Editor Joanne Forber 126 Ronald park Avenue Westcliff On Sea SS0 9QW

1. YHA –75 YEARS YHA –75 YEARS after fighting our way through some traffic we finally got to Ivinghoe Youth Hostel at 9.30pm. We unloaded the minibus, had a nice cup of hot chocolate (for me it was coffee as usual) and went to bed. Saturday We all woke up bright and early and started to put up all the decorations. We started with the balloons and poor Shannon’s ears started hurting her because she was blowing hard, so she moved onto another task so that she didn’t have to continue with the pain. About 11am Chris and Emily M came and joined us and we all worked really hard, putting up banners, blowing balloons, laying the table…to name a few. Although the rest of the party was going to arrive at 5.30, we were pushed with time. But we finally finished putting up all the decorations and sorted out where we all were going to be, during the party. Then the rest of the party came and joined us, we had a great party, great food and then… Sunday…came really quickly After everyone had their breakfast and packed up to go on another walk, the working party stayed behind and done the opposite of what we done the day before…take all the decorations down. We managed much more easily taking these down than it was putting them up. We packed up the minibus and went and met everyone else on their walk, to get ready to go home. Then we all done some walking and everyone went on the train apart from Diane, Chris and myself, we went by minibus. Shanahan, Emily Thanks Emily, you will get 20 points for doing this write-up Editor Joanne Forber 126 Ronald park Avenue Westcliff On Sea SS0 9QW Book for the spring weekend now! 2005 No 438 Postellers E-mail address: Postellers @ hotmail .com Diane writes the Diary, Joanne sees to the rest of the newsletter. If you have any queries about the Postellers, write- ups etc... ring Diane on 020 8440 0203. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTELLERS DIARY Sat 23rdPOSTELLERS SPRING WEEKEND CAPER Sun 24thTO KENT- staying at Medway Youth Hostel April near Rochester and Chatham. Come and enjoy a weekend near the River Medway in Kent, stay at Medway Youth Hostel,right opposite Capstone Country Park where we’ll have a go on the ice rink as well as exploring the park and the naval town of Chatham. 8

2. WEEKEND About £19.00. (£32.00 if having hostel COSTmeals.) This includes overnight stay,return travel from London and visit to ice rink. TO BOOK Send the following to Postellers c/o Sian Arnold,Brick Hill Cottage,Brick Hill,Hook Norton,Banbury,Oxon.OX15 5QA. 1) A Posteller Booking Letter. Mark it ‘Medway’2)A stamped addressed envelope. 3)A cheque/postal order payable to YHA for one of the following amounts:- UNDER 18 18+ £19.00 if self-catering £22.00 £32.00 if having hostel meals £35.00 (Leaders Overnight £11.00) MEETING PLACE & TIMETIME BACK Waterloo Main Line Station About at the Barrier of Platform 2 5.00pm at at10.00am on Saturday 23rd Waterloo April POSTELLERS POINTS :10 Tues 26thNewsletter Working Party at Hampstead April Heath Youth Hostel,4 Wellgarth Road,NW11.(Nearest Underground Golders Green,Northern Line.) Please come and help get the newsletter ready for posting. POSTELLER POINTS:10 What he could not tell us was whether our recording would be used in the programme as a lot of material had been recorded as well as ours. Anyway- we hope it will be. If you are near a radio on SATURDAY 2ND APRIL tune on to Radio 4 at 10.30am. If you listen long enough(it’s a ½ hour programme) you may hear us. Jo and Diane YHA FREE MEMBERSHIP FOR UNDER 16S This came in on 1st March. At present we don’t have the full details,but we’ll keep you informed. POSTELLERS AGM AT IVINGHOE YOUTH HOSTEL 13TH FEBRUARY 2005 At this meeting which was the day after the Valentine’s Party. Postellers made the following decisions: 1) Postellers Points. Nobody will be able to win the Posteller Points prizes more than twice. 2) Posteller Points Changes: For as write-up it is now 20 points. To bring a friend on a trip,it is now 30 points. 3) The Summer Specials will be: Special 1- North Norfolk Coast. Special 2- North of England Valentine weekend write upFriday At 8.30pm I met Shannon and Diane at High Barnet train station and we made our way to the hostel, 2 7

3. . Mon 8thPOSTELLER SPECIAL NO2-NORTH OF Sun 14thENGLAND-AND JUST INTO SCOTLAND August A harder walking trip along some of the Pennine Way in beautiful,country at the very top of England.We’ll stay at hostels such as Birdoswald,-a Roman fort and new to YHA, Once Brewed on Hadrian’s Wall and Kielder where we could hire bikes & cycle into Scotland. COSTBoth trips cost the same-£98 for Under 18’s £116.00 if 18 already. This includes 6 overnights,all meals,return travel from London plus an activity. TO BOOK£15 not refundable deposit makes sure of a place and then send in £15 a month or, if the full amount can be paid all at once,it helps the Postellers bank account. Send the following to Postellers,c/o Sian Arnold,Brick Hill Cottage,Brick Hill,Hook Norton, Banbury, Oxon.OX15 5QA TO BOOK.Send the following to Postellers c/o Sian Arnold,Brick Hill Cottage,Brick Hill,Hook Norton,Banbury,Oxon.OX15 5QA:- 1) Part 2 of Posteller Booking Letter. Mark it ‘Edale’ 2) A stamped addressed envelope. 3) A cheque/postal order payable to Postellers YHA Group for one of the following amounts:- UNDER 1818+ £69.00 if self catering £79.50 £102.00 if having hostel meals £112.50 (Leaders Overnight £37.50)ONLY 8 PLACES SO BOOK NOW!POSTELLERS POINTS:30 Tues 31st May Newsletter Working Party Sat 23rd/ POSTELLER SPECIAL NO1-NORTH Fri 29thNORFOLK COAST- A great place to go. July It’s easy walking, loads of lovely beaches ,plenty of sea and lots to do. Visit Blakeney Point by boat and see the seals,stay at great Youth Hostels along the coast -Hunstanton,Wells-next-the –sea and Sheringham. Try an activity-perhaps pony trekking or cycling. 1) Part 2 of a Posteller Booking Letter. Mark it ‘Special No1 or 2’ 2) A stamped addressed envelope. 3) A cheque/postal order payable to Postellers YHA group for one of the following amounts:- UNDER 1818+£98.00 £116.00 (Leaders overnight:£68.00) POSTELLER POINTS: 60 FOR EACH TRIP 5 4

4. YHA’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT The YHA’S first Anniversary celebration took place on 8th March at Holland House Youth Hostel . It was a big occasion which took place in a giant marquee in the hostel grounds. There was a lot to eat and drink and lots of people. Claire Pearson,who has been a Posteller,now a leader,for 13 years made a speech about what YHA and the Postellers has meant to her. It was very good and loads of photos were taken of her which will appear in various YHA publications. Shannon Bissell, Lauren Redman,Emily McCarthy,Dom Burton and Diane were there too representing the Postellers. Shannon, who was the youngest person there, helped to cut the special YHA cake. It was a lovely evening.Look out for more special events! Diane Tues 17thMANAGEMENT TEAM MEETING at City of London May Youth Hostel.EC4 at 7.00 pm Fri 27th/PEAK DISTRICT ADVENTUREMon 30th Looking for a challenge? Looking for Fun? MayThen come with us to Edale Youth Hostel which is halfway up Kinder Scout-a high plateau in the Peak District. Have a go at CAVING,ROCK CLIMBING,HIGH WALKING ON KINDER SCOUT,CYCLING and loads to do at the hostel assault course,football,games room. The instructed activities are led by nationally qualified instructors. WEEKEND About £69.00 if self-catering,£102 if having COST. hostel meals. This includes 3 overnights,all activities costing £37.00 and return travel from London. If you are having hostel meals the higher price includes 3 breakfasts,3 packed lunches and 2 evening meals. IT’S GREAT VALUE! 75 YEARS 75 YEARS POSTELLERS ON RADIO 4?One snowy morning towards the end of February,Joanne and Diane set off for Oxford Youth Hostel. We were due to meet a radio journalist,Nick Channer who was involved in a programme to mark the YHA’s 75 years. His producer had been told about Postellers so Jo and Diane were asked for an interview. We told him about the Postellers of course. 6 3