POSTMAN Ray Sparrow is retiring after delivering to residents in Salisbury and surrounding areas for more than 20 years.
Ray was born in Alderbury in 1951 and went to St Probus School for boys in Manor Road.
Despite his parents’ encouragement to get more qualifications he was keen to follow his passion and become a professional pop musician.
He had become hooked after first playing the drums in the school band and later on became the drummer in a heavy rock group called Jerusalem, who performed gigs all over the country.
In 1972 Jerusalem released a single and an LP Jerusalem on the Decca label but they were not hits and their contract was not renewed. But Ray’s passion for playing continued.
In 1981, he married Belinda Lebbern and they had four children — David, twins Duncan and Michael, and Harriet.
He joined the Post Office in 1987 and retired last month after about 29 years.
"By and large I have enjoyed the job," said Ray, who admits he does miss the structure of the job. "I still get up at five o'clock in the morning but the thing is I haven't got to rush to get out of bed, I can get up and make a cup of tea and can go back to sleep."
But he says it was not a job without mishaps, including falling off his bike on ice in the winter, narrowly missing speeding vehicles in rural areas, and of course dogs.
Ray only had one serious bite and that was at a house where he was instructed to wait in the van, wind the window down and let the dog owner reach in for the post.
One day he forgot and put his hand out of the window to hand her the post and he says the dog was on his hand before he could blink. He also remembers a run-in with a smaller dog who managed to pull him off his push bike during one of his rounds.
Ray describes the "furry torpedo" coming straight at him, pulling at his trouser leg and ending up lying in a ditch.
For a number of years Ray had a round in Quidhampton. To mark his retirement residents in the village gave him a special send off, presenting him with a big parcel covered in messages along with leaving gifts.
Ray thanked everyone for their kindness and generosity, adding: "I'm going to miss them. Over the years I've got to know people."
Ray says he is enjoying retirement. His passion for music continues and he is now in a band called Never Too Late playing covers of hits from the sixties onwards.
Another of his new passions is golf, which he is looking forward to doing more of in the future.
