Hi Errol
I thought you might be interested in the Global Mail service offered by Postnet (not all branches offer it but perhaps you could ask around). Here in Cape Town where I am currently, they offer a service where they will send any postcard or letter up to 60g for R71,00. They then courier all the mail received to a sorting centre in the UK or at other places worldwide (depending on its destination) where it joins the ordinary postal deliveries in the destination country. Not too cheap compared to a stamp, but probably a lot more reliable. (I havenāt used this service personally). And Iāve found that outgoing mail is a lot more erratic than incoming mail - so this could be a good alternative to using the SAPO for now while still carrying on with Postcrossing.
Keep well! And if youād like to do a local swap, send me your address 
Cheers, Robert
Hi Robert, thanks for your note and for the information about the PostNet service down there. Iām glad you have at least some possibility of sending & receiving mail. As you say, itās pretty costly! But unfortunately I have some more difficulties. I have had bad service from our local PostNet in the past, so I donāt use them, but whatās worse is that I am housebound, so I canāt even use them even if I wanted to. However, I am glad to say all is not lost. Some months ago I took the gamble of subscribing to a magazine from the UK, and much to my surprise I have already had three issues delivered to my home address! (The magazine, the London Review of Books, also allows subscribers access to their website.) Although I can therefore apparently expect some postal deliveries, I still canāt send anything, so I wouldnāt like to receive cards that I am unable to favour with the courtesy of a reply.
Best wishes,
Errol
Hi again Errol
Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with Postnet and that youāre housebound. Iām glad to hear youāve been receiving those international magazines though - a promising sign! And my offer still stands to send you a card if youād like - I really donāt expect a reply
Keep well
Robert
Hi Robert, thanks for your reply. Yes, an occasional travel-weary overseas magazine arriving in my letter box is as if the postal service is managing another deep breath - so if thereās a pulmonary heave, thereās hope! Well, thanks. If you do have the inclination of shocking the GPO into life and feel like risking the loss of a postcard, it will be nice to get a card, but if you donāt get around to it, no problem. In case thereās any automatic address readers in circulation, hereās a puzzle for you: Iām in Jhb, the suburb is the same as the one in London (& many other places), made up of āKenā who went to āsingā a ātonā. And he numbered it two thousand and ninety-four. The street is named after the city and country in the East Midlands, which is pronounced /darby/ but written with an āeā, not an āaā, and is a road, not a street. And its number is 200 minus 20. And if you want to give me a second name, you can make it /colin/, but give me 2 Ls, not one, and an āeā, not an āiā. And if you havenāt run out of patience after that, Iām sure you never will! Cheers,
Errol
Hi again Errol. Consider your card on its way to you! I will post it tomorrow and then we hope for the best! Keep well, Robert
Hi Robert, Toppo! As the Lone Ranger urged Tonto, Iāll keep my eyes skinned. Iāll keep on the trail of the postman if he enters our territory. Cheers, Errol
I have a bit of hopeful news. I sent two postcards to myself while I was in Mossel Bay in February. Today, I came home from work and found both of them waiting for me in the mailbox. I consider myself lucky!
Thatās good news. Maybe Mossel Bay is more on the ball than other places. Robboās card to me hasnāt arrived yet ā¦ 