Paul is all you need

Tamworth postman Paul Smith never fails to deliver when it comes to putting smiles on his customer’s faces.

A familiar face on his Dosthill round, Paul began dressing up to entertain his customers after hearing that a few of his elderly regulars were becoming disheartened by the coronavirus crisis.

‘I deliver to elderly people, some of whom have health issues,’ Paul told the Birmingham Mail. ‘One of them told me they were getting really fed up. Another said she had only managed to get out of the house twice since February. 

‘So that’s why I started doing it; to try and cheer people up who are still in lockdown and cannot get out. Everybody loves it, it has just gone crazy. People have been saying I am famous and asking how long it is before they need to ask me for my autograph! 

‘I’m taken aback a bit by it and just glad people enjoy it. It has had the effect I wanted it to have. The first month I did a storm trooper. Last month, I did Paul McCartney as he was 78 and I did Ringo Star the other week as he was 80. I might have one or two more planned!’

Paul, who has delivered in Tamworth for 16 years, is now fully fit again after both he and his wife, Jenni were struck down with Covid-19 before the summer.

‘My wife got it quite bad,’ said Paul. ‘I had it only very lightly. We still don’t know where we got it from, I haven’t got a clue. She started coughing and then a temperature came on and she had difficulty with breathing. She was just so lethargic and tired all the time. When she was improving, I started coughing and got a temperature and thought “oh no” because I’m an asthma sufferer. 

‘A few days later it had totally gone - I couldn’t understand it. I spoke to someone from the surgery and she said there’s no rhyme nor reason to the virus and it has happened to other families where one has it bad and others like me had hardly anything. 

‘I rarely ever have a whole week off so, after self-isolation, I went back to work. Customers were giving me cards and notes wishing me well.’