http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... -20387674/
A COUPLE living on a Scots isle have just received a Christmas card - after it took a 4000-mile detour to the island of Bermuda.
Bemused Doline and Donald Mackenzie got the card this week.
It was sent in December by a relative in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, before going on a journey across the North Atlantic.
The couple, who live on Great Bernera, off the Isle of Lewis, were amazed to see the card arrive earlier this week after it went to the sub-tropical island of Bermuda - off the east coast of America.
Doline, 57, a carer, said: "I think the postal staff are maybe getting Bernera mixed up with Bermuda but I can assure them that there is really no comparison.
"We have been living on Bernera for 37 years and it has never happened before.
"We were very surprised to say the least, especially as we had forgotten we hadn't received the card at Christmas in the first place.
"It was very strange for the card to take such a massive detour. We were at a loss about how it could have been sent all the way to Bermuda.
"It could maybe be the fact that it was going through the post at Christmas when it was busy and people weren't paying attention.
"The address was correct and marked clearly on it - there were no spelling mistakes or anything.
"I don't know whether it has been lying in Bermuda the whole time or not. It's definitely an odd one."
Bernera has a population of about 300, measures nearly six miles from north to south and is about three miles east to west.
Meanwhile Bermuda, has a population of more than 65,000 and is a tourist hot-spot, with a large financial sector.
A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: "Royal Mail delivers 21billion items of mail each year to 28million addresses in the UK and 99.93 per cent of that i delivered to the correct address and on time.
"To help ensure that items are delivered quickly and accurately it is crucial people use the correct postcode."
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Scots Christmas card takes detour to Bermuda
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TrueBlueTerrier
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Scots Christmas card takes detour to Bermuda
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baldrick
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It probably was sorted by the wonderful scanners of the computerised sorting machines at HWDC.
It seems to 'recognise' a few letters on the address and sends the item to the most approximate spelling.
So letters for Brunel University (Uxbridge) are sent to Brunei, Dar Es Salaam for example, as are letters
for Burundi.
It seems to 'recognise' a few letters on the address and sends the item to the most approximate spelling.
So letters for Brunel University (Uxbridge) are sent to Brunei, Dar Es Salaam for example, as are letters
for Burundi.
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britwrit
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It shouldn't have happened but given the amount of mail we deal with, it's unavoidable now and then. I work in a sorting office and every few days I see letters from the states that never should have left the good ol' USA. (For example, they got sent to Boston over here instead of Boston, Massachusetts).