The postman’s round

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33141, 3 February 1973, Page 10

The postman’s round

Whistles For < The Postie. By Freda Bream. Collins. 214 pp. The author of the very successful “Chalk Dust and Chewing Gum,” Mrs Freda Bream takes a lighthearted look at the lot of the New Zealand postmen and women in her new book. The previous volume saw the author describing her experiences as a teacher, but Mrs Bream decided after eight years of married life to try her luck as a "postie.” Her good-humoured observations of the trials and tribulations involved in delivering the nation’s mail are engagingly told. We are taken through the various stages in the disposal of mail and can only be impressed with the efficiency of the whole procedure. Then we begin to learn the postmen’s routine and follow Mrs Bream on her four days with a colleague before taking the big step of acquiring her own round. The pitfalls and personalties of “Pakenham North” are vividly described. Rude and intolerant householders are balanced by the friendly and hospitable, Mrs Bream is sympathetic to the lonely and the poor, antagonistic toward the unreasonable, and the dog owners. An accident (at home) brought to a premature end “one of the best spent periods of my life.” In her own engaging style and using her gifts of adept observation and characterisation Mrs Bream has used her experiences _ to create another very readable narrative. It is a good relaxing book for readers of all ages.