A Conversation with Graham the Postman

Lucy Medhurst from Ideas Test came up with a great idea during one of our catch up Zoom meetings... how about speaking to a postman? 

OF COURSE! 

A letter writing project without the perspective of a postman?! NO THANKS! 

[Shout out to the Sheppey Gossip Board Facebook group for their generous suggestions!] and particularly to Jean who nominated Graham. 

Graham was happy to speak with me so I got my thinking cap on for questions. My 3 MAIN (of course I had more!) questions were: 

- How has being a postman shaped your experience of Sheppey? 

- How has your role as a postman changed over the years? 

- Have you ever witnessed what receiving a package or a letter in the post means to someone?

Graham has 800 homes on his round and it sounds like he's managed to carve out meaningful relationships with people living in most of them! It's clear why - he really cares about his community and the individuals he gets to meet as part of his job. He takes the fact that he could be the only person someone gets to talk to that day seriously. And it's not a one way street, these encounters lift his mood too. When Graham sees a face, a name and address pops up in his head. He knows who to leave parcels with if people aren't in and remembers to ask after loved ones. As he says himself, being a postman is NOT just "shoving a letter through a door". 

Covid has brought about many changes - from new rules at work (Graham always washed his hands, thank you very much!!!), to the content of deliveries - people who were previously sceptical about ordering online are now pros! Sadly 9 people on Graham's round died from Covid. As I've heard from others, Sheppey is a unique community, where people actually know each other. I can't begin to imagine the impact of these (and the other deaths) on the island. 

When I spoke to Graham he was training for a series of charity runs on the nights of 10th-14th May to raise money for the hospitals that looked after his family members who died from cancer. Check out his crowdfunding page here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/100km-in-five-days?utm_term=KAX4Jnd5w&fbclid=IwAR3nWkZWgL9ryifeZ9U-_94GUKgPPOQNb5Q4k6WMpsaZrsiY9dDpJvCH87s 

As well as being a postman and a fundraiser, Graham's an artist! He worked with Sheppey Matters to paint murals in Queenborough - one of the sites I'm looking forward to seeing when fingers crossed I can come to Sheppey very soon! 

It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Graham, I really appreciate him taking the time to share his experiences as a postman on the island as well as his unique perspectives on other aspects of life! I can't wait to read his forthcoming book, (which currently has at least two totally pun-tastic working titles!) full of stories from the hilarious to the heartbreaking. 

Thanks again Graham, good luck for the running and hopefully see you in Queenborough soon!