07 May 2013
“Oh look! Paula! Isn’t that Postman Pat’s van?!” I shouted excitedly, pointing at a large red van parked in the street.
“So it is,” she declared, smiling at me. “How do you know about Postman Pat, Flat Kathy?”
“Reggie told me all about him,” I replied. “I heard her singing this very catchy tune once. She said that it’s from an animated television series for children. It’s a song about Postman Pat, who delivers the mail in the village of Greendale. The song goes like this.”
And I sang for her:
“Postman Pat, postman Pat
Postman Pat and his black-and-white cat
Early in the morning
Just as day is dawning
He picks up all the postbags in his van.”
This is what Postman Pat and his black-and-white cat Jess look like; you can see the red van with the Royal Mail logo behind them. Doesn’t he look friendly? I like him a lot!
Paula looked at me admiringly: “Gosh, Flat Kathy, you really do know some surprising things!”
“Do you think that I could meet him?” I ventured, tentatively.
“I don’t see why not,” said Paula, and we walked over to the van to wait for the postman to return from his delivery. When he did, I smiled my brightest smile at him, and said politely, “Hello, Mr Postman, are you the famous Postman Pat?”
He looked a bit surprised. “No, actually, I’m not. This isn’t his route; I think he delivers mail somewhere else…”
“Yes, Greendale,” I said knowledgeably. “But I’m not sure where that is, so I thought perhaps you were him.”
“Er… yes, that’s right,” he said. “Well, I’m not.”
“This is Flat Kathy,” explained Paula. “She’s from Canada, originally…”
“Nova Scotia, actually,” I interrupted. “It’s on the east coast of Canada.”
“Right…” he nodded, giving us an odd kind of look.
“Well, Flat Kathy is visiting England with us,” continued Paula valiantly, “and she was just wondering whether she could have a photograph with you and your van?”
“We-e-ell,” Mr Postman said hesitantly. “I’m not sure. I’m on duty, you see. How about you just take a photo of her with the van?”
I thought that was really nice of him. Look, here I am sitting in the window of his van!
The Fantastical Voyages of Flat Kathy 