How quickly we forget! In the 1970s, my mother once had a phone call replying to a job application I'd posted on my way out shopping - before I got home. Even 20 years ago (21, to be precise - winter of 1990-91). I posted a letter in Norwich on my way to the pub one evening, & got a phone call about it next morning in the office, it having been delivered in Reading before the recipient left for work. The first one can't happen now, because there are too few deliveries, & I think local post is no longer separated out for local handling, & the second can't happen now because even if collected, sorted & sent to Reading in time, there are no longer any deliveries that early. On 04/12/2011 16:19, Alan Wyatt wrote: > Don’t forget that in the early 20th century the post was very efficient, next day delivery was the norm even if the time of posting was quite late in the day ( even in the 1980’s I could post a letter at the Cardiff main sorting office up to 3am for delivery in London the same day!). > Alan Wyatt > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Interactive Oxfordshire parish map: http://searches.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/pardata.html > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I'm pretty sure that, when I was a child in the 1950s, a letter posted in Reading early in the morning could sometimes be delivered in London later the same day. I don't think this was an advertised service level but there were multiple collections from suburban post boxes, a sorting office 3 miles away near the railway station, frequent fast trains to London, and two deliveries a day. Tony Hadland -- Tony Hadland www.hadland.net Oxfordshire, England