Popular postman John has left his stamp on village

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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HE HAS delivered their post for the last 37 years.

But last Saturday, John Hayden was the guest of honour as villagers in Dummer joined family and friends to honour him at a surprise retirement party.

The 59-year-old former postman looked shocked as he walked into The Queen Inn, in Down Street, Dummer, to see scores of familiar faces.

Councillor Julian Jones, chairman of the parish council, handed Mr Hayden an engraved glass tankard as a gesture of thanks from the village for all his hard work.

Cllr Jones said: “He looked after us all. I came here 25 years ago and he was already an institution. He was part of the village.”

Jenny Padmore, of Up Street, said: “The fact that we all knew him is what’s nice about living in a village. He always read our postcards to the extent that people would put his name on the back of the postcard as well.”

Mr Hayden, 59, from Oakley, spent 37 years getting up at 4.45am to deliver letters and parcels around Dummer and North Waltham before retiring at the end of his shift on Friday.

After recovering from the shock of the surprise, he told The Gazette: “I have enjoyed it greatly. I shall miss the people.”

He said the highlight of his career in the village was when he was invited to a pre-wedding party at Dummer Down Farm, for the marriage of long-time Dummer resident Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew in 1986.

Mr Hayden’s longest day came in the heavy snowfall before Christmas last year, when, like hundreds of others in Basingstoke, he struggled to get back home just before midnight.

The party was organised by his 59-year-old wife Stella. She said she is now looking forward to a full night’s sleep after his early starts.

Mrs Hayden said: “I used to get up with him when we were first married and I used to make him breakfast, but it did not last!”

The pair are to head to Dubai for a week’s holiday to celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary before enjoying their retirement.

[Dogs of War]

Good time to get out.