Stationery on Sunday. Sympathy cards

We suffered a bereavement earlier this month and this got me thinking about sympathy/condolence cards. I went into a local card shop and had a look at their selection. While the front of the cards were mostly tactful, I didn't like some of the fluff written inside.  

The card below was sent to me, and had a great sentiment inside - "Sometimes in life there are no words, so sorry for your loss"

Another card I received had on the front, "We all grieve in our own way. We all heal in our own time." and the printed message inside was, "Sending caring thoughts to comfort you today."

The very last bit of a poem, When Great Trees Fall, by Maya Angelou:

They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.

At the moment, I am at a loss for words, unable to pick up a fountain pen and write, be it a diary/journal or a letter. The person I lost was a letter writer for most of her life. Towards the end, she was unable to even pick up a pen, having arthritis.... she had such beautiful handwriting, much neater than mine...

Stamps on Sunday #3

Earlier this month, Royal Mail issued some stamps commemorating 150 years of the Rugby Football Union. I bought some 2nd class and some 1st class stamps, plus one £2.55 stamp. I didn't bother with the £1.70 value. 

They aren't the most exciting of stamps, and I still have a few of the James Bond issue from 2020. I recently went to see the new film, No Time to Die. I like Hugh Dennis! 

On the foreign stamp front, I still get a lot of the chrysanthemum global forever stamps on incoming mail. I do like the postmark the USPS applied - it came out quite tidily. 

As I sent out some postcards on World Postcard Day through Postcrossing and they have mostly all arrived at their destinations, my address has been given out to Postcrossers. This stamp, one from Hungary fascinates me... There is a hole, the bit scrubbed out by the Hungarian resistance when Russia invaded and put a symbol in the flag. Timing was quite poignant because on a television programme, The Repair Shop, I watched just before one I wanted to view, there was a woman who brought in a teddy bear in need of some tender loving care, one that had been given to her as a refugee child from Hungary in an Austrian camp. 

Stationery Sunday #3

I write almost all of my letters these days with fountain pen ink. I regularly look at the various fountain pen/ink online stores to see if there is anything I would like. The answer is generally yes, but I refrain and restrain myself. 

However, I am seriously considering the red inkvent calendar from Diamine. I have seen short reviews of the inks in it and I am rather impressed & taken by the colours. But, as you can see from the picture above, I bought the blue inkvent calendar in 2019 and still haven't tried out all the inks. Should I take the plunge? I cannot risk running out of ink, what would I use to write letters with then?

Stamps on Sunday #2

The next issue of stamps from Royal Mail will be depicting rugby, the sport. Perhaps I should look for more of these postcards!

The set of 8 stamps will feature 4 women's and 4 men's games, with England not doing so great! I will take a picture of the stamps after I have bought them. 

Today is World Mental Health Day, so I'm resharing this slogan postmark from last year on an envelope, and one depicted below is a more recent one. 

Stationery Sunday #2

Autumn has arrived in Wales. A perfect time to use some seasonal stickers, such as these fungi. I do also have some autumnal washi tapes I can use as well. Do you like to decorate your letters with seasonal stickers/tape/drawings/ephemera?

I think I will use one sticker in the corner of this plain paper later tonight, when I write a letter. 

Fungi are very much in season. October 2nd was UK Fungus Day. We didn't make it to an organised fungal foray, but have recently been out and about the countryside.