D is for despatch

One BM box, filled to the brim with goodies. The box looks nicely full.


Oops, don't forget a note of thanks.


A final weigh-in before sealing - 1933 grams. Nicely under the 2kg limit.


A final application of packing tape to all the open edges - remember to seal all of them tightly. If you forget to do this, the nice person at the post office may do it for you - then again, they might not. Make sure you have some sort of packing tape handy.


One care pack, ready for addressing. That address again:

“An Australian Soldier”
Op Slipper
AFPO 13
Australian Defence Force
SYDNEY NSW 2890

On three occasions to date, the postie has failed to read the address properly, and has tried to charge me $7 postage. If that happens to you, just politely point out that it is going to an "AFPO". They should understand what that means, and they'll rapidly backtrack and take it for free. They're busy people, and at the end of a long day, I can understand them not reading the address properly.

If your postie doesn't know the rules, you might have to explain that postage to an AFPO is free if it is under 2kg. That happened in one post office I visited - there were three posties on duty, and only one of them knew that rule - he backed me up and explained it to the others. They looked puzzled when they were told about it.

In a way, that is a sad indication of how few packs are being posted to our troops.