46. Underthreat

In the 1960s, there were 25,000 post offices and this number has now fallen to about 11,000 and many rural post offices such as the one at Clifton Hampden are under the constant threat of closure.

Only last year, MPs were told by the government that the cuts were needed because of losses of £4m a week, twice as much as in the previous year.

Most recently, post offices have been affected by the decision to pay pension and child benefit directly into bank accounts while TV licences, driving licences and passports are now being supplied online and through other retailers.

When the local post office closes, often the last shop in the village also closes as

well; this is also is the death knell for thousands of local shops and rural businesses that depend on their local post office.”Like so many other sad facts of life lads” said The First Mate.”Slowly and bit by bit, another one of our traditions is being thrown away”.”And   what tradition is that then? asked the Captain.”I’m taking about English community spirit, you know that thing that helped us to win two world wars for a start and to all intents and purposes, single handed “continued the First Mate.”But what about the Yanks then, they had a big part in World War Two didn’t them?” Sort of, the war started in 1939 and the Yanks came in a couple years later, and in typical John Wayne style, they were like the cavalry and came charging in and helped to save our bacon””Well what d’ya think made them join in “asked the Cabin Boy”. The First Mate continued”Well those slant eyes attacked some yankee ships in Pearl harbor and they thought that the Japs may join the Germans, so they became our comrades in arms. The Yanks did get their revenge on the Japs  though and nuked them when they dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshoma.””Cheers Phil” said Billy “But what started the war then?”.”Perhaps I can answer that one, First Mate? “said the Captain.”It started in 1939 when Germany led by that loony kraut Hitler and the Nazi party, invaded Poland. The main forces were the Allied powers which consisted of us, the Ruskies  and  the Yanks , and the enemy army  was the  Germans, Japs , and  the Itai’s. WW2 eventually spread through the entire Europe, Southeast Asia, The Pacific Ocean, and northern Africa. The war ended with an Allied victory.My dad fought in the war and  he would say “That the Itai’s  were the only soldiers he knew  who could fire a gun while running  backwards and that The Italian Book of War Heroes was the smallest book in the world. He used keep on about the Froggies as well and said that” They couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag. Just look at them. France had one of the largest numbers of people in the whole of Eurpoe, and what did they do when Hitler invaded France? I’ll tell you what …fuck all, just let the Krauts take their houses, take their women and take their country over without any form of resistance of fighting .If you ask me the Froggies should have been called Pussies.