This morning, I was monitoring a Royal Mail webpage. Before 8am, they had announced business and retail postal/service rate changes... but no mention about personal customers... was I lulled into a false sense of security?
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I'm off to cry in my cup of tea after I make it. Maybe I should use one of the many teabags penpals have enclosed in letters to me!
I wonder, has the attempted revival of snail mail come to an end? At least one penpal mourns the closure of the Letter Writers Alliance, but other societies have sprung up on the web, and then there's groups on various social media platforms. The more the merrier perhaps, but maybe also is a disadvantage, with enthusiasm/effort being fractured all over the place. I live somewhere it is not feasible to have monthly meetups like at least a couple of societies in the US have.
Due to history/circumstance, I do not want to put my face out there, and I also dislike my accent; the sound of my voice. I have my own little snail mail forum, and has been up for over 8 years now, but maybe it is a lost cause. Someone commented before I started the forum that for a forum to do well, it needs at least 100 very active members, but sadly, my forum doesn't get a fifth of that visiting daily, and not even 50 members have logged on in the last month. I know... snail mail is an offline hobby. However, those I do postally know who have logged in, I could describe as lovely. I can't use that word for some people on reddit as various groups there seem cliquey and at times, downright unpleasant, but that was a while ago. I've heard about others being bullied there too.
I'm still having problems with Instagram on my computer. It only shows my 9 top posts for a hashtag, and I'm missing out on what my friends post unless I grab my mobile. The mobile screen's keyboard is not as nice as my computer's keyboard.
And then there's Royal Fail Mail who refuse to go to the Stampex this autumn. They seem to have no clue what stamps are valid for postage and what is fake/reused.
Then, there's the post offices where it is an inconvenience to them for you to buy stamps, and most won't have the commemorative stamps plus can't be arsed to order even though you could become a regular customer. However, one lovely little post office I visit is bothered, and on a couple of occasions they've not had the miniature sheet on day of issue when I arrive (within 30 minutes of opening), they have ordered them in for me to buy on my next visit. I usually spend in exess of £50* on a stamp issue I (or even my penfriends) like. It might only be a few pennies a post office makes from their sale, but it all adds up.
*If I want stamps for letter postage, it costs the same to use commemorative nice one(s) as ordinary one(s).
A bit late as we are coming to the end of the summer holiday season, but if you do go away for even a short break, do consider sending postcards. Be careful though of stamps offered by tourist shops/attractions, as they might be ones supplied by Universal Mail - their International Postcard stamps, and will only be valid to use for postcards going abroad (and they'll go the long way). I have no idea how much they are charging for them, maybe even more than Royal Mail's. They are not valid for domestic postage, although I did see some postcards with them on in a London postbox, but their destinations were somewhere in England.
It is one of those things, the lull in enthusiasm for hobbies. I know it is silly, but if feels somewhat like a competition with a primary school football team against a premiership team. My passion for allotment gardening is starting to return, and while there are competitions such as for the biggest pumpkin, longest leek, I'm not interested in showing produce as it seems such a waste - I've been to garden shows and the vegetables exhibited are not stored in optimal conditions (keep cool). For me, the killer of enthusiasm was a combination of weather and various critters/diseases attacking my plants.
But, it is my passion for snail mail that is at risk. One small aspect of this I put squarely on Royal Mail: the incompetence at the helm, the bullying of the posties… If I lived on the Isle of Mull, I'd barely get any post the last couple of months because the vans RM use don't seem to be all that roadworthy and this then puts the lives of the posties who drive them at risk. Postage has gone up, more than quadrupled for international postage since I started Postcrossing. Postage is the main reason I'm a lapsed postcrosser, but I do send postcards occasionally. Postage is the last straw for many UK postcrossers. For the current postage rate, I do prefer quality letters. Comparatively though, it is still quite reasonable. For £2.20, I can send a postcard or letter up to 100g all over the world, and this is far less than a coffee at the chain coffee shops. While the postage rate has diminished the number of postcards I send during the year, it isn't directly affecting the number of letters I send.
How do I explain the main reason? There's an element of one-upmanship on/via social media, e.g. "look how many letters/postcards I'm sending!" or showing off the mail-art or extras enclosed. I do like mail-art, but I have zero talent for it. Art soothes the soul, helps with mental health, but for me, words do a better job. I get the feeling I'm not good enough; I can't do more to promote snail mail correspondence. The more someone shows off, the more someone begs, the more someone drones on about something, the more I'm put off. For reasons I will not go into, I do not want to put my face out there, nor my voice. Even though I do manage a small snail mail discussion board, I can't be an ambassador for the hobby (and I think that realisation is also affecting me). Am I writing enough letters? I see via social media a few others writing gazillion letters each evening and showing off. It somewhat detracts from the specialness I feel about snail mail, quantity diluting quality. There was an element of quantity over quality in some previous Incowrimo/LetterMo years. Then, there's those who see no problem about revealing other people's addresses without permission and would they be the type of person to reveal secrets, break confidences? One such person a couple of years ago got into my head during an Incowrimo and slightly spoiled that year's writing madness for me. I feel a little lost; I have so much invested in letters. I don't want to give up penfriendships; I must not give up; where I live would be a much lonelier place without penfriends.
Well, April has come marking the end of March, the month informally named InCoReMo - International Correspondence Replying Month coming after February which was International Correspondence Writing Month. For this year, I put my address up on the exchange page alone with 5 not-all-that-serious questions to give the letter writers something to write about if they were stuck. It can be difficult to know what to write especially for InCoWriMo where long-term correspondence may not be a participant's aim from the challenge, so no need for a letter intro CV. I know I can't write to everyone, but am a little disappointed in myself because I did not surprise as many people this year as I thought I would. I drew up a shortlist but ended up concentrating on replying to existing penfriends where many of the connections started due to earlier InCoWriMos. It is a little disappointing also that not every letter gets replied to. I reckon I've sent over 50 letters in the last 10 years of InCoWriMo that have not yielded a response. Even though in theory, I have intended to reply to all the InCo mail I've received over the years, some items do not warrant nor deserve responses. However, all those that do deserve a reply, I do write and send. I still have a few surprise letters received in March to respond to.
Tomorrow sees a postage rate rise. Although I can afford it, I wish RM would encourage letter writing and card sending rather than totally neglecting delivering letters which is part of their 6-day a week service obligation, though the CEO has said on record that they do not prioritise parcels instead.
I do hope a satisfactory conclusion will be forthcoming, and RM will be able to be great again.
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.
I know it has been a while since my last post. Spring has sprung in my little corner of the world, and that means that the great outdoors beckoned - not just up in the hills and mountains, or down by the sea, but also the call of the garden. Weeds grow so fast! But the first bloom of dandelions is quite a sight, a wonder, and the bees love them. So, have been out and about more, enjoying some of my other hobbies.
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| A postbox spotted on a walk |
You have to try and live life. A friend has, even though he's experienced so many events, some extremely sad and heartbreaking (the type that never gets forgotten in the public mind, "natural" disaster), some horrendous events caused by other humans (war, he was an army nurse), illness & disease, bereavements... but even with those, he's delivered babies (a midwife), saved lives, stitched up wounds (so as you wouldn't notice - one person he told me he sewed up became a model), volunteered, fostered, cared, photographed people on their happiest days, written stories,...
Living life, rather than just existing, gives me things to talk about in letters. I have also taken my camera out and have had some photos printed in small size so I can affix these in my letters, so am spending less time in front of the computer.
I still love letters. I have a nice friendly snail mail forum, but don't want to be in your face about it. I do sometimes get annoyed at the constant marketing/advertising of things, it puts me off.
Letters via snail mail may not be for everyone (perhaps someone doesn't feel great writing about things to strangers at first, or financial issues as postage stamps can be quite expensive in world where prices of essentials rise, or do not feel comfortable giving out a home address...). We live in a world where prices are going up for the essentials, and although I class snail mail as essential for my mental health, I'm lucky to have already saved up some postage stamps.
February came to a close on Monday, and I posted over 40 letters in that month. It was a quieter month than in previous years, when I've surprised almost one new person every day for the month. This time, I've been concentrating on replying to letters because I have been behind on answering missives over the last 9 months or so (family member became progressively unwell, and passed away late 2021). However, I did manage to surprise a few new people, half a dozen across the writing projects. I have my address on a couple of the sites, not publicly, and so far, have received post from 14 new people. Post, especially from overseas, can be a bit slow getting here.
The incoming have been a mix of postcards, wonderful letters, as well as some not as great letters. But that is OK, not everything can be outstanding otherwise there'd be a contradiction and wouldn't stand out. I will start replying to those letters & postcards next week.
The alternate inco site with the year in the url is no longer available. Sometimes good things have to come to an end. I do miss some of the blog posts and comments on there though.
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. 
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!
I thought it would be fun to do an A to Z of Snail Mail. Easier said than done. Needed help & suggestions!
A is for Address book, and also for Air Mail, Air Mail labels, aerogrammes, anticipation...
B is for Box of postcards, Best Wishes...
C is for Christmas cards sent by penpals, but also for cartridges fountain pens might use, calligraphy, and correspondence can contain caring and compassion.
D is for delivery, Diamine inks, and letters bring delight.
E is for envelope, and no matter how hard you push, it is stationery. Excitement & enlightenment.
F is for fountain pens.
G is for General Post Office.
H is for Home (address), handwritten letters, and handwriting.
I is for ink, and also InCoWriMo, and international mail....
J is for Jolly letters written in J. Herbin ink (other inks are available).
K is for the Kindness found in many letters, written perhaps with Krishna Ink.
L is for Letter, letter writing, letter writing paper, Lamy fountain pens & ink, letter openers, letterbox, and Love from..
M is for Mail, both incoming and outgoing missives mailed...
Part two later, but feel free to comment with your suggestions. Haven't gotten ideas yet for some of the other letters...
