Post Office Discrimination

Notice anything about this screenshot of the Post Office website? I'll give you a clue. I, and thousands more, do not live on the UK mainland.

I use a lot of postage stamps.

I've never counted but my brother and I between us probably use several hundred first class stamps just sending missives to each other. We use WhatsApp and emails but we both like writing letters and sending cards.

Then there are my friends overseas who don't use computers and those to whom I like sending cards anyway. I certainly use several dozen overseas stamps a month.

I love sending cards (I print my own photo cards). I love writing letters! It's as simple as that.

I've never ordered stamps on line because I prefer to support my local post offices however CJ pointed out that there were really interesting stamps to be had directly from the Post Office on line. So I sussed out some interesting ones and then came the bad news. I can't have them delivered to the Isle of Lewis.

Given that the cost of postage for the order would be exactly the same for Lewis as anywhere else in the UK this totally defeats me. There will be a letter going to my MP on this one.

PS Why is there an apostrophe after 'address' in the information box?

Chosen Specially For Me

I subscribe to Amazon Prime because it offers expedited delivery and a number of other benefits. However, and perhaps it's just my imagination, the benefits seem to be more and more media-related and less of a benefit when one wants to purchase everyday items. 

That doesn't stop Amazon sending me an email every day with suggestions of things I might want. A few days ago they suggest this jumbo sized garden storage box. I didn't want one but I was rather confused by the mixed message which so often happens to Island and Highland residents. 

Delivery to the UK - Islands is apparently not a problem half way down but at the bottom it states that they do not deliver to offshore postcodes. 

Now I can understand it for an item like this even though it's sent flat-packed but when exactly the same thing happens for an item that can fit into a first class envelope the decision making process defeats me.

I should add that some suppliers have absolutely no problems sending beds, mattresses and the like (often at no additional cost to the buyer) so sending a flat packed plastic storage box should be no problem at all.