My sister has sent me a birthday present from the UK. She sent it at the end of July and I have not yet received it. Before going to work, I pop into the Post Office and ask if there is a parcel for me.
The lady picks up a pile of parcel slips at her elbow and leafs through them. Every slip is stamped 'Hillside Post Office 12 August'. My slip is near the top.
Me: The 12th of August? Why haven't I received the slip? This has been here for ages.
Lady: It was misplaced.
Me: Misplaced? With all those other slips also stamped the 12th of August?
No answer.
I sign for the parcel and have to pay $250 (US$2.50) in customs fees. My protest that I shouldn't have to pay as they have kept my parcel for over a month falls on deaf ears. Another postal officer comes over and studies the parcel slip. He mutters something about the parcel not having a phone number, but I can't hear him clearly due to his mask so I am not sure if I heard right. Surely you don't have to put phone numbers on letters and parcels now? Does the Post office actually do anything at all? Why don't they just phone me from England and ask me to come and fetch it?
However, the good news is I have some really lovely new clothes that don't come from the Bendover Bazaar.
The water comes on in the evening. It comes on roughly every five days now and I can live with this. We are very lucky to have a storage tank though.
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