A Billyant Bit of Post!

It was a fairly normal day. I say "fairly" normal, because on most "normal" days I'm hundreds of miles away from home. But today I was sitting quietly at home at my work station, tapping creative and scholarly thoughts into a new online resource for colleges and universities when there was a clatter of post falling from the letterbox and I looked up to see the postman walking back up the path.

He was wearing shorts. He's a bit of a stand-in for our usual post person who is in fact female. She too wears shorts quite a lot and I have to say they look a fair amount better on her than they did on this chap. On her, shorts look cool, elegant and classy and just a tiny bit phwoar! On him... he did look a bit of a twonk... Especially in the monsoon that we're currently in the middle of...!

There was the usual bumph and junk mail. Another begging letter on top from Michael Parkinson - sorry Parky, I know you're wanting to make a come back as chat show host and yes I may be a potential ace guest, but I'm too busy just now...

Ooh... An envelope with lots of colourful stamps and an airmail sticker! This bears a closer coat of looking at!

The small package - for such it was, rather than a mere letter - had reached me at Bispham in Blackpool, despite the clearly labelled address to Bispah, Beackpool... It had several stamps all with a picture of sheep in a field.

"Now who could be writing to me from Wales?" I thought. But then, surely that was Lake Coleridge in the background? And the bit of address cunningly obscured by a New Zealand postal service - alias sl... which I suspected could be alias Sloop (as in Sloop John B you understand!)

And a half obscured outline of Billy Fury on the front - again half obliterated by a frustrated Elvis fan in the postal depot in that antipodean land. Well, that's what comes of spending your life upside down...

So here I am - barely concealing my excitement as I carefully and slowly rip open the envelope with gusto. (Gusto is just out of shot on the photo...)

There are two badges and three pieces of paper. The badges are the famous, desireable, much sought-after Billy Badges sent by Billy's most loyal (ie bloody fanatical) fan, (fanatical is actually where the word fan comes from - slipping back into scholarly mode there for a moment) Moya!

One piece of paper says "4 U Sloop & 1 4 Miss Franny. luv M."

Another says "ciggies, wine, loo roll, ciggies, shampoo, wine, bacon, ciggies, milk, wine, bread, more wine, tins beans, ciggies" which I suspect was Moya's shopping list - hope she's already used it, I'd hate her to forget anything...

The third says "Please John??? Sending this via Moya... Parky"

Thank you Moya!!! xxxxxxx!