Postman Plod
Encyclopedia
Postman Plod is the name of a comic strip in the British
comic Viz and the name of the main character. It was drawn by Graham Dury
, who created many other Viz characters, including The Fat Slags
.
It appeared regularly during the 1980s until the mid-1990s.
As his name suggests, Plod is a postman, and is probably a parody of the children's character Postman Pat
. Unlike Pat, Postman Plod is an incredibly lazy, drunken, miserable and bad tempered man and a chronic malingerer. He obviously hates his job and hates the people he is obliged to deliver letters to.
Plod is bone idle and lethargic and frequently takes extended periods off work with questionable excuses that only hold water because they are supported with notes from his doctor who is just lazy as he is. The pair of them often concoct some excuse for time off work so that they can go and play golf
. Whenever he turns up for work at all Plod is completely lacking in any work ethics, and often enjoys opening and reading the post he is meant to be delivering. He is not even bothered about hiding this activity, and after reading someone's bank statement
, either mocking or embarrassing that person for their poor financial situation (another example is when he exposes a resident's arrival of brown-enveloped 'jazz mags' to the whole street).
When extracting payment from a postal customer, he points directly into the customer's wallet and stipulates payment in "some of those big brown fivers". (In British currency, the large brown banknotes are £10 notes, not fivers.) When reluctantly giving change to a customer, Plod will pay it in "those little blue tenners". (The smaller blue banknotes are £5 notes, not tenners.) Since Plod's customers are often elderly and on the brink of senility, these tricks usually succeed.
It seems that he is not alone in his sloppy and downright illegal activities. The other post office staff are also shown to be lazy and dissatisfied with their jobs and spend most of the time sat playing cards (with the exception of the post office manager who tries desperately in vain to run a tight ship). In the lead up to Christmas once, Plod and all his fellow postmen opened up all the parcels at the sorting office
and stole whatever they wanted to save having to buy their own presents. On one occasion he even just threw all the post he was meant to deliver in a hedge and went home early.
Another strip in a Christmas edition of Viz has Plod as the central figure in the poem Night Mail by W. H. Auden
, ("This is the night mail, crossing the border, bringing the cheque and the postal order..."). But instead of the mail being sorted on the way for delivery, it is lying in bags unsorted 'cause Plod's at the bar' getting inebriated. Plod ends up getting thrown out on the railtracks, and shouting a drunken version of 'Merry Christmas' to the reader.
Like many characters in Viz, Plod almost constantly has a cigarette
dangling from his lips. He nearly always has stubble and never shows up for work on time.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic Viz and the name of the main character. It was drawn by Graham Dury
Graham Dury
Graham Dury is a British cartoonist. He is known for his work with adult comic Viz, having contributed to the magazine from its early years...
, who created many other Viz characters, including The Fat Slags
The Fat Slags
The Fat Slags is a comic strip appearing in the "alternative" British comic Viz. The characters made their debut in 1989. The eponymous slags are Sandra Burke and Tracey Tunstall, known to other characters as San and Tray. They are depicted as overweight, eating large amounts of food, mainly chips,...
.
It appeared regularly during the 1980s until the mid-1990s.
As his name suggests, Plod is a postman, and is probably a parody of the children's character Postman Pat
Postman Pat
Postman Pat is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations. It is aimed at pre-school children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale .Postman Pat's first 13-episode season was screened on...
. Unlike Pat, Postman Plod is an incredibly lazy, drunken, miserable and bad tempered man and a chronic malingerer. He obviously hates his job and hates the people he is obliged to deliver letters to.
Plod is bone idle and lethargic and frequently takes extended periods off work with questionable excuses that only hold water because they are supported with notes from his doctor who is just lazy as he is. The pair of them often concoct some excuse for time off work so that they can go and play golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. Whenever he turns up for work at all Plod is completely lacking in any work ethics, and often enjoys opening and reading the post he is meant to be delivering. He is not even bothered about hiding this activity, and after reading someone's bank statement
Bank statement
An account statement or a bank statement is a summary of all financial transactions occurring over a given period of time on a deposit account, a credit card, or any other type of account offered by a financial institution....
, either mocking or embarrassing that person for their poor financial situation (another example is when he exposes a resident's arrival of brown-enveloped 'jazz mags' to the whole street).
When extracting payment from a postal customer, he points directly into the customer's wallet and stipulates payment in "some of those big brown fivers". (In British currency, the large brown banknotes are £10 notes, not fivers.) When reluctantly giving change to a customer, Plod will pay it in "those little blue tenners". (The smaller blue banknotes are £5 notes, not tenners.) Since Plod's customers are often elderly and on the brink of senility, these tricks usually succeed.
It seems that he is not alone in his sloppy and downright illegal activities. The other post office staff are also shown to be lazy and dissatisfied with their jobs and spend most of the time sat playing cards (with the exception of the post office manager who tries desperately in vain to run a tight ship). In the lead up to Christmas once, Plod and all his fellow postmen opened up all the parcels at the sorting office
Sorting office
Sorting office or Processing and Distribution Center is any location where postal operators bring mail after collection for sorting into batches for delivery to the addressee, which may be a direct delivery or sent onwards to another regional or local sorting office, or to another postal...
and stole whatever they wanted to save having to buy their own presents. On one occasion he even just threw all the post he was meant to deliver in a hedge and went home early.
Another strip in a Christmas edition of Viz has Plod as the central figure in the poem Night Mail by W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
, ("This is the night mail, crossing the border, bringing the cheque and the postal order..."). But instead of the mail being sorted on the way for delivery, it is lying in bags unsorted 'cause Plod's at the bar' getting inebriated. Plod ends up getting thrown out on the railtracks, and shouting a drunken version of 'Merry Christmas' to the reader.
Like many characters in Viz, Plod almost constantly has a cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
dangling from his lips. He nearly always has stubble and never shows up for work on time.