Please note the last christmas posting dates have already passed.

Because of adverse weather conditions in the UK we cannot confirm if any letters or cards sent now will arrive in time for Christmas

British Airways have won a court battle which will prevent planned strikes going ahead over the Christmas period. Mrs Justice Cox granted a High Court injunction and refused United permission to appeal although the union can apply directly to the Court of Appeal. Mrs Justice Cox said "A strike of this kind over the twelve days of Christmas is fundamentally more damaging to BA and the wider public than a strike taking place at almost any other time of the year." BA said of the decision "We are delighted for our customers that the threat of a Christmas strike has been lifted by the court.

British Airways staff have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action over job cuts and changes to staff contracts. The action is due to start on the 22nd of December and run until the 2nd of January and is expected to cause chaos for passengers over the Christmas period. Many customers who have booked their tickets as far back as September are now likely to be left without flights this Christmas as seats on other airlines are unlikely to available at such short notice.

Travellers using Manchester Airport can expect a first class service at least where the toilets are concerned. The airport has won this years Loo of the Year Award with the lavatories being given a five star rating. A team of 300 toilet attendants keep the airports toilets in pristine condition making them some of the cleanest in the UK and with around 20 million passengers using the airport a year they certainly have their work cut out maintaining the high standards.

The postal strikes which were planned for Friday 6th and next Monday have now been called off. Although no details have yet been released it appears that a period of calm has been agreed upon in which no further industrial action will take place. Whilst this is only an interim deal it is hoped that further talks will be successful in resolving the long running dispute. A statement with more information is due to released later.

A further two postal strikes look likely to ahead causing further delays to mail sent within the UK. The strikes will go ahead on Friday the 6th and Monday the 9th of November. Rather than continuing the practice of rolling strikes where different staff strike on different days the next wave of strikes will see all workers walking out. If the strikes go ahead there will be no mail collections or deliveries on these days. This will mean that mail sent via PC2Paper after 4pm on Thursday the 5th of November will not enter the postal system until the service returns to normal on Tuesday the 10th of November. Customers should also expect delays to mail after this date as Royal Mail work to clear the backlog caused by the strikes action. Our other printing stations remain unaffected.

It seems that is is not just the postal strikes that are delaying mail. The post office has been dealing with a rising number of complaints caused by snails eating the letters once they are in the post box. Slugs and snails are particularly partial to paper and also like the taste of the gum used on envelopes. So much so that the slimy creatures are devouring mail inside post boxes. Some customers have made complaints after their letters arrived covered in slimy trails or half eaten. Despite putting slug pellets inside mail boxes and cleaning the boxes regularly slugs and snails still manage to get inside. It seems it might be necessary to devise some sort of snail deterrent for the opening of the box to stop the creatures from getting in.

Unless talks between Royal Mail and the CWU are successful there will be further strike action later this week. If no agreement is reached three days of strike action are planned starting on Thursday. On Thursday 43,700 staff in mail centres, delivery units in mail centres, drivers and garage staff will begin strike action at 4am. On Friday 400 workers at three sites in Plymouth, Stockport and Stoke who read and enter mail addresses will walk out. On Saturday 77,000 delivery and collection staff across the UK will strike. During strike action customers should be aware that all mail deliveries sent from the UK will be subject to delays.