Editor's letter (September 17 issue)

Like many publications, Cage & Aviary Birds is reliant on the post – any disruptions or delay has implications for our copy deadlines. We’ve limped along this past month or so, greeting each day wondering if we’re going to receive any mail at all, and if we do receive any mail, will it be horribly late and therefore too old for us to use?

This is all thanks to industrial action being taken by Royal Mail workers in a dispute over pay, jobs and services, which has been running on and off since early August.

Even though a great many of our readers and contributors use email, we’re still hugely dependent on the postal system for Bargain Box adverts, letters to the editor and club news. When there’s no post, we have no content, and there’s nothing more terrifying for an editor than a blank page and an imminent deadline!

This, too, has implications for those of you with subscriptions to Cage & Aviary Birds – our phone rang hot last week with numerous complaints of undelivered copies. Sadly, there’s not much we can do about that. Once the issue is printed and sent to the delivery office, it’s all in the hands of Royal Mail – and if your regional office is on strike then it’s likely your copy will be delivered late. 

We appreciate your patience during this frustrating time and hope you’ll bear with us.

To get up-to-date service information about Royal Mail you can check the website. Alternatively, you can also sign up for free email service updates.