A letter has arrived from Horst Berger in which he reports that the only post office in the entire island group of Ha'apai in the Kingdom of Tonga at Pangai on the main island of Lifuka has closed its dilapidated door, just before it completely fell off its rusty old hinges.
What little mail there is, mainly to and from the handful of expats who live there, is handled - or perhaps more correctly, mishandled - by the tired staff at the adjoining retirement fund, with the result that Horst's last letter to Germany took five months.
Not to be outdone, the Westpac Bank of Tonga has also closed the doors of its only branch in Ha'apai, meaning that there is nowhere in the entire island chain where one can withdraw money. Not such a terrible thing for the locals who have none to begin with, but Horst now has to rely on Western Union for his monthly remittances from home.
The rush hour at Pangai will never be the same again!
Meanwhile, farther up north in the Vava'u group of islands, the police has cut back on its vehicle maintenance program:
Horst tells me that the tomato seeds I sent him are doing well and that he's picking one or two tomatoes every day. He still needs more seeds, especially for a money tree, so if you can spare some, mail them to this address:
