Photo-a-Day  (Monday, 2nd June, 2025)

Interesting question.

I live in a place were a Carrier Pigeon famously conveyed a video (on USB stick) from Beverly to Skegness faster than the local broadband managed.

Also, in the Nineteenth Century, you could get from Manchester to Liverpool by train faster than you can today!

Mail boxes seem to be emptied less frequently, and second delivery has ceased, so within quite broad limits, I guess the answer is yes, a mounted rider is quicker. Bit like some cities having cycle curriers to get stuff delivered quickly. And, at least for food deliveries, now becoming somewhat widespread.

What did the "post"signify way back in time?

Last year I got six birthday cards three days after my birthday and they had all been posted a week.before. Last month I posted a card to my son in law on The Isle of Lewis at Platt Bridge Post office and he got it the day after and it was a second class stamp! I think they just make the rules up as they go along.Nice photo though, Dennis.

Thats an interesting photo & information about ' Orell Post'. Sorry to be negative but couldnt someone do something about the weedy pots beside it , wouldnt take much to tidy them up.

So that's where Orrell Post is, and it's officially posted.

Irene may have hit on the right formula. Post your mail at Platt Waz Post Office!

WN2, my daughter has even sent me parcels from Lewis that have arrived the day after posting, and at the most they have taken two days. I don't even bother buying first class stamps these days as I don't think the post office differentiate between the first and second class. Last year they seemed to be holding LOCAL post back and just sending it once a week, hence my late birthday cards, and we got some shopping vouchers so late that they had gone past the date on which we could use them. It does seem to have improved a bit recently and I see the postman most days. I think they had received a number of complaints.

Definitely the flying horseman would deliver much quicker. The Post Office has gone down in most people’s estimation. More than ever with the scandal of blaming their own staff for stealing. They have ruined ordinary honest people for fraud. People are still awaiting recompense. Lives have been ruined on their account.

"Also, in the Nineteenth Century, you could get from Manchester to Liverpool by train faster than you can today!" said Strangeloop, strangely.

Do you also believe in the tooth fairy?

I've checked that out JN and it is claimed the journey time Manchester to Liverpool in the 19th century was 1 hour and 46 minutes. Today, the shortest time for the journey can be 36 minutes.

Interesting historical monument Dennis, many years since I’ve been in there.

In 1870, the train time between Liverpool and Manchester was approximately 40 minutes. The scheduled journey time for all three routes was 40 minutes, and many trains often took less.

While the fastest recorded run in 2016 was around 30 minutes, the fastest train in 1882 was timed at 38 minutes 18 seconds.

The fastest journey time I have managed, is 47 minutes (Transpennine) but I have not done the journey since Covid restrictions, so I am a bit out of date. I do accept that there may be a faster service available, though I never managed to travel on it.

On the topic of the time that it takes to travel from Manchester to Liverpool by rail …
I must confess that I haven’t visited either destination for a number of years now , and furthermore I’m not in any particular rush to do so either . So time spent getting to one or the other is purely academic … or at least it is as far as I’m concerned .

Same applies to HS2 … who in their right mind would spend several billion in beer vouchers merely in order to shave half an hour off the time spent getting to the khazi that is London , when you can get jellied eels and pearl buttons at Bolton market for a fraction of the price .

And while I’m on a roll … who in their reet mind would stump up 80 odd quid per annum for Amazon Prime just to get some totally irrelevant , Chinese manufactured garbage squashed through their letterbox tomorrow , instead of just waiting a week and getting it dumped in ones wheelie bin by a disgruntled , overworked and underpaid DHL employee for nowt ?

I must admit …
I’m finding it difficult to fathom this current obsession that people appear to have when it comes to instant gratification .

Call me owd fashioned if you like … but
Just lately , it’s become increasingly apparent to me that I don’t really belong in this world .