"Well This Was Unexpected.... (Postal Weirdness.)" Topic

Completely pointless post here, but frankly I'm so damned bemused that I just had to share…. ;-) In today's post I received a small handwritten envelope from Canada. So far so not too odd; I couldn't think who it would be from, but so it goes.

On picking it up I moved to "slightly puzzled" though, as the contents had evidently been stiffened with cardboard, like I do when posting decals. While the envelope was the same size that I use for posting decals…. OK, maybe a return, but I honestly can't think of anyone ever sending my products back in disgust – they're not that bad…. ;-) So I opened it, and found this:

I've had a few "what the heck were they doing?" moments from postal services over the years (the postal order that arrived 6 months after it was posted being a particular highlight) but this one has really set the bar pretty high. Royal Mail have somehow sent an envelope clearly and correctly addressed to Germany, to Canada instead, where Canada Post have dropped it in the street rather than attempting to send it back, and a friendly Canadian has picked it up, written a note and sent it back to the return address that I always write on the back of the envelope….

To the friendly Canadian – I thank you and I salute you, sir or madam. To the postal services – please please stop trying to make even me look relatively efficient….

Dom, bemused….

Perhaps if you had underlined Germany one more time they would have figured it out.

Truly amazing, but at least with a somewhat happy ending. And the Canadian who sent it back should perhaps work for their post office.

Gotta say fair play to the Canadian person and I have to ask did you ever wittingly or otherwise upset a postman?

I love it when humans act as agents of serendipity instead of unthinking agents of entropy. Adults are supposed to have overcome the latter condition. Kudos to the faceless Canuck who is also a friend of someone in Germany. Making the world a better place, a tiny act at a time….

We are reputed to be very polite people, Canadians that is.

Yes, it certainly plays to the Canadian stereotype, in an altogether good way….

I sent a parcel to Switzerland once (a box of painted figures from a commission). It was tracked and insured so, when it failed to arrive after 14 days, I enquired what had happened as its tracking info hadn't come up on the website.

A few days later the local PO phoned me to say that it had gone to Ireland first and then to Spain but was, at last, on its way to Switzerland.

It arrived in perfect condition after 23 days.

It amazed me that a system that can track a parcel so precisely can't even send it to the right country – TWICE.

My wife's niece just received her Sweet 16 birthday card from us. She's 22. (This is in the U.S.)

Hey, USPS, could you look in the same place for the state tax return that we mailed, but that never arrived?

6 years – now that is impressive – puts my personal best into the shade. :-)

Jeez Dom, I almost had a heart attack at the opening of this post, I'm awaiting that largish (for me) order from you that just got mailed!

Chris in Canada

PS I once had a large order coming from Irregular Miniatures in the UK, which was large enough they sent it in two parcels, both correctly labelled. One arrived here in 10 days or so, the other in four weeks – because it'd gone from the UK to Australia, back to the UK, then finally to Canada.

PPS Maybe this person got my parcel from the US that went missing in May, this person's driveway could be the black hole for Canada Post.

"Royal Mail have somehow sent an envelope clearly and correctly addressed to Germany, to Canada instead (…)"

I think I see the problem here. The RM is still using old maps that show "Prussia". When the postmaster couldn't find "Germany", he probably assumed (through glasses that were too dirty or needing an updated prescription) that the address was one of the Territories (because why would you need to send anything out of HM Empire?) and off to Canada it went… ;-)

The city of Kitchener, Ontario, has only been that for 99 years, before it was…Berlin. Maybe that's the problem? You know, Berlin, that place right near Waterloo (Ontario).

Ahh, such is humans and such is humanity. Yes wrgmr1 yes you are and thank God we do have at least yourselves in the world.
Nice one Dom thanks and cheers

That would explain some of my bills not arriving on time.

The first order of pre-painted figures that I ever sent to a customer in Chile when I still had MMPS arrived in Brazil instead. Thank god the Brazilian postal service was nice enough to make sure it got to where it was supposed to go.

I guess the Philippines postal service thought that having the continent right was good enough already. :-)

Dear Great War Ace

I love it when humans act as agents of serendipity instead of unthinking agents of entropy.

I love the above. I'm going to remember it. It is so redolent with meaning. Is this an original of yours?

If not, can you tell me who for correct attribution?

Otto