turn the boom in online shopping meant the volume of packages in her rounds rose.
On what she would miss about the job, she said: “Definitely the people. There’s a lot of quality folk in Bardwell from all walks of life who I’ve got to know. Also my fellow posties in the sorting office.
“The nice thing though, will be not having to go out if the weather is bad. Sometimes, when it’s frosty I’ll have to scrape off the car before driving to the sorting office and then scrape off the van before going on my round. It’ll be nice to have a choice.”
A particularly notable day for Sally during her career was when, on a winter day when the road was flooded near Bardwell Stud, she helped a young driver who had become stuck.
With a bus behind her van and not able to get past, Sally took her shoes and socks off, rolled up her trousers and pushed the car out.
She has also got to know a lot of the residents during her time in the job, people who would invite her in for coffee or to use the toilet, including even having one such resident over for Christmas one year.
To the people of Bardwell, she said: “Simply, thank you for having me and looking after me. There’s been so many acts of kindness over the years and being appreciated means a lot to me.
“I’m sure this won’t be the last they see of me.”
Of her retirement, she said it would be nice not having to turn out on dark winter mornings and instead being able to have a leisurely start to the day. That does not mean she will be putting her feet up though.
“I definitely won’t be sitting around watching daytime TV. I prefer to be active, so will be upping my exercise regime, working in the garden, out on my bike or walking.
“When you’re used to moving around all day, the worst thing you can do is suddenly stop. There will be more time for travelling as well.”