send a card or letter each week

I have sent a postcard to my university friend Marie. I haven’t seen her for a while, so I texted her to check her address (lucky I did, she’d moved). She also reported that she was expecting a baby. Very exciting. I used an ad card. It’s a football one, with a foam hand with ‘Who’s the Daddy?’ written on it – naturally I changed this to ‘Mummy’ with a sticky label.

This week was a Postcrossing card, a thank-you letter to my father for the personalised OS map he gave me for my birthday and a cheque to pay for my boiler.

This week’s postal item is a packet of finds for Found magazine.

• This is my number one best find of the month. I walk past a school on my way to work, and this caught my eye because of the bright pink writing. I was in a hurry, so I stuffed it into my pocket and didn’t open it until I got to work. I opened it at my desk… and Wow! What girly delights.

• I keep looking at this thinking I can read it, but I can’t. I reckon it’s someone who knows about writing, but hasn’t yet learned to do it. But then in the top left corner, it says quite clearly: ‘daisy P’. The picture of the teacup, plate with a fishbone on it and cat are also intriguing.

• Shopping list, nuff said. But look closely at the blue writing… the ink glitters.

• Remember when you were little and the accusation that you loved someone ostracised by all right thinking people was enough to send you into a spiral of self-doubt and fear? Well that’s Rolat and Tonerzen. I suspect they may grow up to be a Rosencrantz and Guilderstern-type duo.

Today I have written a letter to one of my favourite authors. I’ve never done this before… it seems very strange and a bit shy-making—I don’t suppose she’ll reply, but at least I know I’ve told her how much I like her books!

I didn’t manage to write anything on Tuesday - but Saturday was a cornucopia of letters - a postcrossing card, a note to my sister passing on an invitation and a reply to a naming ceremony invitation, so I’m going to pretend that counts. Also, I’ve got to reply to a wedding invitation, too, which I will do today.

This week I sent an African painted card to my grandmother. It showed a mother with a baby and a little girl holding her hand and a little boy bowling a hoop.

It’s hard sending stuff to my grandmother—she always makes such a fuss about it, and tells EVERYONE what I’ve said and rings me to talk about what I mean by it all. Once, I wrote to her on a really pleasing origami letter fold. She sent me a pack of envelopes by return-of-post because she thought I couldn’t afford them.

But I know she likes to get letters, so I hope it will brighten up her day.

This time, it’s the turn of PostSecret hence no picture. Because it’s a secret.

I have also sent off a Postcrossing card

One of the letters will be campaigning for the release of someone in prison for making a peaceful protest. For example, this Egyptian blogger mentioned on Ethan Zuckerman’s blog

And another letter will be to Found Magazine—I’m going to send in my little stash of finds.

I met a little boy on the beach in Malawi. He sold me a little painting and gave me his address so I could write to him. So I’ve bought two postcards of Kent—oasthouses, hops and apples and so on; and written a bit about the area on the back. Hope he enjoys them!

I’ve written the postcard and packed it up for South Africa.