I Thought It Was Just Me!

At first I thought it was only me. I didn't realise how many people felt the same way. But slowly it dawned on me that whenever two or more people were in conversation, after discussing the latest aches and pains and rising prices, the subject of the post office inevitably followed. What had happened to it? Were we still likely to get it? Had anyone heard anything? So I was not the only one wondering! That was why I contacted ‘Network Change’ to see what information I could find. This prompted me to write an article for the ‘Over News’, followed up by this blog. It is no surprise to me that my invitation to provide information or make comment on the blog has been ignored by the very people who should be championing this cause.

Many are affected by lack of a post office in the village. I was stopped today by a Young Mum who was bemoaning the fact that, without transport, she was no longer able to access a post office to top up her meter cards. So it is not just the elderly. There are many medical conditions which mean the suspension of driving licence, conditions which can affect the young as well as the old. I was diagnosed with a heart attack at the age of 50 (incorrectly, as I found out many years later, but that is a subject to be covered on my blog another day!), and not allowed to drive for six weeks. My daughter recently had her licence suspended following a fall, in which she sustained a wrist fracture. She had to wait ten weeks before being declared medically fit to drive. And she is only 37. How would YOU cope if unable to drive out of the village for a length of time?

Village facilities are important to us all, and we should do all we can to protect them. And if that includes asking questions of people who decline to comment, whether on personal or political grounds, that should not silence us.

Whilst writing the above, a flyer came through the letterbox. Called 'Intouch', it is a newssheet from our local Conservatives, and is an update of what they are doing for us. I searched for information about the post office, but not one word! However, what leapt off the page was the comment 'Through efficiency savings of £18 million.....'. Eighteen million pounds! Were they so inefficient before? Do I feel another blog subject coming on?