A roll lot of fun

When someone covers 20-odd miles of tarmac dressed as a toilet roll, they are generally doing it for charity. But if you spot Stamford postman, Stewart McGeoch in costume, he’s simply doing it to put a smile on your face. 

Like so many of our people, Stewart has been donning a number of costumes, including Darth Vader and a postbox, to bring a bit of cheer to the customers on his round.

‘It gets people smiling and talking,’ said Stewart, who joined the business in March last year. ‘Children point at me, and several people driving past have done a double take, as if they couldn’t quite believe their eyes first time.’

Stewart completed no less than 22 miles delivering for customers as a toilet roll, which he said wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, due to the shape of the costume. ‘I couldn’t get the post bag over my shoulder properly, so it kept slipping off,’ he said.

‘Mind you, the Darth Vader costume has a mask with perspex eyes, and that didn’t make my vision too good. I had to keep squinting at the letters to see the house numbers!’

Stewart’s postbox outfit proved a little more practical, although a lack of peripheral vision meant he ended up in a few tussles with twigs as he passed though people’s front gardens. 

‘Thank you to everyone thanking us posties whether in person, giving us a thumbs up or clap, or by leaving messages on the door. It really does make a difference.’

Meanwhile in Bodmin, customers on a local Facebook group have been voicing their approval for postman, Adam Swatton, who has been entertaining their kids on his round by dressing as Spiderman.

‘The kids are buzzing,’ one parent said. ‘They’ve been in the window for over half an hour as the van is near our house, so they keep seeing him.’ Another added: ‘It made our morning having Spiderman delivering our post.’

And in Kidlington, postman of 21 years, Russell Sanders, has been winning a whole new fanbase by doing his rounds dressed as Captain America, Flash, The Hulk and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Russell has so far raised more than £1,150 for the NHS having been spurred on to don his superhero costumes after a friend contracted Covid-19.

‘I’ve got a friend who has been in intensive care with Covid-19 and he’s being looked after really well by the intensive care nurses and the NHS,’ said Russell. ‘I thought it would be nice to give something back and put a smile on people’s faces. People are looking out their windows smiling, and cars are tooting their horns.’