With the coronavirus pandemic ongoing, most of us are continuing to stay home behind closed doors as much as possible – and it seems we could all do with a little light relief here and there.
With this in mind, one enterprising British postal worker has come up with a simple but effective way to spread a little cheer in these dark days.
Jon Matson, a 39-year-old postman in the Tyneside village of West Boldon, has taken to making his daily deliveries in fancy dress.
The colourful outfits in which Matson has done his rounds include that of a Trojan warrior, a cheerleader and Little Bo Peep.
Matson tells Bored Panda his customers are “fantastic people… I’m lucky to deliver in the same area where I live, so a lot of them are my neighbours and some are friends.”
The conditions of social distancing make Matson’s work “a little lonely… Because I’ve gotten to know my customers on a personal level, I’ve noticed the change since the lockdown and how it’s affecting them.”
Because of this, Matson asked his manager if he could do his rounds in costume to give people a laugh; happily, his request was approved, and the postie says “the reception was phenomenal… everyone loved it. The word spread quickly on social media and people were waiting at windows and doors to see me. So I asked if it was OK to do it every day and got the go-ahead.”
It’s heartwarming to see someone going to such efforts to lift the spirits of the general public in this difficult time – although Matson admits he now has the added concern of “running out of things to wear.”