Getting up to speed on what our posties do

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.selkirkweekendadvertiser.co. ... 4806295.jp

By The Pilgrim

I have been turning over in my mind, such as it is, the idea of having a good old moan about the latest setback to the Selkirk bypass plan.

As we discussed last week, some matters are entirely predictable and the let-down over the bypass was a typical example.

We just have to face facts and accept that no matter what level of government, or its political flavour, the Borders does not
count for much with any of them, and Borderers can be safely told to sit down and shut up whenever they ask for anything. In recent times we have got nothing from the Tories, empty promises from the Lab/Lib crew and as for McPuddock and his ghastly gang, well you can easily see why we might as well go shout at a tree rather than ask them for anything – if they were ghosts they wouldn't even give us a fright.

So why not change the subject and talk about quality people who matter and occupy a place of affection in the hearts and minds of everyone with a brain.

At this time of the year our posties do not have the easiest of lives, their workload multiplies several times and as Christmas Eve approaches there will always be serious deadlines looming to avoid disappointment in many homes. Although a significant amount of the postal trade has gone to carriers, some of whom we spoke just a week or so back, the massive increase in online trading has built up its own sector in the area of goods delivery.

The Post Office has already gone a long way in modernising its operation – but it must be said that at the point of delivery a human being has to identify a house or address and make a physical handover of the letter or package, even if that does take the form of shoving something through a letter-box. Easy enough one might think, but there can be obstacles to that simple task, such as letter-boxes set low to the ground, or too high, stubborn gates, icy or wet paths, and we should not forget that traditional enemy of the postie, the domestic hound.

Now it seems the posties have another problem to contend with, and that is from within their own organisation.

Last week the news folk went big on a disclosure that they thought our posties should be able to get their job done at an average walking speed of 4mph. And that is quite ridiculous. I'll tell you why.

To obtain a little expert information I looked out my copy of Signs of Crime, an invaluable little book by one of the UK's best practical policemen, David Powis. While some of the information set out in an easy-to-read format is a little out of date, most is still very useful.

In a table at the back of the book, Powis reckons a reasonably fit man can cover around 100 yards per minute or 3mph over several hours, with occasional halts for rest. Ladies can be calculated at seven-eighths of that total.

So that's at least 1mph knocked off the score for starters. Now deduct a bit more to allow for the socking great bag of mail or trolley towed by the postie and it might not be unreasonable to think in terms of 2½mph.