Celebrating Easter in Portugal

Posted on April 8, 2014 by admin

We continue our week of looking at Easter celebrations across the world with the traditional celebrations that take place in Portugal. Portugal has a large Christian population that celebrate Easter differently to the rest of the country. Here are some of the events and traditions that take place throughout the Easter week in Portugal.

Portugal recognises Good Friday, the most important day in the Holy Week, as a national holiday. Some Christians also recommend that people fast as a symbol of Jesus’ suffering on the cross. This would involve giving up meat and replacing it with fish instead, in particular codfish.

Easter Sunday is a huge day in Portugal, with all sorts of traditions taking place. The local parish priest visits homes to wish a Happy Easter, whilst he also brings a figure of Christ with him which can be kissed by each member of the household to celebrate his resurrection.

There are plenty of pagan traditions still present in Portugal, from Easter Eggs to the Easter bunny. Like many other countries, chocolate eggs are shared out at Easter as gifts, whilst roast lamb is traditionally eaten in Portugal at lunchtime on the Sunday.

If you’re interested in sending a gift to Portugal, make sure you check our list of prohibited items to Portugal so that you know your gift will make it to the addressee without being intercepted by customs.

Celebrating Easter in Ghana

Posted on April 7, 2014 by admin

This week we’ll be gearing up for the biggest event in the Christian calendar, the celebration of Easter. It’s a religious event that is celebrated in various different ways across the world, with some focusing on the sorrowful events of Good Friday and Jesus’ death and others concentrating on the joys of Easter Sunday and Jesus’ resurrection. Today we’ll be looking at how Christians and non-Christians in Ghana approach the week leading up to Easter and the weekend itself.

Palm Sunday is an occasion where Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem is welcomed and celebrated. This is the largest event before the crucifixion and the Easter weekend, so it is celebrated widely in churches throughout Ghana. Palm branches are typically waved at mass to recognise the event.

Good Friday is a sombre day in Ghana that is respected by attending church and wearing dark coloured dress. Some people in Ghana who don’t attend church regularly will almost certainly look to be there on Good Friday. On the other hand, Easter Sunday is a joyous day that signifies the resurrection of Jesus. Everyone who attends church in Ghana wears white on Easter Sunday.

If you know someone who is visiting Ghana for Easter this year or you just plan to send a parcel to Ghana, why not make the most of our unrivalled parcel delivery services here at RAND?

Alternative, Eco-Friendly Methods of Packaging

Posted on March 28, 2014 by admin

If you’re someone who has to ship gifts and parcels abroad quite regularly, you might find yourself having to invest in wrapping paper and other necessary parcel materials on a regular basis. This blog post will provide you with various other methods of wrapping parcels so that you can make the process eco-friendly and a little more exciting. Here are a few alternatives to the average parcel.

Newspaper might seem a bit tasteless, but in truth you can turn it into an excellent resource for parcel wrapping if you’re a bit more creative than the average person. Newspaper that gets regularly delivered to your house is ideal and you can use colouring pens, paint, stickers or whatever suits you.

If you aren’t so creative, why not have a look through the gift wrapping materials you’ve got leftover? You’ll be able to choose from all sorts of colours and designs that your addressee will admire, or you can just turn it inside out and use the blank white canvas instead.

Certain fabrics are prohibited in some countries but if you’re sending a gift somewhere where this doesn’t apply, you can always make the most of colourful fabrics from beds, cushions, pillow cases or whatever you can find. In fact, this is a common method of gift wrapping in Japan, so it wouldn’t be to out of the ordinary if you’re sending a gift to Japan.

Possible Gifts For Mothers Day This Coming Sunday

Posted on March 27, 2014 by admin

Mothers Day is fast approaching, so this is the perfect opportunity for you to give something back to one of the most important people in anyone’s life. You may even need to ship a parcel abroad for Mothers Day if your mum isn’t in the country, and you can do this using the services we have to offer here at RAND. For now though, here are some great gift ideas that are sure to please her on the big day.

If your mum enjoys a tasty alcoholic beverage, she’d really appreciate an exotic bottle of sparkling wine. In addition, sweet treats such as chocolates might also work well if you’re going down this route. Try to get something out of the ordinary and possibly a little more expensive as well rather than something she’d usually expect.

Flowers are the perfect symbol of love, friendship and appreciation. A colourful bouquet can really lighten up anyone’s mood but on Mother’s Day it is a traditional gift to say thank you for everything they do for us.

If you think a gift might be a better option, why not consider something she has previously asked for her birthday? Small gifts aren’t as spectacular as some of the other things mentioned above, though they could act as a sign of the strong bond that you share with your mum.

Contact RAND today to discover more about sending gifts locally and abroad, whilst you can also get an instant quotation.

Royal Mail Put Kids TV Characters on Stamps To Celebrate 50 Years of Children’s TV

Posted on March 26, 2014 by admin

You might have noticed some familiar faces on your stamps recently, especially if you remember the days of watching kids TV. Since the start of 2014, children’s TV characters have begun to appear on Royal Mail postage stamps as a means of celebrating 60 years of children’s TV.

There are some notable figures to watch out for, including a selection of newcomers such as Peppa Pig, Bob the Builder and Shaun the Sheep. Some of us might even get a bit nostalgic seeing the older characters Postman Pat, Mr Ben and Ivor the Engine.

Andrew Hammond from Royal Mail Stamps told the BBC that they simply couldn’t ignore the landmark. “It feels appropriate to celebrate all of these unforgettable characters on a set of very special stamps” he said.

If you plan on sending a letter or parcel abroad, you might be able to make the most of these unique set of stamps, especially if they’re going to a distant friend or a younger recipient.

We offer an unrivalled parcel delivery service here at RAND, so make sure you get a quote from us today to see how we can save you money when shipping parcels abroad.

The Postal Service During the First World War

Posted on March 25, 2014 by admin

To celebrate the news that we could be seeing Mail Rail back on track as part of London’s underground network for the first time in over ten years, we take a look at some of the other historical aspects of the postal service and how sending a parcel abroad might have differed during the First World War.

The Post Office was by far the most lucrative enterprise in the country back in 1914, becoming “the largest single employer of labour in the world” according to the British Postal Museum. Once the war began, many of the workers decided to leave their jobs as staff and left the country to fight or contribute to the war in other ways.

The number of postal staff that ended up joining the army was staggering, as they had been encouraged to enlist in the first place. There was even a battalion, the Post Office Rifles, created that was made up entirely of post office workers.

The APS was then introduced as a means of getting letters to and from the trenches. The Home Depot was introduced in Regents Park to sort all these letters. By the end of the war, the Home Depot had dealt with over 2 billion letters.

London’s “Ghost Railway” To Be Re-Opened?

Posted on March 24, 2014 by admin

There’s currently another method of transport that many people are unaware of beneath the capital; an alternative underground system that wasn’t meant for passengers. Instead, it was a method of international parcel delivery that fell out of favour back in 2003. The Telegraph recently claimed that, with proper funding, we could see the old parcel delivery service become an exciting way for the public to get around town.

It is essentially a forgotten part of London’s history, with no access to the public and just a few members of staff that ensure the tunnels are kept in good shape. However, it has been revealed that there are plans to make the first ever driverless railway system in the UK part of a new museum. This could be achieved if the British Postal Museum and Archive get hold of another £2million.

The Mail Rail, as it was known, would often carry as many as four million parcels a day below London’s bustling streets back when it first opened in 1927. Whilst it’s more of a ghost railway at present, £2million in donations could be what it takes to revitalise a significant piece of postal history.

Contact RAND for more information about our parcel delivery services and get an instant quotation today.

Green Week Final Day

Posted on March 21, 2014 by admin

We wrap up our Green Week with a look at the world’s greenest country; Iceland, as well as a couple of last tips to keeping tabs on recycling your post.

Around ten years ago, Iceland was dependant on coal for 70% of its emissions. Nowadays Iceland is only dependant on coal for 18% of emissions and is aiming for a lower percentage with each succeeding year.

Iceland also aims to be completely independent of coal and oil by 2050, and has been helped significantly by encouragement and involvement from residents. It just goes to show that a little help can go a long way!

Go Digital

For smaller letters and personal messages, email is always recommended. It costs nothing and is virtually instant. However a lot of people do prefer to receive hand written messages as it shows how much time and effort you have taken out of your day to talk to the recipient. Plus if you have a gift to give you can’t (not yet anyway) send it over the internet!

Why not use RAND Logistics to send a parcel to Iceland, or anywhere else in the world? With first class service at competitive rates and recorded tracking details available, RAND Logistics is unrivalled in quality postal services.

Green Week Day 3 – Rearranging Envelopes

Posted on March 20, 2014 by admin

Day 3 of our green week sees more ways you can reuse envelopes and parcels, and also save money in the process!

By carefully opening windowed envelopes and other envelopes, you can easily re-use them! Simply place a sticker over the current address and then write your new address on the used envelope. Remember that stamps can only be used once so you’ll need to cover the existing stamps with new ones!

Turning Envelopes inside out (Shown above)

You can also turn the envelopes inside out if you want to start afresh. Simply take care when folding the envelope out and then cello tape firmly back together once you’re done! These unfolded envelopes can also be used as scrap paper or to make shopping lists from.

Padded envelopes are great to keep and store just in case you need to send a friend or relative a delicate present and don’t want to shell out for extra packaging. If you just need the padding, simply turn the envelope inside out and use it inside a bigger box for extra protection!

As the Silver award winner worldwide, Switzerland is a wonderfully ‘green’ country and was actually the greenest country in the world in 2008, but has now moved into second place. With beautiful natural parks and effort made into reducing emissions, why not send a relative or friend a parcel to Switzerland with RAND Logistics to show your support?

Green Week Day 2 – Sorting Envelopes for Recycling

Posted on March 19, 2014 by admin

Day 2 in our Green Week sees us looking at the ‘recyclability’ of envelopes. Are all types of envelopes recyclable? Is everything on the envelope recyclable? Here is a break down:

Envelope itself: Yes
Stamp: Yes
Other Stickers/Stamps: Yes
Plastic Window: No

Fortunately for the most part you can easily just drop your envelopes into the recycling and be done with it, but for those pesky windowed envelopes it is better to remove the window before recycling them.

[rand]window envelope blog

Check your recycling options available in your area, as some other areas may reject the glued part of the envelope, but all it takes is a quick job with the scissors and your envelope is ready for recycling!

For larger parcels and packages it is better to flatten them down and store them away in case you may need to send something larger, and cardboard boxes can always be used for storage or as arts and crafts materials if you have young children or grandchildren!

With strong efforts being put into the conservation of virgin forests and biodiversity, Costa Rica is the 3^rd greenest country worldwide. RAND Logistics can provide cheap and efficient postage rates on parcels to Costa Rica, why not have a look at how much you could save by using our quick quote form today?

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