Bright red paint signposts to so much tradition — whether it be vintage double-decker buses or the trusty post boxes that are plonked in streets all around the country.
But residents of a Kilmarnock estate were pretty stunned to see that their iconic red post box was now a shade of bright pink yesterday.
The Royal Mail pillar box in Shortlees' Central Avenue caused concern among some locals with a number of folks thinking it had been vandalised.
But as one pointed out on Facebook that the new colour "looks a tidy job for a vandal."
And someone in the nearby butchers had apparently offered the theory that the new colour means that the post box was now for "Covid test kits".
But as another man quipped: "the wee wummin in the butchers talks mince."
But the truth is a bit more boring than vandals or coronavirus testing.
The colour change is not permanent — but a primer before the iconic pillar boxes are given a fresh coat of red paint.
The pink colour is the undercoat which needs to dry before the red paint is applied.
It prepares the post box and protects it from the elements before the iconic red shade is applied, according to the Royal Mail.
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