Plus Two English - Post Early for Christmas - Notes

         POST EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS

1. The tourist in the play "Post Early for Christmas" loses the precious gift that he intended to send via post. With the wet clock in his hand he approaches the Postmaster General and files a complaint. What would he write in the complaint? Draft the letter of complaint for him.

Sam Peter

Fox Meadow

New Jersey,

USA 20

December 2016 

The Postmaster General

 London 

Sir, 

Sub: RUINING MY SWISS CLOCK 

 I had bought an expensive Swiss clock and I wanted to send it to my friend as a Christmas present. I handed over the packet to the Assistant at the Milton Square Post office and she accepted it and gave me a receipt. I had forgotten by gloves on the counter and when I went back to collect them, I saw my packe t being opened by a policeman. When I

asked him the reason for it, I was told that there was a ticking sound and somebody suspected it to contain a time tomb.

So it was immersed in water. My precious gift to my friend was ruined. I want to lodge my protest against such foolish behaviour on the part of your workers in the post office. You have spoiled the joy of my Christmas. I paid 155 Pounds for the clock and then the postal charges. I want a proper compensation for the loss your workers had caused. I hope you will

take immediate action. 

Yours faithfully, 

Sam Peter.

2. Imagine that the tourist in the play "Post Early for Christmas" sends an e-mail to the friend to whom he wanted to send the precious clock. He expresses his grief and frustration over the incidents at the post office. What would he write in the e-mail? Draft the e-mail for him. 

To: ranbir@hotmail.com 

CC:

BCC:

Sub: Regarding my bad luck in London Post office 

Dear Friend,

 Hope you are fine. This year I wanted to send you a precious Swiss clock as my Christmas present. I am sure you would be happy with it because it was a beautifully crafted clock. But you know what happened! The Postal Assistant accepted my packet. Then some foolish fellow standing nearby heard the clock ticking and his perverted mind thought the packet had a time bomb. He told people it was ticking and that it would explode soon. He asked the Postal Assistant to get a bucket of water and immerse the packet in it to prevent it from exploding! Thus the precious clock got ruined. I am so sorry, Ranbir! I have complained to the Post Master General about the ridiculous act. Hope you had a merry Christmas. 

Sam Peter

3. The Literary Club of you r school decides to enact the play Post Early for Christmas in connection with the school anniversary. Prepare a script for announcing the programme. You may include the given details. (Play, script; direction, background, music, actors, time, date & venue )

In connection with the school anniversary, the Literary Club of our school has decided to enact the play Post Early for Christmas by the well-known British Dramatist R.H. Wood. The play will be staged in the school Auditorium, at 10.00 a.m. on Friday, the 24th of July 2015. It is a very hilarious play in which a Christmas parcel containing a beautiful Swiss clock is misunderstood to be a time-bomb. The people get panicky and run for cover as the clock stops ticking. The story takes

place in a village post office in England. You see different kinds of people coming to the post office, sometimes even mistaking it for something else. The direction of the play is by Mr. Fahad Ibrahim, our English teacher. Music is by Mithun Kuttappan. Students of the XII Class will be acting as the various characters. Come and enjoy two hours of pure fun!

_*4. Discuss the relevance of the theme, aptness of the dialogues and the suitability of the title.*_

The theme of the poem is highly relevant especially these days when we hear a lot about letter bombs and parcels bombs. Terrorists make use of them to terrorise the people and to spread a sense of insecurity, suspicion and chaos. The dialogues are very apt. One would laugh his heart out when he listens to the dialogue between the Assistant

and the deaf Old Man. The Old Man misunderstands book for "cook" and said for "bed" and "Ted". Equally funny is the dialogue between Bertie and his mother. Bertie murders English and he says grammar has gone home to watch television. The Tourist also speaks English with a horrible accent. The title “Post Early for Christmas” is a very apt one. All the major actions in the play are related to posting of gifts and parcels as Christmas presents. The Assistant tells Mrs Jones to post Christmas parcels early to prevent

them from getting damaged in the last-minute rush. We feel that if the tourist had posted his parcel "early" the damage could have been prevented. With his bitter experience he vows not to post anything in this country and he bitterly spits out the words “Post Early for Christmas!” 

5. Now, write a review of the play based on the above discussion and points, to be published in your class magazine. 

The play “Post Early for Christmas” by R.H. Wood is a rib-tickling comedy. The actions of the play take place

in a village post office in England. The plot centres on a sinister looking Foreign Tourist coming to the post office to send a parcel to his friend. The parcel makes a ticking noise and the people in the post office think that there is a time bomb

inside. They are scared. 

A policeman is called in. To prevent the time-bomb from going off and killing everyone, the policeman drops it into a bucket of water.

Then the tourist comes back to explain it was only a beautiful Swiss clock he was sending to his friend as a Christmas gift! He calls the policeman an idiot and vows he will never post anything in that country.

 

There are many humorous incidents in the play. There is the incident of a man coming to the post office and

asking where he could get a stamp! Another fellow wants a pint of beer. Then there is the incident of the conversation between the Assistant and Deaf Old Man who misunderstands book for cook and said for bed and Ted. He even accuses the Assistant of being deaf. We see an Old Lady coming to the office seeking advice about her cat as she thinks it is a clinic for animals. Bertie's speaking makes us laugh because of his mutilated English. The English of the Tourist is

horrible. The funniest incident is when people run for cover and the parcel is dropped in a bucket of water.

 

The Tourist had brought a beautiful clock from Switzerland as a Christmas present to his friend. And see what

havoc it caused and how it ended up in water! The dialogues are very apt. One would laugh his heart out when he listens to the dialogue between the Assistant and the deaf Old Man. The Old Man misunderstands book for "cook" and

said for "bed" and "Ted". Equally funny is the dialogue between Bertie and his mother. Bertie murders English and

he says grammar has gone home to watch television. The Tourist also speaks English with a,horrible accent.

 

The title “Post Early for Christmas” is a very suitable one. All the major actions in the play are related to posting of gifts and parcels as Christmas presents. The Assistant tells Mrs. Jones to post Christmas parcels early to prevent

them from getting damaged in the last-minute rush. We feel that if the tourist had posted his parcel „early‟ the damage could have been prevented. With his bitter experience he vows not to post anything in this country and he bitterly spits out the words “Post Early for Christmas!”

 

On the whole we can say that Wood has written a fine play showing how ordinary people behave as they are faced with problems. Life has a lighter side too, in spite of our worries and anxieties about it. Wood gives us the chance to laugh at ourselves as some of us are just like the characters we meet in the play.