A great 3 days at the Peebles Hydro saw 180 subpostmasers meet for their annual conference. 3 days of brilliant weather helped show off the town of Peebles and the Scottish Borders at its springtime best.

 A packed conference room was the focal point of much debate about their industry and it brought it home to me the challenges they face in running their sub post offices.I suppose like a lot of businesses, we the public take too much for granted. These are men and women who displayed an absolute passion for their businesses, and are facing tough times in today’s market place for post office services. Not only do they face competition from supermarkets and some other retail outlets but also from the main Post Office network too.  Alan Cook, the Post Office Ltd Managing Director, and government minister Gareth Thomas MP, were at  the conference to address delegates and to take questions – and believe me some were tough.

 

My job was to take photographs throughout the 3 days and the dinner so I wasn’t listening intently to all the presentations and debate but just caught just enough in between takes.

A Gala Dinner was held on the second evening. The local kilt hire shop must have done a brisk business as all the Sikhs and Indians hired full kilts for the night – great stuff!

 Alan Cook, MD Post Office Ltd.

NFSP Executive Officers

The Kilts!

Photos: Nikons D3 and D300. Nikon Lens 70mm-200mm 2.8 and 24mm-70mm 2.8. Nikon SB 900 flash. Most shots using available light at 800ISO.