Thanks to everyone who helped with the UK postal question

[AnitaKH]

 Geoff pointed out:
 With respect,  I think you mean alumnus. If you want to visit alum, a 
 trip to the Chemistry department of your local school or college would 
 suffice... :-)

akh explains (after smiling at the reply):

"Alum" in my industry is shorthand for alumnus/alumna, so we don't have to specify a gender (PC, anyone?).  As it happens, I could have said "alumna" because the school for which I work was a girls' college prep school through 1962 and didn't graduate a boy until 1968, so all the folks in the UK are women.  

My mother always had alum in the kitchen cabinets, since she was big on pickling vegetables.  I do think of that from time to time when I use the term...

akh, who does NOT have any alumni in her kitchen cabinets, although there may be a couple of kittens...
 

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