Two stories featured in issues of this week's Metro particularly attracted my attention - one took me back to early post-University days when we seemed to be in constant battle with our postie and the other was so surreal I wondered whether I'd slept for months and awoken from my slumber on April Fool's Day.
Living in the end house with a large hedge, led to various disagreements with the postman who'd often refuse to deliver our mail if we failed to reduce our foliage. He'd scrawl warnings across letters and packages. One day, he did indeed carry out his threat.
Waiting on visa bills and my new passport, I grew suspicious and anxious when several weeks passed without any mail and my holiday departure date drew nearer. I rung the post office who seemed equally perplexed and said they'd investigate the matter. Days passed before we were eventually told the postman had been keeping our mail in his van and that he'd be reprimanded.
A story this week told of a postman who was unable to complete his route in time. Fearing he'd get the sack, he'd hidden thousands of letters for two years, eventually even hiring a Big Yellow storage unit to house them. Unlike our postie, his actions did indeed lead to a dismissal. Unlike this sorry tale, the second article that caught my eye seemed entirely implausible.
Over in Zimbabwe, work on a planned reservoir has stopped because mermaids are apparently hounding workers. Water Resources Minister, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo has unbelievably said the only way to resolve the problem is to brew traditional beer and carry out rites to appease the pesky mermaids. Strange but so true that even The Mail has deemed this story worth covering: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2097218/Reason-Zimbabwe-reservoir-delays—mermaids-hounding-workers-away.html?ito=feeds-newsxml.
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