The Great British Fashion Stamps, featuring photographs by Sølve Sundsbø

The outfits pictured on the stamps range from a demure skirt suit designed by Hardy Amies in the 1940s which we could easily imagine staking its place in the royal wardrobe to a dramatic Alexander McQueen creation reserved only for the most avant-garde of fashionistas (or possibly the odd bird lover).

The stamps are lent an element of fun by the dynamic poses used, although the models themselves were all airbrushed out in order to create a timeless feel.

Regardless of whether you would actually wear the outfits yourself, the snazzy designs are bound to brighten up your letters this spring. In fact, we love the designs so much that we reckon Royal Mail should go one step further and kit out its posties in the same clothes to match!

The Future of Eco Trucking

The initiative, called the Low Carbon Truck Demonstration Trial and run by the Technology Strategy Board, will be run as a competition in which grants of up to £750k will be up for grabs.

It is being aimed at small and medium sized companies as well as larger operators, though the rules state that applications must be made by collaborations headed by a vehicle operator.

The grants will help to part fund the difference in capital cost between traditional vehicles and the new generation of low carbon trucks, as well as the charging or refuelling points to be used by the trial fleets.

Fleets that successfully partake in the scheme will run for two years, allowing the Department for Transport to gather a large amount of data for analysis.

The deadline for registering to apply is the 13^th June and applications have to be in by 20^th June, so if it sounds like your company could benefit you had better get a move on!

Sgt Chris Pacey with the donated ambulance (Photo: Crown Copyright)

Sgt Chris Pacey, who serves with the RAF Regiment at the Officer and Aircrew Cadet Training Unit (OACTU), and his wife Dee will set off on July 7 in the ambulance, which was donated by Alisdair Couper of Terberg DTS, first driving across Eastern Europe with a stop in the Ukraine, where they will visit a local children’s orphanage.

The route will then take them through some difficult terrain along the TransSiberian highway through Kazakhstan and right across Russia before arriving in Mongolia to deliver the ambulance in the capital Ulaanbaatar.

The shortage of ambulances in Mongolia means that medical help can take up to three hours to reach sick and injured people in remote areas, and then another few hours to get them safely to a hospital.

Ambulance donations such as this one can help to save many lives, and what better way to make sure the vehicle gets to its destination safely than by delivering it yourself – a very special delivery indeed.

Let’s hope their airbags were in good working order!

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the bank holiday!

At the one end you have a very large, engine-operated vehicle that can handle big, bulky loads, while at the other you have the bicycle which, while restricted to lightweight consignments, can deftly zip down narrow city streets and leaves behind no emissions. Each caters to very different requirements and their services have rarely overlapped – until now.

Photo: Adrian Usher/Outspoken Delivery

A new breed of cycle courier, labelled the ‘cargo bike’ is beginning to carve out a niche for itself delivering larger loads to inner city locations.

These impressive vehicles (and even more impressive riders!) can carry a weight of up to 400kg, with models ranging from two to four wheel designs.  Some even come with electric assistance for getting up hills, saving the rider a bit of effort (not to mention sweat), meaning that they can favour smart uniforms over the usual grubby lycra shorts.

Not only does this provide visibility for the company, but it also encourages responsible riding, as any recklessness can easily be reported back to HQ.

While the benefits of these cargo bikes are obvious for delivery jobs within the same city, another exciting potential use for them is for the final stages of longer-distance deliveries ending in inner city areas.

This possibility is being discussed at the annual summit of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, and could prove popular with government and delivery companies alike as it would reduce fuel costs and harmful emissions.

So, unlikely as it may have seemed, the future could well see truckers and cyclists working in perfect harmony to further reduce the cost and environmental impact of deliveries. We say bring it on!

getty images

What did they think first? “What are all these pedestrians doing walking in the road?” or “I don’t remember car park ramps having handrails before!”

You might consider a new mode of transport when commuting this week

“One month’s worth of rain will fall over the next 72 hours” according to forecasters (who we all know are never wrong). The rain won’t be enough to restore groundwater levels, but severe weather warnings have been issued and the downpours could still cause havoc and create hazardous driving conditions.

So while technically the drought continues, we hope everyone will take care when travelling in the wet this week!

image: reuters

The vehicle perched perilously on the edge of a road until the passing men could help to pull it back down to earth. Delivery trucks in Pakistan are lovingly decorated by their owners who spend thousands of dollars on “pimping” their rides, we think they look great!