When did you last write or receive a real snail-mail letter (you know, in an addressed envelope)?
If you want to join in here's what David would like you to do:
Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Just link to this blog (or to this post) so I can follow the progress of the discussion.
You know I can’t remember! Does a mailshot from the local farm where we buy our meat, we had one of those just last week in a proper written envelope?
I used to write letters all the time but once we got email, and all our family and friends were online too, it just became so much easier, quicker and cheaper to email. I used to love writing letters, I always used a fountain pen too and I could write pages and pages of nothing (ask Queenie).
When we were young MWM and I used to write love letters to each other every few days, I don’t remember when or why we stopped, so romantic. I kept all the letters and I presume he kept mine – I must ask him!
I even used to enjoy writing Christmas cards and envelopes – now I just write inside the card and have a database to print out labels to stick on the envelopes. I do sometimes put a hand-written note inside Christmas cards to people I haven’t been in contact with via email though, and some of our friends do the same. I still send birthday cards; I sometimes send e-cards if I don't have an address and they are quite nice but you can’t stand them up on the mantelpiece can you?
It’s a shame really that email has taken over, because there’s nothing quite like a letter dropping through the letterbox instead of the usual takeaway menus, charity envelopes, Damart catalogues, insurance offers, double glazing leaflets and the rest of the junk mail.
I may make an effort and start writing again, perhaps I’ll just start with a love letter, to MWM of course, then progress to writing to friends – watch out Queenie you could be getting a letter.
I need to know though - how much is postage these days and have the postal strikes finished?
But to answer to the question – a long time ago
31 comments:
I had penpals when I was young and I guess I just wrote so many letters I got sick of them.
I enjoy e-mail but not in letter form. Just quick messages is all I can handle.
It's been a long time but I am going to send all my friends and family proper Christmas cards with at least a few lines in them this year. ... better get started!
I had penpals too dot, though it was a long time ago. In a way I miss writing letters but I just don't seem to have the time these days!
Welcome Cathy and thanks for taking the time to comment. I always send christmas cards and I love receiving them. I know people say it just commercialism but I feel it's a way of saying 'I haven't forgotton you'.:)
I don't send many at all but I do send a few birthday cards. it's too bad..'tis a lost art. I should think Hallmark Cards and other companies have lost a lot of money because nobody sends notes and cards.
I love getting cards, especially Christmas cards. They're all so different and some so pretty.
I always send Birthday Cards too MOI, I would rather have a birthday card than a present any day they mean so much more. :)
as you know, i prefer handwritten notes, letters, cards, etc over the electronic variety. not sure when i got a letter last, but i got a couple of cards thru the post on my bday. 41 cents here for a stamp, but i haven't used a stamp since xmas last yr. i do all my bill paying via computer lol i do plan on sending out xmas cards shortly tho :) i do those by hand...
I just recieved a snail mail letter from a friend in Fla since I have been in the hospital. I used to write letters all the time before email....I enjoyed it so much. Its kinda of like a lost art. Now I either call or email.
Quite a while, but it really does mean a lot to people. Email can't replace the charm of handwritten letters.
I have a really good friend in the States who I keep in touch with regularly by email, text and phone. We were saying exactly the same thing a while ago...how wonderful it is to receive a hand written letter...so he sent me one, bless him. It was 4 pages long...and I couldn't read a damn word! In fact his writing was so bad, at first glance I thought it was a picture!
I hardly ever get a snail mail letter; email has put paid to that. And, of course, a blog is a sort of open letter. But I do send out birthday and Christmas cards.
Before my children go anywhere (school camps, etc) I always write them hand-written letters.
My Mum was a great communicator by letter - maybe that;s why I enjoy keeping in touch with people.
Hope you had a wonderful birthday.
that's a really good point. I send a circular letter to my friends in Devon - my old writing group - once a month. But they don't reply which is a shame.
Belated happy birthday to your dad, Akela.
Snail Mail...
Beyond a birthday or Christmas card, letter writing in general has been rare in America since probably the VietNam war. By weight in USA the U.S. postal service delivers far more "junk" mail than real mail (bills, legal, medical, etc.).
I had penpals too but now I have email pals instead!
I know it's been a while. Have a great weekend!
Morning Akelamalu~
I don't know whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the UK...but I just wanted to wish you a blessed one!
I'm so grateful that you and I have met...it's been a pleasure knowing you, my friend.
Thank you!
Be well,
Ron
Apart from returning overdue forms that I HAD to... if you're talking of proper letters like personal letters like most of my infrequent emails are I HONESTLY DON'T REMEMBER WHEN!!
HAAHAA!
;->...
Arghhhhh, Akela. I made it. I love this post, in act, you've inspired me to do my own. I love that you used a fountain pen, and I love that you kept your love letters from MWM.
You're right. You can't beat reading over old letters. The feel, smell and texture of the paper is so much better than email.
I'm so old-fashioned in so many ways about some things, and ultra-modern in others. When it comes to letters, I love real ones written on paper. I love looking at handwriting. I just got one from a friend last week. I loved seeing the curls and lines of her handwriting on the envelope, which I recognized before having to see who sent it.
It's nice that you still get birthday cards through the post ciara
Great to see you back Catch. You're right letter writing is becoming a lost art.:(
Yes Mimi I agree, there's nothing as nice as a hand written note.
'his writing was so bad, at first glance I thought it was a picture'- this made me LOL MissU, but how kind of him to try!
I never thought of a blog as an open letter but you're right of course dumdad :)
What a lovely thing to do for your children David! I did have a lovely birthday and thankyou. :)
oh flowerpot what a shame they don't reply, it's the least they could do.
Aah Cream snail mail or not - I thank you kind sir! x
I think the same applies here buffalo, it's sad isn't it?
Ah emailpals have taken over from penpal cg!
You're back Josh - I missed you x
We don't celebrate thanksgiving here Ron but thank you for the blessings anyway and the same to you my dear. Happy Thanksgiving. x
It would appear that none of us gets letters anymore gleds:(
Yes the old soppy love letters, you can't beat 'em! I'm on my way over to read your post Jo
I've always loved the difference in handwriting too Julia! If I write with a fountain pen mine's passable, if I use a biro it looks like a spiders dipped it's legs in ink and danced across the page!
Oh, yeah, the holidays ... again! :)
Happy Thanksgiving Akelamalu. Do you celebrate in the UK?
Dan the man you're back! Thankyou and the same to you but we don't celebrate it over here. Hope you have a good time over the pond.x
I use to love your letters, mugging the postman on his round to see if he had one for me. I also know you kept the loo-roll one from us, now that's show how soft we are!!
It was good wasn't it? But we got lazy. We could start again Queenie!
That would be lovely, something nice to look forward to, in fact I may just return to that snail mail if things carry on the same here. Math has moved my stuff over to my laptop and don't ask how but I've lost a lot of my blogger mates including your sons, so would you ask him to send me a comment so I can put him in my favs, Ta!
Queenie he's on my sidebar just click on there.
i had penfriends as well, up to a few yrs ago i would still hear from them via snail mail. but now we are all online, which is a godsend to me, since i have little time for email and even less for handwriting anything more than a grocery list.
but the last letter i wrote was a notecard to my nan when i sent her some photos a few months ago.
and the last letter i had was probably from my nan thanking me for the cards. i also had a letter from my penfriend in germany :)
Interesting to consider. Cell phones and email have altered our lives so much. I had penpals for decades and I still journal daily by hand, but snail mail isn't a regular thing for me any more. I even pay my bills on the computer so I don't need many stamps, at least until the holidays.
Methinks the last I received was a thank you card from my friend Jackie last summer ... no it was a card and photo from a gal I met in Taos this summer :)
The last I sent (other than valentines, birthday and sympathy cards) would have been last year's holiday greetings to friends and family. I've created my own Christmas cards for decades and if I didn't create and send these yearly ... I suspect there would be a deluge of phone calls and/or parade of folks through my house wondering if I'm okay.
Having written that, I guess it's time for me to get busy on this year's holiday cards.
Hugs and blessings,
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