A former Albany postman is reflecting on more than two decades of service at Australia Post in his memoir The Postie Chronicles, giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the men with the mail.

Glenn Thompson started out as a postie in Perth, a profession he said suited his need for a daily challenge and some time outdoors in the working day, before moving to Albany to start what would become a 17-year stint with Australia Post in the Great Southern.

This year, he published The Postie Chronicles: Diary of a Postie, a love letter to the joys and trials of a job that has remained crucial to society for generations.

Thompson has tried just about every way to deliver mail — by bicycle, motorbike, walk-around trolley, and finally a parcel-delivery van.

“I loved that no two days were the same,” he said.

“We never knew what volume of mail was coming through from day to day.

“It’s changed a bit now, but it’s still unique in the fact that once you got your mail delivered, you could go home.

“There aren’t many jobs that enable you to have that life outside of work: picking up your kids from school, or going golfing for an afternoon.”

A postman could interact with hundreds of people in a day, and Thompson said these conversations were another highlight of the job.

“Some of the people I met were absolutely brilliant,” he said.

“There were some tough customers as well, but in suburbia it was a good dose of what I call perspective.

“Some people did it tough, and some people were doing well, but some of the nicest people you met; they weren’t millionaires, they were just down-to-earth people.

“People were generally happy to see you, and most of them thanked you whether you were handing them a bill or a birthday card.”

He said he reckoned every postman would have a story or two about a memorable day on the job, and some of his top contenders are included in The Postie Chronicles.

“I can honestly say that one of my most memorable things that ever happened to me was a complaint that came through that I barked at a customer’s dog, which I’ve written about in the book,” he said.

“I got called in the boss’ office one morning, and he said: ‘Hey Glen, I’ve got a complaint come through here, saying you barked at someone’s dog’, and I told him the dog barked at me, and I went, ‘and woof woof to you too’.

“Anyway, the owner didn’t appreciate it, so they phoned through a complaint to Australia Post, and I had to explain it to the boss.

“Apart from the fantastic customers that I met over the years, I think it was little things like that that made the job entertaining.”

The Postie Chronicles is on sale at Paperbark Merchants, and online through Amazon.