The village population is about 700. It's been a settlement for a few thousand years…read more The last sort of famous resident was none other the redoubtable Mr Enoch Powell. He of the 'Rivers Of Blood' speech (1968) that I've never forgotten. Mr Powell was an author, an army brigadier, a classical scholar, a British Conservative member of parliament and laterally an MP for the Ulster Unionist Party in South Down. He was the first Ulster Unionist MP not to be a member of the Orange Order. He spoke German, French, Italian, Modern Greek, Hebrew, Ancient Greek, Latin, Aramaic (the language of Jesus Christ) and Hindi/Urdu. He had a reading knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Welsh. In fact the last time I recall stopping in Loughbrickland before today was over 48 years ago to visit Mr Powell where I was cordially received. The post office is on Main Street; a very small street. It is nestled inside a supermarket that also has a self serve fuel forecourt. The only reason we went to this post office was to return a mail order item from whence it came, as it wasn't suitable for our needs. This was the nearest post office that would record and process its return free to us. It is said Loughbrickland may have been the site where the Three Collas fought the Battle of Achadh Leithdherig in 331 AD, defeating the forces of Fergus Foga, king of Ulster. The victors killed Fergus and burned Emsin Macha, the famous palace of the Ultonian kings, to the ground. The sovereignty of Ulster thus passed from the race of Ir to the race of Heremon. During wars Cromwell's men passed through as did King Billy on his way to the Boyne in 1690.

Large post office offering a full range of services including parcelforce express, passport check &…read moresend, vehicle tax, foreign currency, travel insurance and current & savings accounts. Whilst often extremely busy the staff are quick and courteous so I never find I have to queue for long.

This post office/Eurostar is good for shopping might be a wee bit expensive but there is quite good…read moredeals on it might get overcrowded around 3pm every week day but still it's worth a wee shop and the food deli is cheap and deli is very nice

As much as I intensely dislike (my grannie always told me to never say hate) going to pick up a…read moreparcel because I was out, these guys are usually pretty nice and sort me out quickly. I've been a fair few times, the latest being this morning, when I went to fetch my graduation photos. My two pet intense dislikes (not hates, of course) of the Royal Mail Delivery Office are: a) The fact that it is so blinkin' difficult to find. I once ended up in the actual sorting office, when some employee saw me looking exceedingly lost and pointed me in the right direction. The next time I went, I still couldn't find the office first time round. For those of you who will undoubtedly suffer the same fate, when you come to the metal gate, turn right down the path. Don't go through those gates, whatever you do! b) There is nowhere to park, except a miserable couple of spaces just outside those darned gates. Both sides of Prince Regent Road are double yellows, so you have to go with someone and they then have to wait on you. Very frustrating. When you have parked the car and found your way in, it's all pretty straightforward. One of the guys this afternoon was in great form, telling me he'd checked out my photos, and they were awful, and haha, he was only joking. Amusing to say the least. Oh, and even though it may say to bring I.D. with you, I've never been checked. Just a wee hint. If you're (un)lucky enough to have to pop over to the Belfast East Delivery Office (why the heck didn't they keep it on the Albertbridge Road), at least you'll be well prepared. You are most welcome.

I am one of those east Belfast people who queue up regularly at the Prince Regent Road collection…read morecentre on cold Saturday mornings - so consider this. Since more and more of us buy on-line for bigger stuff that we used to carry home on the bus. So now, post men drive round to our doors when we aren't there, because we work at the same time that they work - the house is empty! So can we resolve this silly practise? - An idea. Someone design a 'big red box', securely fitted to your wall 'round the back' or something. If you are expecting a delivery then leave the box open before you go to work. I nice friendly notice on your front door can direct the nice delivery man to this 'big red box'. All he has to do is to place the parcel in the box and close the SELF-LOCKING' lid. So if the lid is closed when you come home you have mail! - or the neighbour's cat. Of course, two deliveries in one day qualifies you for a trip to Prince Regent on the next Saturday - space out your purchases a bit. A similar problem for terraced houses and apartments could be addressed by a sort of 'big red cat flap' in the door. So if the cat flap is swinging when you come home, then you've got mail - or the neighbour's cat again. If we don't do something, we will be queued out to the Castlereagh Road soon. PS: The guys who work in the office are second to none - but worked off their feet. Happy Christmas to all in the queue.

Bedford Street Post Office sells all the equipment you need for sending letters and posting parcels…read more- envelopes - brown white and varying sizes - bubble wrap, sellotape, brown papers etc. Many a time I have perched a parcel on the narrow counter to wrap it up and post on the hoof in here. It provides the usual Post Office service but being small is best avoided at lunch time when the queue builds up. The shop part has the usual newagents supplies of papers, drinks, sweets, sandwiches and some funny little knick knack gifts like name pens, mugs and fridge magnets for occasions that demand a token gift.

Post offices although controlled by a set of rules and structure from up high really do come in…read morevarying forms and degrees of proficiency. Bedford Street is a fair example of a post office doing the right thing in some regards which needs a little help in others. I called in here last week to buy some packing material to post a guitar to a guy in Scotland (having sold it for less than I would have liked to) I ended up picking up some bubble wrap, packing roll and brown tape, all of which came to about £4, which is reasonable. They also stock a range of Yankee candles bizarrely along with typical newsagent items, as well as some touristy things. The main problem with this branch is it's small, and generally has only one or two staff on the post office side of things but, the queues are ridiculous....to the point where there's almost no floor space for other people to browse. Not the best but certainly not the worst way to get your postal needs sorted in the city centre.

Brilliant post office. Staff very knowledgeable. Do regular post office stuff and British Irish…read morepassports and car tax.