MORE than 10,000 miles away in Queensland, Australia, a postal customer is missing a postcard from a friend.But it is not completely lost.In a bizarre postal authority mix-up, the postcard has ended up at Cemetery Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, rather than Cemetery Road, Ipswich, Queensland.
MORE than 10,000 miles away in Queensland, Australia, a postal customer is missing a postcard from a friend.
But it is not completely lost.
In a bizarre postal authority mix-up, the postcard has ended up at Cemetery Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, rather than Cemetery Road, Ipswich, Queensland.
Kate Exton, 31, discovered the postcard on her Ipswich doormat and is now determined to reunite the card with its rightful owner.
Mrs Exton, who works at an opticians store in Colchester, said: “When it dropped through the letterbox I picked it up and thought 'I don't know anyone who is on holiday at the moment'.
“When I realised it should have gone to Australia, I was surprised to say the least.
“I have sent an e-mail to the local paper for Ipswich in Australia trying to find out who the card should have gone to.”
The card, which appears to have been posted from Morocco, is a picture of people on camels and sand dunes.
The message says the writer has been to Morocco's Medina of Fes city and spent two nights sleeping under the stars at the Sahara.
It was posted on November 16 last year, addresses to Bronwyn Edmeades, and the postmark is January 16.
The distance between the homes in Suffolk and Queensland is around 10,176miles.
The writer was under some confusion, marking it for house number 4, or 7, when in fact Ms edmeades lives at number 8.
Ms Edmeades has been contacted by the area's newspaper. She has e-mailed Mrs Exton and hopes to get the card sent to her.
She said: “All this is a bit freaky.
“I've had postcards go missing but not turn up on the other side of the world.”
Royal Mail spokesman James Taylor said: “It's certainly very rare. I've never heard of anything like it.
“It would be almost impossible to speculate why it was sent to the UK. It would be an issue for the authority in the country where it was sent.
“However, it says Queensland and Australia on it so it should have been diverted when I reached here.
“The key message is for people to address items as correctly and detailed as possible to avoid ambiguity.”
Weblinks:
www.royalmail.com
www.ipswich.qld.gov.au
n Have you received a strange item in the post? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
N Ipswich is in south east Queensland, to the west of Brisbane.
N It has a population of 145,000
N Residents include those from 115 ethnic backgrounds
N There is a subtropical climate
N It is Queensland's oldest provincial city and is renowned for its architectural, natural and cultural heritage.
N Attractions include the Ipswich Art Gallery and the Workshops Rail Museum
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