Ed VII pillar box

Typically English! This letter box reminds me an episode of my youth. When I first went to London in 1969 I had to send a letter home, I was walking somewhere in the street when I saw a red box more or less (maybe a little less) like this one. I was going to post my letter into it when some inside feeling stopped my hand: I read again the writing and it was: litter!
Same colour, same Victorian style and almost the same word, how confusing!

I'm aghast. First you mistake narrowboats for barges, and now litter bins for post boxes!
Litter bins would not normally be as solidly built and elegant as our English pillar boxes.

I assure you that in London there were litter bins as solid and as stylish as this one, the only difference was the shape and one single letter. Not easy to distinguish for a poor foreigner...

I'll let you into a secret, Skipper.
Most English post boxes DON'T have 'letter' written on them.
It's either 'Post Office' or 'Royal Mail'.

And most litter bins don't have the royal cypher!

Your secret is an open one but you - I'm afraid - lack imagination - you can't wear the shoes of some one who never lived in England. And it had a royal cipher on it! (:-)

I can well imagine your confusion, Skipper. I'm just giving you a few tips, that's all.

But I can't imagine this elegant red litter bin with the royal cypher.
Are you sure you hadn't strayed into Buckingham Palace by mistake?

Actually I was not far from there if my memory is not wrong. I think I was near Hyde Park corner, so it could be either Belgravia or Mayfair, surely it was an elegant area...

I've done several searches and cannot find any litter bins that look remotely like post boxes, let alone with the royal cypher. This is the best I can come up with:
www.eca-uk.info/img/p_condor_red.jpg

Oh my Isis what kind of person are you? I thought you had some sense of humour! (:-)
You took this story too seriously as if it was a matter of National Pride!

Anyway, no, it was not like that, that is pretty modern, smooth and functional. The one I saw was fatter, sturdier and with the royal cipher on it! (.-) But it was long long ago... so it's no use to lose time and energy with such a foolish story. My idea was to make you laugh, but I see I'm giving you an headache! ((:-).

Oh, you're making me laugh alright, Skipper I kept collapsing in giggles every time I thought about the flying sewage. But I am genuinely interested to know about these amazing royal red litter bins, as I would like to take some pictures next time I go to London. Or perhaps they've been removed now, if too many letters were going astray.