End of year review, 2025 edition

On the stamp front, the year started with an issue of stamps celebrating the British TV series, The Vicar of Dibley with Dawn French as the vicar. I did buy some of this issue. I am an atheist but did enjoy the episodes of this show I watched. 2026 will start with Stranger Things!

The music giant issue chosen for this year was AC/DC. I do like their music and did buy stamps. One of my favourite AC/DC songs is Thunderstruck. 

Nature appeared in a few issues this year. Garden Wildlife, Fungi, and Ducks, all worthy subjects but perhaps could have been better. 

Children's literature was celebrated with The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (I didn't mind The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, but didn't read any others), and also somewhat by Peanuts, comic strip and cartoon about Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy. 

Another reasonable issue was Myths and Legends, with Beowulf among others. 

World War 2 was marked yet again on stamps, perhaps not a bad thing considering the state of the world at the moment... with horrors forgotten.

Large stamps but otherwise good were the stamps commemorating 350 years of the founding of The Royal Observatory at Greenwich (I've stood either side of Greenwich Meridian), as were the Monty Python stamps too. 

Trains also made another appearance, with the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Choo choo!

October saw some fun stamps - celebrating the board game, Monopoly. I haven't played this game in years (prefer other board games), although we do have a Welsh version. 

In November, I hardly bothered with the Christmas issue, no secular option again (no snowmen, no winter scenes with postboxes, no panto...). However, I did buy some stamps later in the month celebrating the stamps of Queen Victoria's reign but Royal Mail has been marking some mailings with these as postage as, "No longer valid for postage," which is absolute !!!!!!!!! 

On the letter writing front, I ran into snobbery - with etiquette and all that malarkey inferring that there's only one way to write letters and that is on expensive heavyweight unlined paper using a fountain pen with blue/black ink... again, utter !!!!!!!!!

The February letter writing challenges weren't as good as before... what with posts either being automatically marked as spam with no comeback, or when trying to update postal rates, unable to correct because it looks like I'd already said the same thing (but not the same - different numbers). Royal Mail raised postal rates twice, with airmail going from £2.80, to £3.20 in April, and then to £3.40  in October. The only small silver lining is that £3.40 can be made with just 2 1st class stamps, with so much choice of 1st class stamp available! £3.40, according to an exchange rate today is $4.58. USPS postage from the US to the UK is only $1.70. 

In July, my forum turned 10. With summer weather being decent, I was needing to do non-snail mail activities... It is still small... but the connections made make up for it. New thread for Five Questions, Answer by Snail Mail for January 2026 is open. 

I know I can't write to everyone... clash of personalities maybe, or topics of letters not interesting perhaps... Letters can't all be sweetness and light... Letters can be mismatched in length, content, may seem somewhat superficial with small talk (the weather... urgh, Storm Bram wasn't particularly wonderful for us), but if you can't write about things important to you without the recipient empathising at the very least... well.. you find out who your real friends are when you are in trouble/difficulty. 

Plans for 2026... Perhaps a silly idea but I've started something new for February. Putting final touches to Let's Write Letters Month. It'll be on a forum... 

Looking for penpals from specific places....?

I was scrolling through a couple of penpal groups on Facebook, and had forgotten that seeking penpals from every US state was a thing. I don't think I have seen an equivalent: Seeking penpals from every county of the UK.

Very historic counties of England, from Wiki.

There's counties, county boroughs, shires, unitary authorities.... 48 in England, 33 in Scotland, 22 in Wales and 6 in Northern Ireland, I think. Looking through my address book, I've had letters off to at least a dozen English counties. Not sure I would want over a hundred UK-based penpals, though should international postage become rather prohibitive (currently £3.40 airmail, twice the price of a first class stamp)... maybe I should look for penpals closer to home! 

Edit - I'm not seeking penpals directly from every county / state / country / city / wherever. Though perhaps in time, could say, "Oh, my penpal has been there!"

Just over halfway

Half way into February and it feels like any other month. It shouldn’t as February is A Month of Letters & International Correspondence Writing Month. I have been doing both since year dot, yet this is the first time I am not shouting from the rooftops about these projects. Maybe I am burned out from having very little acknowledgement to all the surprise letters I have sent out through the February projects. Maybe also I am at my limit for the number of penpals I feel I can handle. I know Incowrimo and LetterMo aren’t necessarily about finding long-term correspondence, and there is joy to receiving great one-off missives however most of those seem to go unthanked. However, this year, there seems to be more people looking for penpal, but I’m not one of them, which makes a change as I’ve previously always hoped to find penfriends through these February projects.  I have written a few surprises though.

With the revamp of the LetterMo site, I’m having to remember who my friends are! I have stressed I’m not seeking new long-term penpals (but perhaps there can be exceptions), however have accepted a few perhaps one-off requests. Indeed have received a couple of letters I am very much looking forward tor replying. One of the letters received is a reconnect after a break of so many years, connection started way back during my first LetterMo of 2012! One reconnection this year through Incowrimo after a few years is due to illness/stuff.

So, I shall be heading up to my archives to look for the letters from these 2 "old" correspondents and putting those letters into my active letter storage.

I had been thinking about culling some of the early one-letter wonders; those received over 10 years ago, but haven’t led to anything. I know correspondence can peter out even after a few letters but there was something in them that kept it going a little while. I am not one to always follow up after months of expecting a reply to come. I know life/events get in the way and maybe a follow-up missive can put pressure on them/make them feel guilty about “being a bad penpal.”

It can feel somewhat odd: to connect not only via letters, but also to follow on social media, online groups/messageboards, and online live events possibly via Zoom! I keep missing (forgetting/not realising) the online letter socials. I do quite like seeing penpals’ posts on social media/messageboards, even if it is just to say that they are still kicking, or say something that would explain why they might be slower than usual in replying to letters.

Musings for the new year, 2023

Snail Mail, the sending of letters through the post may seem outdated in the digital & internet age, but there are people finding doing this offline activity enjoyable, and stress-reducing. The analogue nature, the wait for the response adds to the relaxing nature of the hobby. Letters can demand to be answered but usually there is not the urgency that emails command. 

How do we attract new people to the hobby, when there is a cost of living crisis? As I type, to send a regular letter within the UK costs 68p with a second class stamp. What else can you get for 68p? The cost of stationery used for a letter can be mere pennies. You don’t need expensive paper, nor costly pens to write a letter. You don’t need to use papers specifically designed for letters, though when I have bought such sets (paper with matching envelopes), the ratio of sheets to envelopes is wrong for my requirements (2 pages of A5 is not enough, and these writing set sheets are mostly decorated on one side, and/or perhaps the other side is not suitable for writing on). Then, there are notecards, but for longer missives, paper needs to be added in. 

Maybe letter writing is an excuse for some people to use their fountain pens. It was someone associated with the fountain pen industry who started the February letter writing project called InCoWriMo, where participants write a letter every day in the month. A way to practise penmanship, cursive handwriting, or even calligraphy. The latter is more of an art form rather than a flow of words. 

But this can give the impression letter writing is a snobby hobby! I have received letters written with fountain pens worth over £1000. Does that make those letters worth more than ones written with cheap ballpoint or gel pens? No. It is the words / content of the letter that matters to me, but if writing with a nice pen brings joy to the writer… I’m all for that. 

How do you find penpals? There are various penpalling sites out there, both more traditional sites, and places on social media. I have tried a few, with very much a mixed success. One size does not fit all. My way of snailmailing may not suit everyone. It may also take you time to find your style as well. Friendships take time, and may not work for everyone. How many people in your classes at school would you refer to as good friends then, and how many of them now? 

When I started this blog, there were several more snailmail blogs. Now, there aren't that many regularly updated. A shame. Everything seems to be on Instagram, with pretty pictures, rather than words and something to read & engage the mind. I'm tired of the algorithms social media use making it harder to see what I want to see and so I missed out on many posts by penfriends & other snailmail people I was following. Pictures, images, instant gratification. And as for the birdplace, well... that is another kettle of fish.

Snailmail is not an elite hobby.

What are your first memories of letter writing?

I can't remember what age I was, but I remember my mother writing letters to her brother in Australia, sending them off in first day covers, and seeing the pretty stamps on the replies.

I remember writing postcards and/or letters home from camps I went on with The Woodcraft Folk (I was an elfin, and later, a pioneer, but didn't venture onwards due to homework and other things). There was an international camp in Loughborough and the elfins went on a trip to a lemonade factory, while the pioneers went down a coal mine. Then, the following year, just before I started secondary school, I went to France with The Woodcraft Folk, and stayed with the group who'd stayed with us at the international camp. I wrote home. 

Penpalling didn't start for me until 3rd year in secondary school. My German teacher was wunderbar. She organised a school exchange with a Gymnasium in Germany. I wanted to go, and those who also wanted to, were paired up with students from the Gymnasium beforehand so we could write letters (auf Deutsch). We had school trips both here and over there: Les Misérables was my favourite trip on this side, but over there, maybe Phantasialand! Weeeeee.

Sometime after the exchange, my French teacher passed round forms for the International Youth Service, for penpals. I ticked a few boxes and received letters. One was from Frédérick from near Toulouse, and another was from Singapore but I got her name wrong. I didn't know it was surname first, but then in public life, some people are referred to by their surnames (e.g. politicians). There were a couple of others, but with all of them, correspondence didn't last long as pressures of homework, and that... 

I moved around for a bit, and that isn't exactly conducive to penpalling, but I did manage to keep up a correspondence with one penpal made through an advertisement I had put in newspapers around the world. Correspondence however slowed down for a while as other things in life have a habit of taking over. That correspondence lasted on and off for almost 25 years before he passed away.

Living in a somewhat rural area, not connected that well with big cities through public transport (no proper railway), and being an outsider here even after 20 years, it feels a lonely place. I have made some friends here and it is nice to see them for a chat, but that isn't always possible/convenient. OK, that may be just an excuse. But penpals are always there for when I write, it doesn't matter if they are asleep, or working, or having fun, or busy... Emails - I could send them but perhaps nowadays, these can be intruding on screen time of some sort or another, and maybe we need to get away from the computer (or other connected screen device). There is still a place for email. I have tried email correspondence but found it demanding - the email impatiently waits to be replied to. One person demanded almost immediate responses to daily emails. 

However, I do also communicate with some penfriends outside of writing letters, be it through forums and discussion threads, or social media. Sometimes, a faster response is required, such as finding out how quickly letters are arriving, as events and circumstance can affect mail delivery (e.g. THAT Icelandic volcano a few years back halting most aviation in the more northern parts of the northern hemisphere, Covid, other natural events,...).

On that note, there is industrial action affecting Royal Mail. I'm on the side of the posties (could they end up on zero hour contracts, self-employed, earning less than current times...) but I do miss days without a delivery. There is quite a backlog of post (parcels prioritised over letters, but only Royal Mail have a monopoly for letter delivery), and there's warnings that Christmas Cards could arrive as late as February. I'm guessing that includes domestic, but hope my international post isn't that delayed - would Royal Mail like to pass on the international mail so it gets it out of their hands and away? However, they've brought forward the last recommended posting dates, with all the international ones passsed. They want us to allow almost 2 weeks for second class post to arrive, when it should take no more than 3 working days. I do have a couple of cards or so left to send overseas, so perhaps as wishing Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year, I should also wish them Happy Valentine's, Happy Birthday, Happy Unbirthday....  and ask them to apply as appropriate! 

Extreme Letter Writing

 

Well, for some reason, I bought this book a while back in a charity shop. Extreme Ironing! What a concept. People ironing out and about, be it up a mountain, coming down one (rock climbing or abseiling perhaps), cycling, dangling from a zipwire, in a tree, underwater!!! 

So.... well, why not write letters out and about? 

It can be good to pause along a walk, so why not grab a few minutes or so to start a postcard, or letter? 

Sometimes, there are benches/tables to rest, admire the view and, well, for me, to pen a letter. 

Sometimes, no bench, so have to park myself on the grass. I had a gilet I could sit on.

I made use of slate to sit on and to use as a table. This site now has UNESCO World Heritage status.

Not so extreme is sitting at a table in a beer garden with a nice drink to hit the spot! 

I have had some people comment when they see me writing letters in cafes... I like to show people letter writing is still alive. 

Stamp collecting/using isn't just an old person's hobby

 Last week, there was a virtual stamp exhibition, Stampex, held over 3 days online. There were talks conducted over Zoom, and recorded. There were virtual booths with different dealers and auction houses, as well as those involved in promoting philately and/or educational videos on stamps/post. You could enter a booth and chat to the booth representatives or even the other visitors. Great fun. Topics included old stamps, forgeries even, plus newer stamps such as the recent Legend of King Arthur stamps issued by Royal Mail, and the upcoming Espresso stamps to be issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Materials of stamps was also mentioned, such as lace, fish, or even toilet paper (the Austrian postal service is to blame for two of them, and the Faroe Islands postal service for the fish). I was lucky to receive a Postcrossing postcard with this stamp from Thailand on for postage a few years ago. 

There were also exhibits, on mostly historical stamps. However, children took part in exhibits for their favourite things, and I must say these were rather impressive, on topics from space to golf to bears to hedgehogs. 

However, while leafing through a newspaper on Saturday, I came across advertisements: a checklist for retirement planning. I don't know how appreciative Guernsey Post and Stanley Gibbons are for being adverts either side of incontinence products! Yes, while retired people might have more time and money to spend on philately, children may be able to spend pocket money on packets of stamps bundled by Stanley Gibbons or WHSmiths, or perhaps in charity shops (I've found them in some Oxfam, RNLI and animal charity shops). 

On the other side, I've heard that stamp collecting is only for children, alongside having penpals. 

Musings on InCoWriMo & LetterMo

 I joined LetterMo in 2012, and looked at InCoWriMo the following year. Over these Februarys, I have written so many letters as part of these projects, and most were not replied to. A rough count, maybe 150 surprise letters sent in February over the years. Can I remember the names of everyone I wrote to? NO, not everyone but some yes. There was a Dr. Cindy in 2015 (I don't know her surname, but she's a Canadian who was working in the NHS in the UK - I do hope she's OK, she moved around a bit...), a couple of people in Israel, one in Malta, .... memorable perhaps because of their location, and others memorable because of their name - I wrote to one person who had the same name as someone I know in my vicinity.

Many who participate in the February projects return year after year, or again later. Their names are familiar, from these projects or other postal ones. A small internet, someone elsewhere commented. Perhaps we'd crossed postal paths before, but had forgotten. So, I went through my correspondence diaries (logging in/out post). One letter I received this year was from someone I had a correspondence with in 2012 (and she did remind me of that), another letter was a reply to an InCoWriMo-reply of 2018. This year, I had what appeared to be a surprise letter, but the name was familiar, it was on my list of people I'd surprised in 2018 and had received a nice letter that month too. Had this person forgotten about our brief correspondence 3 years ago? I had! I will, of course, reply and will perhaps make fun of this, forgetting who we've both written to over the years.

A to Z of Snail Mail, part 2

 N is for Notecards, notelets for nice correspondence.

O is for Outgoing mail, missives sent on their way. Once they arrive, they'll need an object to open the envelope(s)

P is for Postbox, fed with Postcrossing Postcards with nice Postage stamps on perhaps bought from a Post Office, the missives written in pen or even pencil allowed. Paper, penpals, penfriends, post, postie perhaps a Postman Pat...

Q is for Quarto sized paper for writing quality missives to penfriends, written in Quink ink with a quill while having a quiet moment, before wrapping it up and standing in the queue at a post office counter (because you want to use the new issue of stamps out that day).

R is for Replies to letters, and for Royal Mail as I'm in the UK! 

S is for Stamps for postage making stationery not stationary. 

T is for Tape, decorative or otherwise. I use tape to help seal up letters.

U is for Universal Postal Union (UPU), and for those in the US, there's the USPS. 

V is for Valentine's cards, as some are sent in friendship.

W is for Wax seals

X is for letters sealed with a kiss. XXX

Y is for Yours in Friendship, as a way of signing off a letter. Yours, Your Friend.....

Z is for Zip code, without one, letters to the US wouldn't get there! 

Still writing

 I'm still here, writing letters, trying to keep away from the elephants in the room topics. Five Questions, Answer by Snail Mail helps. After the current letter I am in the middle of writing, I will answer someone's Five Questions, posted on the A World of Snail Mail forum. 

1st October was World Postcard Day, and where do I know that loves postcards? Why yes, Postcrossing. And so, for it, I requested a couple of addresses and posted them, as well as another postcard to reply to one from Russia sent during February for A Month of Letters. 

There isn't much space on the postcard for many nice stamps. I wanted to use up some of the older stamps than buy the new stamps of the new value for sending by international standard / Air Mail / Post Awyr / Par Avion!

I had slowed down on writing letters recently, as there were days I just didn't feel like picking up a pen. Ideally, I want to reply between a fortnight and a month, but was running at 6 weeks for a few letters last month. I've found my mojo again.

I have written and sent over 365 letters this year, and it feels great! I should surpass 400 before long. I do tend to slow down in December, but whether I will this year, I don't know. Letters bring joy. 

Still writing

Snail mail life still continues. I can write to penpals around the world, postal services permitting. The lovely people at Postcrossing have come up with a Postal Monitor to keep track of service disruptions, and links to service updates on the various postal websites.

Some mail has been delayed, sailing across the oceans. For a while, I was sending most letters to the US via the international economy (surface mail) rate. Mail for continental Europe still had to go by Air Mail.

I haven't been able to buy any of the new issue stamps. The last issue I bought was the James Bond issue, but I wasn't able to get many. Years of buying stamps meant I didn't really need to buy stamps. I might try for the next issue celebrating the music group, Queen.

I have been receiving post. Some has come with slogan postmarks. This one, Let's Talk Loneliness is from this month.

Others have been able to buy the new stamps out in the US. I quite like the new global forever stamp, but it does look a little like something else, unintended.

I also like some of the stamps out of Germany. I wasn't a huge fan of Sesame Street but I did learn things from it.

I think I like most stamps. Look how small the stamp is from Canada!

However, it doesn't have the magic in some of the stamps Royal Mail has produced. There were a few issues for Star Wars but only 1 issue had the magic revealed via UV.

Stamps not only can take letters/parcels through the post, they can take people on a journey of knowledge. I really should read more about John Archer, a mayor in London. Wikipedia doesn't have a lot on him.

Penultimate Day

February is almost over for another year and InCoWriMo / LetterMo draws to a close. Apart from having flu early in the month, I have enjoyed writing missives to strangers. I have written some responses as well - but March is looking like a month full of replies.

One question that could be asked of me - why write to new people when you have plenty of penpals already? My response would be that I see this month as bringing the joy of letters to new people, perhaps trying letter writing for the first time or  since childhood. Making new connections also makes the world a smaller place.

Although it would be nice to have a reply, or at the very least a thanks either by snail mail or by electronic means, I am in part glad that not every InCoWriMo / LetterMo letter sent will not  yield long term correspondence. I know I cannot write to everyone. I respond to almost all InCoWriMo / LetterMo letters via snail mail. It may take time. I think I will be kept busy if I want to reply within a month of receipt.

Some letters do not have a hook to catch a reply. Some letters can be boring, or phrased politely and infer no response is required.

Apart from flu wiping me out for a week and no letters were written then, averaged over the course of the month, I have definitely written more than one letter a day. I am not disappointed, although I did start the month expecting to be able to write daily. I did also fail the Challenge A Day with the writing prompts. On days I could write, I didn't always use the prompt. Do writing prompts help?

Overall, I think it has been a good InCoWriMo/LetterMo. I hope everyone received at least one surprise (or first) missive. I also hope the person behind the alternate InCoWriMo site (the one with the year in the URL), will be OK, and my thoughts are with him.

Do I have my own rules and guidelines for snail mail?

One size does not fit all, but there are a few rules and guidelines I think should be applicable to all. Here are my rules and guidelines:

1) Postage - do not cheat/defraud the postal authorities by using insufficient or invalid postage. A postage stamp can only be used once of sending an item of mail. If it has been postally used but remained unmarked, it is still not valid for postage. 

2) Seeing photos of snail mail on social media can be good for inspiration, discovering new ideas, and show that letter writing is not dead. Please, please do hide/obscure/blur the other person's address. UK postcodes are very specific and with the house number, it is just revealing as leaving the rest of the address. 10 / SW1A 2AA is the minimum needed for one iconic London address with a black front door. 

3) When writing the date, use the name or accepted abbreviation for it, rather than the number. Date conventions differ. 1st February is not the same as Jan. 2nd. 01/02.

4) It does not matter if the letter cannot be finished in one sitting. I don't worry about pausing letterwriting, even after a short time. I do hope to have finished the sentence I am writing if I have to pause. I have started a letter while writing for a friend on a night out. I am usually able to finish a sentence/paragraph when she turns up. 

5) The writing medium does not really matter. Paper meant to be written on, be it lined or blank or dotty or wavy, or with punched holes down the side and used by students to take lecture notes on (a school friend penpal wrote to me during her lessons), or reporter's notebook with pages on a spiral, or even actual letter writing paper. 

Embellishments, stickers, washi tape and whatnot are not vital for a good penpal letter. I do use them myself though, because embellishing brings me joy. I cannot draw so some of the stickers can illustrate for me instead.

It doesn't matter if the letter is written with a fountain pen, dip pen, or ballpoint. I admit I find it easier to use a fountain pen as the ink makes the words flow across the page. 

The words matter!

6) Of course I want to hear from you sooner rather than later. However, response time doesn't bother me. I like to reply to letters between a fortnight and month after receipt, having slowed down from within a fortnight. Life happens. I know some penpals take a month or more to reply, that is fine. Penpalling is supposed to be a hobby and therefore an enjoyable pastime. If pressurised, it can feel like a chore and you could get burnout. InCoWriMos/LetterMo/Write_on, the February or April letter writing projects, can overwhelm people and drown them in correspondence.

7) If you do not keep the letters/envelopes, consider saving the used stamps for charities (as they can raise money from sales to dealers/stamp collectors). There are plenty of charities in the UK raise some funds this way.

8) You can't be penfriends with everybody. Personalities can clash, beliefs can collide, or you just don't click. 

What do you do when you find you cannot write a reply to someone? Is it easier to not say anything? Or do you write to tell them (via snailmail or even via electronic messaging)? I haven't had to make this decision for a while, but I find myself in the category of not saying anything. It may be because I do not feel like writing to them at the time but maybe in the future I will be able to. There is hope. Life happens, stuff happens. Time. Patience. 

I think that is it for my rules/guidelines. 

Letters - yours, mine, other people's...

I was mortified recently finding out I had accidentally mixed up letters: one was sent to France but should have gone to Canada, and vice versa. This is a very rare mistake for me and in over 10 years of penpalling, have never mixed up letters to penpals before.

I do not know if the recipients read much of the wrong letters before forwarding them on. They knew of each other anyway, and have exchanged letters before, I believe. The contents of my two mixed up letters were not 'Top Secret' or "For Your Eyes Only" nor were they overly personal nor suggestive in nature. Some letters I do write to close penpals may contain more personal information, not just about me and my family, but questions / comments regarding theirs. I may occasionally talk about other penpals in letters: one recent case is that to a penpal in the UK with family & penpals in Hong Kong - I also have a penpal there so we have written about the political situation. I hope things will work out for the best over there.

I have not finished reading More Letters of Note, yet. I really should. I thoroughly enjoyed the first volume of letters compiled by Shaun Usher. It was interesting to spy on written conversations not initially meant for strangers' eyes; a glimpse into the lives/worlds of other people. Do we all like to eavesdrop to a certain extent?

I would have liked to have read the letters my mother's brother wrote to her, in a 40 year correspondence, but she had shredded most of them. I was hoping to find insight into some family history, although I am not all that interested in genealogy (in a time my mother's family did not approve of my father, and possibly some of her ancestors would turn in their graves about it).

So, what of my letters, the ones I have received? I keep them all. I do sometimes look back through them, but not often. Should I digitise them? Have OCR work its magic and make the letters searchable? Should I allow others to read them?

Occasional snippets do get shown to others - maybe on a particular topic of interest to my family or friends (e.g. I showed the picture of a boat a penpal had sent me, to a friend who was a sailor and merchant seaman), or maybe the handwriting. But, I do not show the bits I deem to be "For My Eyes Only" to anyone else.

But, what should happen to my letters when I die? At this time, I don't think I would want them to be destroyed. The letters are kept in their envelopes. If an envelope has a return address other than a PO Box, I don't think it would be fair to sell the envelopes as stamped covers. The stamps could be removed from the envelopes and sent on to charities raising money through kiloware, or to friends/family who are interested in stamp collecting.

But what of the letters themselves? What it matter if they were read after I died? Would it be up to my family what to do with them? Do I bequeath them in a will? Should I leave it up to my family to decide? Would the senders like them back?

As for letters I have sent, I am not sure I would want them returned to me. I relinquished any power over them when I fed them to the post box. They belong to the people I sent them to, and leave it to them to decide what to do with them.

InCoWriMo-2019 - 3rd February thoughts

It is international correspondence writing month. A month full of me handwriting letters to send around the world, some to penpals, and some to strangers. This year, I have been selecting people from a number randomly generated and looked up in the nearest book / magazine. When one magazine failed to yield anything of note to search the address book for, I chose another book. I picked up More Letters of Note, compiled by Shaun Usher, to use for one letter. Will my letters be letters of note in years to come? I don't know, but don't mind if they aren't, that is, if they bring joy or a moment of happiness to the people I send them to.

Some people see the main goal of InCoWriMo-2019 as writing one-off notes/letters for 28 days. Maybe some participants would write a very short missive less than the Twitter character allowance, with writing the postal address taking more time. Size of letter shouldn't really matter, if the quality of what is written is excellent. Sometimes, it only takes a few words to make someone's day. Just "Happy InCoWriMo" doesn't cut it for me, it doesn't show much thought whether handwritten or not.

I do not see this month as a month of one-off correspondence. I see it as a month of reaching out to people, connecting with the world. Good letters can bring compassion, happiness, joy, contentment, peace, love, friendship, hope, knowledge, laughter, companionship.... They tell stories, anecdotes, jokes, and reveal genuineness, sincerity, merit, thoughtfulness, and emotion of the letter writers. There is something magical about it all. I may sit here in solitude, but with your letters in on my table, I am however in the company of friends.

Edited to add: 

The blog over on Goulet Pens has 28 suggestions, one a day, to write to. They include family, friends whether current or even from a long time ago, people in your life... If you are new to letter writing, then I think the suggestions there is a good way to get started. You already personally know most of the people you will write to.

The February letter writing projects are not about the receiving of mail. Many letters written through this month, and also first letters to prospective penpals via snail mail profile sites and penpal groups will be unrequited. For some, a letter is seen as a gift, a true gift that does not expect reciprocation. While I see the month as a way to connect with people, I do hope for replies but I know I cannot be a penfriend to everybody. "A letter should be regarded not merely as a medium for the communication of intelligence but also as a work of art." - H. Walpole. 

My old letters

On a recent visit to my mother's to help her sort through boxes in the garage, I came across a couple of folders with my old correspondence in. After leaving university, I decided I wanted to make new friends and thought again about penpals (I had a few through the youth penpal service or whatever it was called, through my school). I came across a free ads paper and in it, there was a form for writing adverts to be shown in their sister papers overseas. There was a penpal section. I found the draft of my advert: 

Female, 21, wishing to make new friends. Loves photography, nature, travel, cacti and Star Trek.

I placed the ad, with my postal address (I'm not at the same address now) in various papers - New Zealand, some in Europe, some in the US and Canada. I had forgotten how many replies I had actually received. I am not sure I wrote to everyone who had sent a letter. I know most of that correspondence was not successful. I still have most of the letters, although most of the envelopes had the paper with stamps torn off. I also back then had drafted replies, some typewritten with many typos. One draft reply said:

I like nuts. Some people say I am a weirdo, or nutcase. I prefer to be a lunatic...

I am pondering why most of the correspondence had been unsuccessful. One comment I had attached to one letter was that it was from a religious nutcase (the letter contained only religion, nothing personal about the writer, no hobbies, no weather). Other letters asked for photos of myself. I think that this may have put me off - what does a person's appearance have to do with penpalling. OK, it may be good to put a face to a name, so some letters came with photos (no, the people were fully clothed). Another reason for failed correspondence - I think I had found a new boyfriend and didn't find much time for my postal pals of either gender. I did keep one correspondence going but the amount of letters exchanged slowed down when I had a toddler (now correspondence is just a note with a Christmas card), but I don't know what made that correspondence special to last so long. 

Notecards, stamps, a post office closure

Last month, one of the little post offices I visited closed for good, due to retirement. The town will have a new post office but in the Spar. Anyway, the little post office had a closing down sale and I bought some blank cards. I don't use many cards as they are too heavy for international use (well, for the 20g rate) but I can use them for domestic mail. I love this one:

A Great Auk drawn with character. I have a correspondent who likes bird-watching so perhaps this card could be used for her.

The pen, by the way, is a Jinhao and when I showed it to a friend, he wanted one. It is surprisingly comfortable to write with, writing smoothly across the page.

I have a huge pile of post to reply to, but it is all welcome. I was even surprised today by a letter via SendSomething answering the Five Questions I had put up on my profile there.

This was the nice little post office in Beaumaris I went to. Opposite (and behind me taking the photo) is a nice little cafe I could happily sit in all day writing letters. However, I do not live on the Isle of Anglesey and so a trip there is an occasional treat now. Maybe I could still go there after I buy the new issue of stamps from elsewhere. 

I doubt the retired sub-postmaster and sub-postmistress will be reading this but if they do, I hope you enjoy your retirement and new home. I'm sure you won't miss all the paperwork and book keeping weekly.

The last issue of stamps were a bit on the silly side of things. The limbs fold over the edge of the postcard or envelope. However, the stamp issue is in a miniature sheet with two stamps of each value - 1st class, £1.05 (airmail postcard, 10g Worldwide/20g Europe airmail letter), and £1.33 (20g Worldwide airmail letter). There was quite a discussion over on the Norvic Philatelics blog - I wonder how many of this issue will actually be used postally. I have a few sheets so I can use some. However, as a sort of stamp collector, I'm unsure if they'll have much philatelic value. Self-adhesive stamps aren't the easiest of stickers to soak off paper, although there are ways...

more - A World of Snail Mail.

All of my last post's photos were the originals taken before getting the Instagram treatment for A World of Snail Mail and may have also been reposted to Tumblr 

One of my correspondents this week wrote to say they had been stressed out by the sheer challenge of InCoWriMo. Some correspondence via InCoWriMo and LetterMo in the past haven't had much substance to it. Another correspondent enjoyed the 5 Questions 5 Letters format of the new montly challenge set up on A World of Snail Mail as it helps have something to write. I myself have received dreary letters from "letter swaps" saying nothing more than what they had written on their profile. InCoWriMo was great in that there was no profile to copy out, and in some ways, I felt more freedom than via some of the penpalling sites over the years, mainly Interpals. So, if you are fancying a new way to find penpals/correspondents, try the Five Questions Five Letters challenge.

Instead of the 20+ for InCoWriMo / LetterMo, try to answer 5 sets of questions - write five letters.

Five Questions, Five Letters September 2015

I have already received a response to my 5 questions for September. There are at least a dozen (I know, not a lot but this is a new project...) people with questions posted. The more the merrier though.

Five Questions, Five Letters monthly challenges

I had been contemplating an easier (!) postal project than InCoWriMo/LetterMo, one that should be easier to complete. I came up with 5 Questions (you want answered), 5 Letters (you'd at least send answering their questions) in a month. I had initially thought to have the challenge for one month only, but there were people coming to InCoWriMo/LetterMo late so why should they miss out. You don't need to take part every month, and existing correspondents could ask/answer questions too. The challenge is being hosted by a new penpalling/correspondence forum called A World of Snail Mail

So far, the wording I have for the challenge is:

Have you ever wanted to write to someone but found it difficult to know what to write in yours letter? Well, this project could be for you. You could leave your address (or request people to ask via private message) in a thread plus 5 questions you would like answered. Then, you can pick (at least) 5 people (you can include current penpals & correspondents in that number) to write to and answer their questions. It would be nice if letters could be replied to, or at least acknowledged.

FAQ

Q. Who can see my address if I put it in the thread?

A. Only those who are logged in to the forum can see the Five Questions, Five Letters thread for the month.

Q. What sort of questions can I ask?

A. Anything. They can be trivial, e.g. “Which way do you stir the tea in your cup?” to things more ‘serious’, e.g. “Do you live near where you spent your childhood?”

Q. Can I write more than the answers to the questions provided?

A. Of course. You can even ask questions of your own.

Q. Can I ignore questions?

A. Well, you can say that you do not want to answer the question. Answers can also be brief, even one word Yes (or No) answers.

Q. What should I do when I receive a letter?

A. Read it. Then acknowledge the letter. You do not have to write back, but it is a courtesy to thank the sender.


The challenge for September is open and someone has already put their address and 5 questions up for answering.