As Christmas posting and delivery reaches its peak, thousands more post offices - many in rural areas - are threatened with closure.
There is dismay and concern across the country and in counties like Shropshire, a real fear at the chipping away of services which have for generations been a lifeline for those in remote areas.
Tomorrow trade secretary Alistair Darling announces what financial support the Government will continue giving to the loss-making network.
Opposition parties, sub-postmasters, campaign groups and individuals are appealing to ministers not to back wholesale closures, but could be fighting a losing battle.
Because of the 14,500 post offices in the UK, 9,400 are in rural areas where 1,600 have fewer than 100 customers each. The network is losing £4 million a week - twice last year’s loss - and the £150 million a year the government has been spending on support for rural post offices is at any rate due to run out in 2008. Those are the hard commercial facts.
Opposers to more closures and any withdrawal of state support, argue that you can’t measure the quality of life in terms of cost. That the elderly, young mums without extra transport and the disabled are particularly vulnerable as local services are eroded.
Others point out that as valuable business like pension and child benefit payments paid directly to bank accounts along with essentials like TV and driving licences, insurances and passports available elsewhere or on-line, an ailing business has to look to its funding.
Perhaps one tiny Shropshire hamlet on the edge of a not much bigger village has one answer thanks to the vision of a couple of entrepreneurs who have met a local need and provided previously undreamed of facilities.
Alongside the picturesque Montgomery Canal at Maesbury Marsh, a smart new environmentally-friendly building in light wood, with an attractive red roof, is now home to Maesbury Post Office, a tempting shop where as much produce as possible is sourced locally, charming tea rooms and a full-blown IT centre with lap tops, printers, laminators and for a lowly annual fee, a modern link to the outside world.
Not for nothing are owners Fiona Macdonald and her partner Iain Campbell please and proud of the marvellous village asset, officially opened a few weeks ago to the delight of neighbours and locals as well as those from farther afield.
The boat-mad couple were living in Hampshire but visiting other areas in search of a challenge and chasing a dream. While in Llangollen, they decided to advertise for a piece of land on a canal and before long, a dilapidated barn on the Montgomery Canal came up.
The barn is still there, Fiona and Iain live in an adjoining white cottage facing the road with delightful and friendly terrier Russell who has a passion for showers.
But a lot of water has passed down the canal in the four years since that early idea.
They were antique furniture restorers and used one outbuilding as a workshop, although most of their clients were still in the south. Then a life-changing flier came through the door - the local post office was for sale, nobody wanted to carry it on.
Fiona says: “Since we worked from home, we thought it was something we could do.
“Then we started to think how we could develop that with maybe self catering and a shop for canal people. The more we thought about it, the more excited we were about the possibilities.”
As a result, Fiona is the new post mistress at the newly named Canal Central and with Iain, runs the shop, makes the tea and provides delicious light lunches as well as welcoming computer users - teatime with home going schoolchildren and their mums is popular - and providing excellent bed and breakfast facilities for ramblers, canal travellers and anyone else.
The £200,000 post office which has become so very much more opened three years after the old one closed.
With threats to so many villages services, locals especially welcomed the new venture with its modern, open-plan post office counter which comes complete and is run by Fiona who with partner Iain suddenly found herself also shopkeeper, cook, tea room hostess, B&B owner, IT specialist and through it all, both remaining passionate about canals and boats.
Now, villagers take part in a variety of courses with the internet access available thanks to a £20,000 grant from Switch-on Shropshire and for which everyone pays just £2.50 for the year. There was also financial support for the project from the department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs secured by chartered surveyors Berrys.
Their business consultant Simon Latter is enthusiastic: “It ticked all the boxes for the grant application, providing a balanced resource for the local community but also acting as a tourist attraction for the wider rural area,” he says.
Is this the sort of exciting venture with the right support which will both protect and add to vital services, bring back a focal point to rural communities and also pay its way?
Maybe government and others should take note of the community magic being weaved down at Maesbury Marsh.
By Shirley Tart
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