December 1938

Make “Post Extra Early” Your Slogan
“Post early for Christmas”

Doesn’t seem like a year since we heard these words before, yet already brighter posters, busier officials and more harassed “posties” at Dundee Central Post Office are warning us that a bumper Christmas rush is on.

Santa Claus may bring you all sorts of things. He only brings the G.P.O. lots of extra work.

That’s why they ask you to “Post Early” and make Christmas a little merrier for them amid the hustle and bustle of heavier mail.

Christmas Day has set a little problem this year, falling as it does on a Sunday.

There is no delivery in Scotland on that day, so you have to decide whether you want your friends to get your gifts by post on the Saturday or the Monday.

If you choose the 24th you will have to take the “Early Post” slogan to heart.

Thursday, the 22nd, is the latest date for packets and parcels to be delivered on the Saturday, and for letters the last posting time is noon on Friday the 23rd.

If your Christmas gifts are bound for London and the South extra care will have to be taken to ensure Christmas delivery.

From Monday correspondence for that part of the country should be posted in the early afternoon at the head office in Dundee to ensure connecting with the principal outgoing mails.

There are Sunday deliveries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but this year there will be no deliveries in Eire on either Sunday or Monday, so if you want to send Christmas gifts there you will have to post them no later that Wednesday.

If you don’t think the “Post Early” slogan means so very much after all have a peep inside the G.P.O...

The outgoing mail (mostly tins of “shortie” for the States and Canada) has reached its peak and broken records.

Now every man on the staff and 450 extras besides, sorters and postmen, are tackling the rush of mails from abroad, while every day sees an increase of business for all parts of the country.

Over 50 extra sorters were trained this week for their rush time duties.

The regular vehicular strength of Dundee Post Office is 35 vans but 25 additional vehicles have been chartered to augment the fleet.

Several hundred extra “posties” will go on their rounds next week.

The Post Office premises are not big enough to cope with the Christmas deliveries, and this year again the P.O. garage in Trades Land is being used as a temporary depot. 

The curtain is up on Dundee Post Office’s Christmas show. Make it go with a swing, and don’t forget to “Post (extra) Early This Year”.

Dundee Folk in Big Broadcast

Dundee’s long-postponed broadcast of the Tay Bridge disaster is to take place early next year.

Responsible for putting the city on the broadcasting map in this novel way is Mr George Kinnear, of the firm Brodie & Buchan, solicitors, who was greatly disappointed over a year ago at the postponement.

The broadcast fixed for January of this year was cancelled last December after the Castlegarry rail disaster.

New date is Thursday, January 5, when the programme will be relayed at 7.40 p.m. on the Scottish Regional Transmitter, and two nights later broadcast on the Empire programmes.

Mr Kinnear’s play (his first attempt at such work) is a documentary report of the history of the Tay Bridges, and corporating a graphic account of the fall of the old bridge in 1879.

Various local people connected with the bridge are to be represented.

The programme, which is to be taken part in by Mr Kinnear and several other local artistes, will have a strong interest for Dundee people, especially the older folk.

Mr Kinnear writes with some authority on the fall of the old Tay Bridge, for his grandfather, Dr Pirie, was one of the medical men called out on the night of the tragedy.

In addition, Mr Kinnear has for long been interested in the history of Dundee.

If this broadcast is successful he hopes to deal with other events in the city’s history suitable for a wireless broadcast.

Thaw Sets In

After a week of Arctic conditions, when temperatures as low as 12 degrees of frost sent a shiver through the city, a thaw set in yesterday. The white mantle which had looked like giving Dundonians a real Dickens Christmas gradually showed signs of disappearing altogether.

Keiller’s

For The Festive Table
Christmas Gateaux
For 1/- upwards
See our windows.
Keiller’s
Arbroath-Montrose-Forfar-Carnoustie, and Broughty Ferry.
“Teatime is Keillertime”

Downfield Passengers’ Grouse

Downfield tram passengers are getting a raw deal. At least, that is the opinion of conductors on the route and of a big number of passengers too.

Traffic on this route has increased by leaps and bounds during the past few months, partly due to the opening of the Ice Rink and also to the erection of housing schemes along the route.

The result is that at rush periods and during Ice Rink sessions the present service cars is providing inadequate.

Hardest hit are the intermediate stop passengers. The cars filled to capacity at the High Street or the foot of the Hilltown, where a big number get off.

The consequence has been that regular violation of the “standing in tramcars” regulation has taken place.

In other cases where conductors refuse to pick up passengers at intermediate stops when their cars are full, much friction between the public and the conductors has arisen.

A committee of the Town Council is to consider an augmented service.

Alhambra Theatre

Bellfield Street
6.40 Twice Nightly 8.45
Lex M’Lean presents
“Punch and Beauty”
With Jimmie Nicol and Chas Ancaster.
And full supporting cast.
Prices – 6d, 9d, 1/-
All expect 6d bookable.
Telephone 4985.
Car Park.

Vacancies

Many vacancies exist in the
Royal Air Force
For Suitable Young Men
If you are interested visit the
New Recruiting Office at
65, Hilltown
Dundee.

Dundee Express

Now Removed to
5 Whitehall Crescent
Phone 4555.
Trunks, suitcases and small furniture removed.
Vans and lorries for hire.

Too Few Young Teachers

Shortage of reserve teachers who can take the place of regular members the staff off ill is giving Dundee education authorities a bit of a worry.

A large number of teachers in the city have been off work during the last few weeks, and difficulty has been experienced in filling their places with temporary teachers.

Although the position cannot be described as “acute” the scarcity has been greater than for some time past.

“The result may be an all-round shortage of teachers in Dundee within the next two or three years” said Mr J.R. Cameron director of education.

“We have about 920 teachers in the different schools in the city, and of late quite a number have been off work for periods varying from a few days to several weeks”.

“Our reserve list of teachers, which we keep just for such emergencies, shows a decided shortage of young teachers.

“It’s the sort of thing which seems to go in cycles. A few years ago we had too many students going in for teaching. Now we are threatened with a shortage”.

Fruity Lollipop

To every boy and girl
It’s given only in
The Bumper Xmas number of
The Dandy Comic
Now on Sale.
Price 2d.