By Will Whitfoot with comments by Peppy Bristlebrush   

Greetings Peppy:  

Mr. Maringer forwarded me your mail. I am pleased to meet you. Please allow me to introduce myself as Will Whitfoot, current mayor (as well as postmaster) of The Shire, elected seven times. Please vote for me again next time.  

I don't know who could be responsible for gating off the road South... must be those rapscallions down in Sackville again. I shall have to speak to someone next time I am down that way.

But yes of course we'd be pleased to have you use the map. I have attached a new copy that I think is better than the one you had. Note that we've built a couple new bridges and a stretch of corduroy road over the Shirebourne and the Thistle Brook that connects Longbottom directly to the Marish, so no need to go the long way round anymore!

I also attach a text file that you might find interesting, detailing somewhat of the Shire history not elsewhere written.

My shiriffing and surveying duties are few and far between... but the postmastering keeps me very busy. There's a lot of pen-and-ink flowing among the lads and lasses these days. And of course I take very seriously my duties of sampling the various wines and ales, so as to be sure that nobody is serving out inferior stuff. And you may have heard that we've recently instituted a pipe-leaf export tax. There is never a tax on internal consumption of course... but it has been found that an unusual amount of Southfarthing leaf has been spirited away south, with resulting rising prices.  And so we've instituted a tax so as to try to control that outflow. Tax stamps are produced in five denominations. Postage stamps are issued in 1/4p, 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p, and 12p denominations, with the 1404 "Prancing Pony" issue still the most current. Remainders of earlier issues may still exist.

Please feel free to make use of the Shire Post Services. Many happy returns!

Yours truly
Will Whitfoot
Central Post Office
On the Square, Southwest corner.
Waymoot, The Shire