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Post by alcyone on Mar 28, 2017 2:03:20 GMT
I wonder if due to my ignorance of British address conventions I am over-addressing. British addresses can be quite long (from my American perspective). People's houses sometimes have names, and it seems like every sublocality is named, so addresses run to several lines, at least in my rendering.
Is it best to use return addresses as given, or run them through Royal Mail's normalizer to get them down to the bare minimum?
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Post by distractedmom on Mar 28, 2017 2:16:58 GMT
I'm glad you asked this. I struggle with it too!
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Post by radellaf on Mar 28, 2017 3:10:52 GMT
There's no reason other than nostalgia or aesthetics to include the postal county line. "Number and name of street: 3 Frisby Road Dependent Locality (if needed): Hoby Post Town: MELTON MOWBRAY Postal County (optional): Leicestershire Postcode: LE14 3DS Every UK address requires a post town and a postcode: these should be written in capital letters. Whilst a county line is now an optional feature of an address, it can be included in any UK address if desired." county-wise.org.uk/2012/11/30/be-properly-addressed-using-the-historic-counties-in-your-postal-addresses/
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Post by Mia on Mar 28, 2017 11:09:45 GMT
There is one member of the forum who does have quite a lengthy address. Sometimes for my return address, I just write house number and postcode (e.g. but not my address: 10 / SW1A 2AA or as one what3words has it slurs.this.shark) I wonder how Mongolia is getting on with what3words. Djibouti, Ivory Coast and St. Maarten have joined them.
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Post by mailartist on Mar 28, 2017 11:18:29 GMT
Love that! Brings to mind the sharks AA group in the movie "Finding Nemo," only after they have fallen off the wagon! A shark swimming in a little too much gin, I think.
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Post by mailartist on Mar 28, 2017 11:26:02 GMT
The US postal services requires that THE COUNTRY (whatever the country's official name is) appear at the bottom of the international address (separate line) IN ALL CAPS.
England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland are all UNITED KINGDOM. (Every person on the street may recognize Great Britain as term as well, but apparently the US postal service wants UNITED KINGDOM.)
UNITED KINGDOM should appear, then, below "the British zip code," as below . . . . Leichestershire LE14 3DS UNITED KINGDOM
P.S., Brit addresses may be lengthy, but I rather love how they snake down the page, with their line after line or words. Perhaps they remind me of the Bard's blank verse.
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Post by radellaf on Mar 28, 2017 19:17:59 GMT
I think technically everything in a USPS address is supposed to be in caps. Unless you're bulk mailing they don't seem to care. My understanding was that Great Britain was preferred since the country code is GB (UK being used for Ukraine), but either one works. The mail manual page isn't specific about it. In 2011 apparently United Kingdom wasn't on some of the price calculator pulldown menus but it seems to be back. I prefer a slightly "taller" address to what's always happening when I write US addresses. It's a short name line, a short city/state/zip, and then sometimes an all-the-way-across-the-envelope street name sometimes with other stuff like apartment or unit. In the worst cases, I started too high and can't fit a portrait-oriented stamp on over the street line.
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Post by Mia on Apr 3, 2017 11:44:37 GMT
The more information about the address, the better - several places share the same name, but if you've made a mistake with the postcode (sometimes one of the L in my postcode is missed off, or one of the numbers..) and haven't put the county.. There are a dozen Newport listed on checkmypostcode in the UK. Even more Newtown (and a few in the US of those too). Perhaps as well as sharing a place name, maybe there are the same street names, e.g. High Street, Station Road, London Road.... I've also received post here in WALES, with the country listed as ENGLAND (thinking Cricket - The Ashes are played between England and Australia. The ECB is the England and Wales Cricket Board, and the England cricket team represents England & Wales.) Great Britain is acceptable except if you live in Northern Ireland (as this isn't part of GB, even though for the Olympics, etc, it is Team GB). Pondering... would something addressed to Ontario/other Canadian region (plus postcode), AMERICA/US... get there?
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cazinnh2017
Crayons
Posts: 47
Looking for Penpals?: Not at this time
Country I live in is: USA
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Post by cazinnh2017 on Apr 10, 2017 22:04:53 GMT
Most of the friends I write to are in UK and I address their letters with the full address - I include the dependent locality and the postal county and I do capitalize the Post Town and Post Code plus UNITED KINGDOM 😘 My now ex Brit boyfriend told me how to address all my mail to my friends across the pond. ❤️
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Post by penguy on Dec 1, 2017 3:46:53 GMT
I always address my correspondence using cursive handwriting. My printing is deplorable! My letters seem to get through whether they are to Wales or Australia.
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