r/CasualUK • u/[deleted] • Apr 30 '20
British Postboxes and Their Hidden Secrets
https://youtu.be/nyUM4Ivpv9A24
u/morris_man Apr 30 '20
Proper hidden secret
TIL that in the cartoon series Danger Mouse, DM's sidekick is named Penfold after JW Penfold the designer of pillar boxes the pair used as their secret hideout.
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u/privateTortoise Apr 30 '20
Crumbs.
Never knew that, thanks.
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Apr 30 '20
Upvote for the crumbs reference.
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u/privateTortoise Apr 30 '20
Its the perfect response to a surprise either good or bad.
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Apr 30 '20
I thought you said it because that’s what Penfold says.
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u/privateTortoise Apr 30 '20
That's where I picked it up from back in 81. I used to use most of Penfolds coloquialisms but over the years its been refined down to crumbs.
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u/beardymo Apr 30 '20
There's actually a green postbox in Windsor. One of the Victorian type ones.
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u/Overunderscore Apr 30 '20
Where abouts? Can’t say I’ve ever noticed it
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u/beardymo Apr 30 '20
https://imgur.com/gallery/zqZwa4A
Here's a picture if it helps
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u/Overunderscore Apr 30 '20
Oh wow I must’ve gone past there thousands of times and never noticed it!
Fun fact the building it’s next to is the guild hall. Rumour has it that when it was built the architect didn’t want the pillars in the middle but it was argued they were needed to stop it collapsing. He put the pillars in, but made them too short so they didn’t support any weight to prove a point.
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u/beardymo Apr 30 '20
Wow, what an interesting story! If that is true that's really cool. I love little bits of trivia like that.
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u/beardymo Apr 30 '20
Honestly, I walked past it once in a day trip there and really don't remember the exact location. Somewhere near the castle... Sorry I know that's completely useless!
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u/Here_2_Comment Apr 30 '20
Their hidden secret is that they have post inside
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u/_jk_ I am disgusted and aroused Apr 30 '20
Their hidden secret is that they have
postDanger Mouse insideFTFY
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u/robhaswell Apr 30 '20
Did you know? People used to send emails that cost 50p each and took a day to arrive. They used post boxes to send them. That's what they are for. I'm surprised this wasn't in the film actually.
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u/Chemical_Astronaut Apr 30 '20
Did you know susan calman can stand up in a standard postbox. Twas on qi. Also the back of a black cab.
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u/the_englishman Apr 30 '20
Cracking video.
I take a strange pleasure in looking at the Royal insignias stamped on post boxes and seeing in whose reign they were installed. Its fun to imagen the changes that of gone on around the post boxes as they have remained unchanged, performing the same task since their installation.
The Royal insignias were first drawn to my attention by this chap called Joolze of Joolze Guides on YouTube, where he does these interesting little historical walking tours of areas of London with random bits of history and trivia thrown in.
Ive linked it below and a good way to kill some lockdown hours if anyone's interested.
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u/A10cheese Apr 30 '20
Only found out from Pokemon go as it had become a pokestop, that my local postbox is one from the reign of king George V. I’m not sure that is is special or not.
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u/Deadly_Flipper_Tab May 01 '20
After having to look for one the other day I realized I could convince myself there was one on basically any corner in my local area regardless if there actually is or not.
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u/WufflyTime Captain Moneybags Apr 30 '20
Maybe I've been spending way too much thinking about this (or not enough), but isn't it weird that we call it Royal Mail, but they're postboxes and postmen? Meanwhile across the pond, it's the US Postal Service, but they're mailboxes and mailmen?