Every now and again, something strikes us as just inconceivably strange about Glasgow. This evening T. mentioned that a friend had sent her a package and that it’d been returned – to the US – undelivered. This is truly the exception to the way things seem to work here!
The other day, we got a card through the postbox in the lobby of our building, notifying us that they’d tried to deliver a package, but we weren’t home, so they left it with our neighbors. Well, D. went over to ask about it, and the person who opened the door said that he ought to also take a look through the pile of mail just sitting by the front door of their building, as they let it build up for awhile and then “bin it.” He retrieved several pieces which were misdelivered, and brought them back to our building.
When we rented our first flat, there was a small pile of letters on the floor when we took possession of the flat. The letting agent told us to just “bin it.”
To us, this casual attitude towards the mail is, quite frankly, horrifying. Growing up in the US, children are sternly admonished that putting things in mailboxes is illegal, and that it’s a Federal Offense to tamper with the mail. To open someone else’s mail – even if it’s been delivered to your house – could land you in prison! To destroy someone’s mail? Inconceivable!
In our current flat, there’s a growing pile of mail, sitting downstairs. D. plans to take it back to the post office, and to have them deal with it. We hope that they’ll not just “bin it,” as everyone else seems to do. Of course, when we moved from our last flat to our current flat, we went to try to get an address forward … to find that the forwarding on of mail is something for which you pay the post office. Yet another oddity of “the post.” Oh – and they don’t pick up the post from your house, of course: you must take it to a post office or drop it into a box.
On the other hand, though, some things exist here which don’t exist anyplace else any longer – like Crosby Stills & Nash. If any of you out there are truly fond of some country music, this is still the place to find it. Thought your artist was dead? Nah – they’re more than likely just touring Scotland.
Running into posters like this, in public places, with current dates? Well, that’s what lets us know we’re really in a strange land.
– D & T
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…or touring the rest of Europe. We saw The Eagles the other night, here in Zürich