“the victorians saw the post office as a highly reliable local institution”

Postmaster Jerry Brown certainly hopes so. “Christmas subsidises the rest of the year for us,” the Suffolk local tells Big Issue. “I say subsidise – we couldn’t survive without a big boost in trade in

Christmas stamps, as featured on this year’s COUNTRY LIFE Advent calendar cover, are a cherished annual event– but how did they become one? Emma Hughes investigates

Transport Secretaries -and Prime Ministers -have been a mixed bunch over the past 80 years. In our latest Top 10, HOWARD JOHNSTON counts down his personal view of who have been the most influential in deciding the future of our railway… for good and bad

LETTERS

HELLO, little one!” Penny Dauntless greeted a robin-redbreast, who cocked his head as she pushed along her trolley of post on the daily round. “How often is there such a perfect mid-December morning?”

So much of Britain’s diverse wealth of historic railway infrastructure still exists in one shape or another -if you know where to look. TIM DUNN goes exploring