Royal Mail delivers parenting magazine to father – 19 years after he bought it

Royal Mail has finally delivered a parenting magazine to a father 19 years after he bought it for his young family in 2007.

Paul Edwards, 52, from Chester, said he bought a copy of Mother & Baby for advice when his daughter was 18 months old and his son was due to be born three months later.

However, the parcel did not arrive until Friday, when it was posted through his letterbox with a message apologising for “any inconvenience caused”.

Mr Edwards, whose children aged 18 and 20 are now at university, said he found it “just bizarre”.

“Like a lot of relatively new parents, you sign up for subscriptions for things to give you advice, offers and provide things to do with the children – then obviously everyone realises you have to work it out for yourself,” he told the BBC.

“I’m not sure we realised at the time that the magazine was missing. Then it’s suddenly arrived in the post.

“You get a half-torn screwed up bag and you think, ‘what on earth is this?’, with the ‘sincere apologies’ on it.”

The title stopped producing physical copies in 2020, although it is still available online.

Royal Mail told the broadcaster that its delivery offices and sorting machines were checked daily, and that the magazine had probably been put back into the postal system by someone, rather than lost.

Mr Edwards, a science-fiction author who is “racing to the door all the time” for news about a potential publishing deal, said it was not quite the delivery he was expecting.

“It just really tickled me, it’s the contradiction,” he said. “You’re constantly checking for any publishing offer then this turns up. It’s just marvellous.

“What really got me was the apologies for the inconvenience. My two children have now left home.”

A post by Mr Edwards about the postage mishap on X has gained 1.6 million views and nearly 60,000 likes.

He said: “Well done Royal Mail – took a mere 19 years to deliver this magazine. Inconvenience? Well, the kids have now left home…”

He said he was amazed by the reaction. “I guess a big part of British culture is to complain about the post or trains being late, so it rings true for so many,” he said.

Recent figures show Royal Mail delivered just 75.7 per cent of first-class mailwithin one working day in the year to March, meaning almost a quarter of letters arrived late.

Despite the cost of a first-class stamp rising by 10p to £1.80 in April, the company is expected to deliver 219 million letters late this year.

A Royal Mail spokesman told The BBC: “Once an item is in the postal system, then it will be delivered to the address.

“Over the last year more than 92 per cent of letters arrived on time and over 99 per cent within seven working days.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]