A Farwell to Mail

One of the most important reasons for Zoe's trip was to celebrate her Dad's retirement. For the last 94 35 years, Bob has worked as a mail carrier on the Isle of Wight. After years of having to wake at 4 AM to cycle off to work, Bob can finally stay up late and then sleep in the next morning.

Now, I can not remember if Bob is still allowed to drive the Royal Mail van or not...but I do know that he would often ride his bike while making his route. With the terrain of the island, that is an amazing feat in itself. In fact, here is a picture I dug up of Bob's first day:


Not much has really changed since Bob started with the mail service, outside the fact we now have indoor plumbing. Boy has time flown by over the years.

I know Bob's retirement is bittersweet. He is going to have to give up his fashionable uniforms that Wendy would never let him wear out to social occasions. He also will lose the important knowledge of which island residents receive frequent deliveries of magazines in plain brown wrappers...and then there are the holiday gifts people leave: Chocolate, booze, knickers...

Bob put his heart and soul into his job. I know of some mail boxes, people and a few dogs that will miss him. Congratulations Bob!