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Remember when postcards were all the rage? For one son going to Benidorm, it was the most convenient way to let his parents know he arrived safely in Spain.
But sadly for Jim Green, 66, it took 28 years for the note to be sent to his parents’ home in Braintree, Essex.
The then-39-year-old had written it in September 1991 and expected that it would get to them as soon as possible.
Now living in his parents’ former home, Jim was stunned to receive the postcard last week.
The letter, dated September 12, 1991, read: ‘To Mum and Dad. Had a good flight over. Everything’s ok. Good hotel, weather etc. Weather has been very hot. Hope cats are ok. Must close now, love Jim.’
The postcard arrived on Thursday morning, 17 October while Jim was watching TV. Unfortunately, his parents have since passed so couldn’t share his surprise at the discovery.
Jim explained: ‘I picked up the letter and my first thought was “who is in Benidorm?” Then I looked at the date and realised it was 28 years late! I was amazed!
‘Then I realised that I had written it to tell my parents I had arrived to Benidorm safely.’
Jim explained that he would enjoy travelling when he was younger and would send postcards to his parents.
Though he can’t remember writing this one, he presumes it was sent quite early on in his Spanish travels.
‘With these kind of things, you always say it’s a great holiday but actually it wasn’t good at all!’ he recalled.
Jim’s mum Winifred, died five years ago and his father, Christopher, died in 1997.
Jim added: ‘My dad would have just said: “Well that’s just the post for you!”
‘They never really went abroad on holiday, they used to go to the seaside at Clacton or Maldon or go on coach trips. I think at the time there weren’t many people that went away for holidays.
‘I suppose it gave them an idea of what Benidorm looked like.’
Generations of Jim’s family have lived in the Essex neighbourhood of Finchingfield, going back as far as the mid 1800s.
Jim lived with his parents before taking over the tenancy of the family house after his mother died.
Although the surprise delivery certainly put on a smile on Jim’s face, he is still none the wiser as to why it appeared on his doormat so late.
He added: ‘I don’t know why it arrived after this length of time. Whether it got lost over here or whether it got lost over here, I don’t know.
‘I’m still trying to figure out why the delay was that long, I don’t think we’ll ever know what really happened. I think it would be pretty hard to trace it back.’
The postcard, which has pictures of sunny Benidorm on the front, now takes pride of place on his mantlepiece next to a Victorian clock owned by Jim’s grandfather.
More: Families
A spokesman for Royal Mail said: ‘It is difficult to speculate what may have happened to this item of mail, but it is likely that it was put back into the postal system by someone recently, rather than it being lost or stuck somewhere.
‘Royal Mail regularly checks all its delivery offices and clears its processing machines daily. Once an item is in the postal system then it will be delivered to the address on the card.’
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