NOTES FROM POSTIE
POSTMAN Rhys Evans has been serving customers in Caerphilly for the last 18 years, but in recent months the father-of-two has been delivering more than just letters.
As he goes house to house residents rush to their windows excited for him to walk up their drives.
But it’s not because they’re expecting a special delivery – they’re waiting for Rhys to burst into song.
“They’ll see me coming up their drive and I’ll hear them say ‘here he comes, the singing postman!’ I’ll give them a song and they say they love it,” he said.
“I’ve been on this particular delivery for about eight years now so they all know me and this new persona of me has really taken off and they love it, it’s a really nice feeling.”
Rhys, 36, said he had always loved singing since he was a young boy, excelling in drama at school.
Then one day in June, he decided to share his passion with hundreds of viewers on Tik Tok after he caught the eye of one of his customers.
He said: “I’ve always had this voice inside me and had never really done anything with it. Then about six weeks ago, I was coming down one of my customers’ drives and she said, ‘Morning Rhys’ and I just belted out her name in an operatic way and just got on with my day.
“Then a neighbour across the road came out and asked, ‘ Was that you singing, Rhys?’, I said yes and she asked me if I was in a choir. I said I wasn’t and she recommended Caerphilly Male Voice Choir to me who practice at Bedwas Rugby Club.”
He said: “I have social anxiety and [thought] I wouldn’t be able to just turn up. I’ve had problems with anxiety for years and it got worse the end of last year during the pandemic, but then something clicked. I thought there’s more to life than what I think there is.
“I got home and I looked [the choir up] and got in contact with them. I went to their practice that Thursday and I sat there and listened to them and sung along where I could. Then a couple of weeks went by and I found I was singing all the time. I would be out on delivery and I would be singing to the customers and they’d all be laughing.
“I didn’t think I’d have been able to do it before, but since I joined the choir they’ve brought me out of my shell and I’ve had the confidence to let it all out.”
Rhys said one day he was singing at a wedding and a friend approached him and suggested he should make videos. He took the plunge and uploaded a video to Facebook. After it was well received, he decided to start uploading them to video platform Tik Tok under the name RhysTheSingingPostman and now also has his own Facebook group.
“My wife Charlotte is very, very supportive and my two sons – Ryan, 12, and Jack, seven – think it’s great as well. My family has appeared in some of my videos.”
But it’s not just those close to Rhys who get to enjoy his songs, he’s also taken it onto the streets and into the shops of Caerphilly. He said his new found confidence is fed by seeing smiles on people’s faces.
“I just burst out in song anywhere now – it’s not just when I’m doing my rounds.”