Likeable Lydia clocks out after 31 years

On January 31, after 31 years of service to the South African Postal Services, well-known Lydia van Gorkom of Margate Post Office will clock out for the last time.

The Herald, tipped off by her numerous ‘fans’ that she would be retiring at month-end, caught up with her at Margate Post Office to get the lowdown on this likeable local.

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Lydia laughs when I tell her that I’m here to do a story on her. “Who put you up to this, I bet it was my Mr Gayle,” she said, and that in a nutshell sums up the great relationship she has built up with clients over the years.

Born in Garsfontein, an area just outside Pretoria, Lydia was one of four siblings and attended Brooklyn School and then Menlo Park High. In 1969 the family moved to Trafalgar on the South Coast where she completed her schooling at Suid-Natal High.

In 1973 she started her career as a clerk at Barclays Bank in Margate, a position she held until 1985 when her daughter Nicky was born. Her late husband Ben Pluymers was one of the few electricians in Margate at that time. To bring in additional money, Lydia sold bespoke jewellery at local flea markets.

In 1989, tough times rolled around and she applied for a clerical vacancy at the Margate Post Office. Lydia laughs when she recalls the interview. “I was asked if I could speak English and Afrikaans. Of course, I said yes, I am bilingual. My sole question to test my Afrikaans language skills was “What is the small finger on your hand referred to in Afrikaans? I said it’s mos jou pienkie.” And, that was it, she had the job.

Starting at the bottom in the mailroom, Lydia progressed through the ranks during her 31 years at the post office. From the parcel counter, then ‘the cage’, where incoming and outgoing mail is sorted and eventually on the counters serving the public, she covered them all.

“I was also used as relief staff for the Ramsgate, Port Edward, Munster and Shelly Beach post offices,” she notes. “The worst one was the post office inside the Manaba Spar, as you could see the sweet aisle from the counter and the temptation always proved too much, which wasn’t good for the waistline,” she smiles.

In addition to training all the current staff at the Margate Post Office Lydia is well-known on a local social media site for tracking down the owners of parcels about to be returned to the sender.

“I do my utmost to find the people who the parcels are meant for. My customers come first, and I would hate to think that they miss out on an important package which could mean the world to them if it’s from a relative,” she said.

And what is in store for Lydia once she clocks out on the 31st?

“Oh life starts, I become a real pensioner,”she says with a smile. “February is going to be an extremely busy month for me. My sister Helene Mante is coming out from Australia. Then my husband, Paul, who is already retired, and I will be taking a trip to Gauteng to visit family and to Cape Town to see my daughter and son-law and of course the grandchildren, Rachel and Ryan.”

She becomes pensive for a moment and says “I have worked with the public for so long, that many have become personal friends. I am going to miss them all awfully.”

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