But that postman had been instilled with the responsibility of making his wife happy.
A third of the staff at the town's main railway station are suffering from the illness and auxiliary postmen have been called in to help the Post Office.
Even Postman Pat has been forced to make some adjustments.
A rumour going around Rustenburg is that the leader's supposed resemblance to Postman Pat has been noticed in the camp.
But the former postman, who has been MP for Hull West and Hessle since 1997, had seemingly ruled himself out again, saying it is a "10-year job" and he does not have the "right qualities".
Another potential case occurs in Peru, where a "postman" H. cydno has been discovered that mimics H. m. amaryllis (Mavaréz et al. unpub).
The postman – whose ultimate fate Withey has been unable to trace – was one of many disappointed customers.
The poet on the list, Roger Moulson, an Oxford classics graduate, has been a postman, shop manager, teacher in Sudan and tax inspector.
The jaunty theme song to the children's television show Postman Pat, sung by Ken Barrie, has been the soundtrack to many childhoods and in 1982 became a UK Top 50 hit.
And this has been a long journey for Marcus Collins The Terrible Postman.
