Friends like family

For the past four years, the team at Birmingham Mail Centre has been celebrating Christmas with a feast of food from the Caribbean.

Birmingham postwomen Sharon Ashfall and Angel Reid helped organise the annual event, which typically gathers around 60 colleagues of all ages, races and cultures from across the workforce, and ensured everyone was able to relax, socialise and embrace the festive season.

‘The food is normally prepared by Bing’s restaurant, which is a popular local English and Caribbean takeaway in Birmingham,’ said Angel. ‘Our last Christmas food menu included Victoria sponge cake, a variety of Christmas chocolates and sweets, jerk and fried chicken, curried goat, fried fish, vegetable and mutton soup, saltfish fritters, rice and peas and plain rice, as well as calloo and soya meat.

‘Colleagues are also able to choose from a choice of drinks including sparkling non-alcoholic wine and sodas. As our workplace is so large, with different departments and a wide variety of shift patterns, it can sometimes be quite challenging to organise a celebration like this. This Christmas, the meal was served from midday until 2pm to ensure people were able to drop in on their break, before and after work, making the occasion flexible for all during their working day.

‘Sharon and I have both worked at Royal Mail for 16 years now. We’ve built a great friendship over the years and agree that working at Royal Mail presents colleagues with the opportunity to meet and make friends who become like family.’

Work area manager, Michael Gooden, said the party was a ‘gathering of colleagues who have a love for Caribbean food, which is cooked to the highest level and taste.

‘I’ve been every year and would never miss a year as the food is so great.’