Postcard arrives five years late


13 December 2005 12:17

When Thelma Fenn sat down to write a postcard from Tenerife to her close friend in Norwich, little did she realise it would take so long to reach its destination - nearly five years in fact.

Ruth Wright could not believe it when the postcard from Thelma and her then boyfriend Brian arrived at her Norwich home last week.

It was addressed to Mrs Wright and her late husband John, who died aged 57 in November 2001. Since it was posted her friend has also split up with her boyfriend.

The postcard has a 75 pesetas stamp on it, because it was posted before the Euro came in, in 2002.

On the back of the postcard, Miss Fenn greets her friend, says a bit about what they have been doing, and marvels at the hot weather and beautiful scenery.

Mrs Wright, 59, of Grant Street, off Dereham Road, phoned Miss Fenn when the postcard arrived.

“I said thank you for the postcard. She did not know what I was talking about and there was deadly silence, and then it clicked.

“I cannot remember her asking at the time whether we had received the postcard,” Mrs Wright said.

Because there are no markings on it, Mrs Wright believes the postcard fell behind a filing cabinet at a post office and then a cleaner found it.

“It must have been a genuine mistake,” she added.

“When it arrived I had just noticed that the price of postage stamps had gone up.

“I wonder if the price increase would have made any difference and the postcard would have arrived sooner.

“Not bad, nearly five years late. Bring back pigeon post.”

There are no stamp markings on the postcard to suggest it was sent around the world before it arrived in Norwich.

Miss Fenn, of Mill Gardens, Horsford, said: “A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then.

“I can remember we had a lovely time on holiday there. We were just there for a week.

“We must have only sent two or three postcards. Brian and I split up a few years after that.

“Ruth and I have been friends for years, since we worked at Jarrold's in Norwich together.”

Mrs Wright who works part-time at a drains centre in Norwich has two sons, two stepsons and two grandchildren.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “It's highly unlikely that the postcard would have been in our system all that time.

“It's difficult to say what happened, and it could have got held up in Tenerife.

“We are delivering our best ever quality of service and look to continue to provide our customers in the Norwich area with a good quality service.”

Have you received a letter years after it was sent? Call Alasdair McGregor at the Evening News on (01603) 772443 or email al.mcgregor@archant.co.uk

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