How often do you use your local post office?

How often do you use your local post office? Every week? A couple of times a month?Well next time, even if you only pop in to buy a few stamps, take a good look around. It might be the final time you see it. February will see a consultation for all Weston's local post offices which could close one in five of them forever. For some of us, of course, it won't make much difference. If there's another post office on the way to work, or near the children's school, we'll just switch over. Alternatively, if there's a decent local corner shop within walking distance, we'll probably use it instead.But what about the people who haven't got an alternative? What happens if your local post office is also the corner shop, so if you close one you lose both? What if you can't drive to another post office because you're too poor or elderly, and there's no other shops nearby? How do you pick up your pension if the post office closes and you haven't got a bank account or a computer to arrange payments online? Most of us, in other words, can cope if our local post office closes. But for some people, particularly the elderly, the ill and the least well off, it will mean isolation from their localcommunities and problems with day to day essentials like shopping and independentliving. If you're as worried as I am, let your local post office know you care. Ask the staff if they're worried about the consultation, and tell them you'd like to carry on using their service. And then write to me and let me know too. Many local post offices are the heart of their communities; we mustn't let them go without a fight.