Life in a post office queue

There is no queue quite like a post office queue.

Go into any post office in London at almost any time of the day and you will see a classic British institution - the queue. You rarely see them anywhere else these days.

A long line of people just standing around, looking at their watches, glancing up at the number of empty counter positions and wishing that one more, just one, would open up.

But no, instead it reaches the "lunchtime" moment - which seems to be anywhere from 11.30 until 3pm. And rather than new counter positions opening, one by one they seem to close.

And the people just wait..... and wait..... and wait.

People trying to pay their car tax, energy bills, collect their pensions, buy travel insurance, make bank deposits, buy lottery tickets - oh, and sometimes, actually trying to post something.

So its delightful to know that the post office is now allowing people to pay for post online. I think you can print out postage "stamps" on a computer to avoid having to queue. The post office trying to encourage people NOT to visit them if they want to post a letter. Bizarre.

I don't know the details as sadly this service seems impossible to find on their website.

Anyway, can't linger. I've got to go and spend my morning in a post office queue as sadly their online service doesn't cover parcel postage.