During Winter 2025-26 we were working intensively in The Mount area of Frome as part of our ‘Adventures in Your Neighbourhood’ series. We established The Mount Intergalactic Postal Service (MIPS) as a special service for local residents. We asked neighbours to send anonymous letters to one another, thinking particularly about people who might not usually receive much in the post. And we used our special powers as intergalactic time-travellers to encourage people to think creatively about their messages: what would they write to themselves in the future? Or the past?

On the streets, MIPS workers were very easy to spot in their space-themed bright silver outfits, designed and made by local textile artist Svitlana Semashko. Esmé & Jamie had all kinds of comical conversations around the neighbourhood - at bus stops, outside the laundrette, with dog walkers. Several people only discovered Terrestrial through these interactions and went on to be involved in other ways through the winter.

We set up a ‘Sorting Office’ in our Pop-Up Winter Cafe at The Key Centre. Lots of people took time over a cuppa to write post cards, Christmas cards and invitations to our community feasts - all of which were posted around nearby streets. Some people took it further - creating original artworks and embroideries to be delivered anonymously.

‘Adventures in Your Neighbourhood’ was funded by Somerset Association of Local Councils & Frome Town Council, partly in response to local survey data that said that people in Frome are proud of events in the town centre, but don’t feel connected to their immediate neighbours (in fact over half wouldn’t ask them for help if in trouble). We really enjoyed using MIPS as a playful way to support different kinds of conversations between neighbours.

Photos by Alice Whitby.