please empty your brain below
I was the first person through the door at 10am yesterday. We stayed until 11.30am. It was fascinating.

Thanks for the advance publicity.

And thanks for saving me the effort of writing about it.

Blue Witch | Homepage | 07.04.13 - 8:51 a.m. | #

The slot thing is counter-intuitive, I would have thought that the upward-facing slot was the solution to wet mail.

NLW | 07.04.13 - 8:52 a.m. | #

yes, I enjoyed it when I went to last year's open day. specially the train, which like dg I saw in situ and working many years ago. but it's not really the sort of event I'd want to go to again, which may explain the relatively low attendance. unless you're a real postbox fanatic, once is probably enough.

amber | 07.04.13 - 9:27 a.m. | #

Re: foundations - I lived for a while in Alroy Road, which had its top the closest pillarbox to Liverpool's Anfield ground. It was once successfully ripped from the ground by thieves keen to access FA Cup tickets which had been posted into it.

simon hayes budgen | Homepage | 07.04.13 - 11:46 a.m. | #

Very curious that the charming Clinton Cards come from a simlarly unprepossessing unit right next door, though there is an odd logic in keeping stamps and cards adjacent!

| 07.04.13 - 12:00 p.m. | #

"Where De La Rue print our banknotes nowadays..."

Kim | 07.04.13 - 12:26 p.m. | #

As usual an interesting post DG

I remember visiting the old National Postal Museum at King Edward Building near St Paul's Cathedral so I wish them luck in getting the new museum 'sorted'

Rich | 07.04.13 - 12:45 p.m. | #

We love playing 'spot the postbox' when we tour the UK! Such a pity that the museum isn't open more often. I'd love to visit. We are still hanging out for a shot of the elusive Edward viii inI the wild....

Antipodean | 07.04.13 - 3:04 p.m. | #

Seeing all those pillar boxes standing in a row, never to be fed another letter, reminds me irresistably of this song

http://rachelidainlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/i-feed-him-sandwiches.html

timbo | 07.04.13 - 11:20 p.m. | #

I visited a couple of years ago - one of the facts that I came away with is that the easy way to tell the difference between a Type A and Type B postbox is that "most people can get their arms around a Type B box".

The archive in Mount Pleasant has some interesting things in it too - including correspondence between the Royal Mail and White Star Line's lawyers, seeking compensation for the mail lost with the sinking of the Titanic.

martin | 08.04.13 - 6:30 p.m. | #

Mention of the 'penfold' type of postbox leads me to wonder if this is where Dangermouse's trusty assistant got his name? IIRC, their secret HQ was below a red postbox.

Graham | 08.04.13 - 7:54 p.m. | #

I always tend to look at postboxes to see which monarch it dates back to. Queen Victoria for instance. It seems there are Edward VIII postboxes, some in London.

http://inamidst.com/topic/edwardboxes

Perhaps a future blog entry?

Karl, Dover | 08.04.13 - 9:58 p.m. | #

I wonder if, DG, you've ever been to this place:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/essex/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8210000/8210069.stm

The museum's own website seems to be down at the moment, and the place is only very occasionally open. But it's a real curiosity, and worth a visit.

Richard M | 08.04.13 - 10:24 p.m. | #

Until fairly recently the Edward VIII postbox in Beckenham faced outwards into Brackley Road. It was turned towards the pavement a couple of years ago.

| 09.04.13 - 10:53 p.m. | #

This photo shows the postbox facing the road.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/759805

| 09.04.13 - 10:55 p.m. | #











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