I did a delivery t'other day which hadnt been 'LOOPED' why's that then? No sign of any Walk Log on frame. Park n Loop is fine for partners sorry 'Pairings' who work together all the time cos they got those duties in Re-pick, but for Reserves, part-timers, newbies, who get moved around all the time, its a feckin ball-ache. It's got nothing to do with wether you LIKE your partner, its purely the fact that yes, everyone works at different speeds, has slightly different methods of working, one likes to jhave a break, one doesnt, one can go home to mummy and a cooked tea, one has kids to pick up from school, or just more responsibilities, ones on a shorter contract, 6 on, 6 off, as opposed to 5 day week, some people prefer to come in early for their own benefit, especially if you're not familiar with the frame/round, and have door to doors to prep, some people come in bang on time, not a minute sooner, there is no consistency, and most of us have 'Trolley round envy

' And as for it not being a Race, ive always thought since i started in job, that most treat it as exactly that lol, you only have to listen to the questions asked of each other every day....'what time did you finish yesterday?' and when you're doing a Loop come on, we all try and race back before our partners, even though as pointed out, loops are often of unequal size. Then there's the vans which only have one set of 'working' keys, so its not worth gettin back before your partner if he/she is the keyholder, cos u cant get in the bloody thing anyway. And as for the general public, who look bemused when they see TWO postmen in the area, so they naturally think they must be getting a better service, but hang on.....A few times i have been stopped and asked for post for a certain adjoining street, and when i have to explain that my colleague has the post, even tho it might only be the very next street, they look very confused! Hey ho.