A mystery

If you follow me on Face Book, you might have noticed that I arrived home to a bit of a mystery. It has unfolded thus.

While I was away last week, Mr T signed for a letter addressed to me. The next day, the postman knocked at the door to check that it was actually for me. Mr T confirmed that, yes, it had my name on it and the address and postcode were ours (although there was a spelling mistake in the road name, which often happens).

Apparently, someone at the other end of our very long road had been expecting a 'shoebox-sized parcel with unspecified contents' and had been given the tracking number that had been used on my letter. The two of them concluded that someone must have typed in a wrong digit somewhere.

When I returned home, I was intrigued because I wasn't expecting anything and there was no return address on the back of the envelope. What could it be?

Well, dear reader, inside was an advertising leaflet for a gutter-cleaning company. That was it;  nothing written on the back, no note, nothing. I've never heard of the company and I don't need my soffits sprucing. That's odd, right?

Yesterday, a post office official turned up on the doorstep. The people down the road are quite rightly agitated that their parcel has gone astray and that 'someone' has signed for it. The PO chap took away the envelope and its contents to use in evidence.

Two questions remain:

1. Where is the mystery parcel (and supplementary question, what's inside)?
2. Who on earth would go to the trouble of sending me an unsolicited leaflet by recorded delivery?

Signature moves

I  know some very talented people, and one such is artist, writer and all-round creative soul Pamula Furness. A while ago, she drew a lovely picture to go with my short story The Harmonium's Last Chord.

Now she is working in a way I've never seen anyone else do. If you write your name on a piece of paper, she can turn it into a wonderful piece of art. Just look what she did with my signature. In fact, you have to look very closely to see my name at all. I think it would make a rather splendid book plate.

If you would like to see what she can do with your name - or perhaps you'd like someone else's name turned into a unique gift - Pamula is on Facebook; if you'd like to get in touch but can't find her, just let me know.