The day I nearly crashed the postal van

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/11574207._/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

IN WARTIME my father was a country postman serving villages from Grayrigg to Whitbarrow.

He had a red GPO motorbike with a shiny red box, with a rounded front for sacks of letters and parcels.

The bike had a kick-start and a hand-operated tank-side gear lever.

Occasionally my cousin from Bradford came for a few days in school holidays.

The highlight of her stay was a ride on top of the box sidecar with me.

We somehow avoided sliding off the shiny top.

My father took us to the top of Natland Brow and, crestfallen, we had to walk back. There was no path for pedestrians, but with little traffic this was not hazardous.

Later, vans replaced motorbikes and I occasionally went with him on the Sunday 2pm collection.

He had the biggest bunch of keys I had ever seen, one for each pillarbox and postbox.

That route was Natland, Sedgwick, Stainton, Endmoor, Levens, Heversham, and back to Kendal, where a town box at Collinfield was included.

Being close to the road my dad walked across the patch of grass to empty the box and not thinking of the worst situation left me with the van in gear.

Having a young schoolboy’s curiosity, I fiddled with the gear lever. Unfortunately the van was foolishly left with the handbrake off.

I had managed to move the gear lever into neutral and the van started running down the hill.

I think my dad must have been on his way back from the box as he managed to run, jump in and stop any headlong rush into the nearest wall.

I think that was the end of my Sunday afternoon tours.

[arnold cheshire]

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/11574207._/?

IN WARTIME my father was a country postman serving villages from Grayrigg to Whitbarrow.

He had a red GPO motorbike with a shiny red box, with a rounded front for sacks of letters and parcels.

The bike had a kick-start and a hand-operated tank-side gear lever.

Occasionally my cousin from Bradford came for a few days in school holidays.

The highlight of her stay was a ride on top of the box sidecar with me.

We somehow avoided sliding off the shiny top.

My father took us to the top of Natland Brow and, crestfallen, we had to walk back. There was no path for pedestrians, but with little traffic this was not hazardous.

Later, vans replaced motorbikes and I occasionally went with him on the Sunday 2pm collection.

He had the biggest bunch of keys I had ever seen, one for each pillarbox and postbox.

That route was Natland, Sedgwick, Stainton, Endmoor, Levens, Heversham, and back to Kendal, where a town box at Collinfield was included.

Being close to the road my dad walked across the patch of grass to empty the box and not thinking of the worst situation left me with the van in gear.

Having a young schoolboy’s curiosity, I fiddled with the gear lever. Unfortunately the van was foolishly left with the handbrake off.

I had managed to move the gear lever into neutral and the van started running down the hill.

I think my dad must have been on his way back from the box as he managed to run, jump in and stop any headlong rush into the nearest wall.

I think that was the end of my Sunday afternoon tours.

what a story i was hoping for a photo of the GPO motorcycle

[jkarlg]

Nice wee story