Snail mail

I've noticed of late a resurgence of proper post, real hand written letters and pretty stamps quietly making a stand against the endless onslaught of email. The average delivery received through our letterbox these days is either bills or unwanted pizza propaganda and there is none of the joy of post I remember from when I was younger. To receive a handwritten letter, especially from some far flung destination with an exotic stamp is guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face. I love the idea of post, that whole process of taking the time to think and write, licking the stamp and walking to the postbox, a simple process from a slower time. I am old enough to remember the time before email and have kept every letter that was ever sent to me. Having been a pretty prolific letter writer myself and being part of a rather international family means that this is quite a lot! They are a wonderful way to remember people by and I read a long letter sent to me by my English grandmother at her funeral. It gave a real sense of her and our relationship and made the event so much more personal, I know she would have loved it.

For my last few trips away I've packed a little postcard sized sketchbook with me, mainly so that I can spend some leisure time getting back into the habit of drawing, something I used to do a lot and miss a great deal. I've posted the resulting pages back to myself or to others with a written memory on the reverse. Even though I expect them back, their arrival brings a sense of holiday to lift the return to work gloom, a chance to smile and remember and begin plans for more adventures.

I came across other snail mail projects on the web; Pip Lincoln is blogging about her 52 Hellos initiative, writing one letter each week for 52 weeks (and receiving some amazingly creative letters in return) and through this I came across Gert Geyer. Gert is an Australian artist undertaking her own (and impressive) project, 'A Year of Letters', and is writing a letter every week day for a year. I contacted Gert to volunteer as a recipient for one of her letters and within a few weeks an elegantly addressed letter from Australia dropped on the doormat. Such a letter is something to savour and enjoy so I put the kettle on and made a cup of tea before sitting down to open it properly.

Inside the envelope there were two pages of beautiful handwriting annotated with pretty botanical drawings detailing her morning with a rather blunt doctor and a sweet description of her niece. I'd given Gert some info on myself so she had some details to help furnish the letter (being complete strangers) and she noted that she had investigated this blog commenting on my knitting and love of food. This letter from a stranger was such a lovely gift, a real connection from the other side of the world. Gert if you are reading this, thank you, I intend to write back and plan on framing your beautiful work.

The Year of Letters project is coming to a close and you can see some of her archive here. Don't let that put you off though, remember the excitement of receiving a letter out of the blue and start putting pen to paper yourself. Surprise a friend or relative with something thoughtful, you never know what you may receive in return.