I also had pen pals when I was younger, I wrote to a girl called Jeanette who lived in Leicester, funnily enough the same place my Nana lived, and a girl called Carina who lived in Sweden. I also had an American pen pal at one stage but I don't think that one lasted very long as I can't even remember her name. I've always loved stationery and I think that was part of the attraction of letter writing too.
When I found out that Colletta from Colletta's Kitchen Sink blog was organising a PenPal Sign Up, I couldn't resist. So far there are people signed up from the US, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand and my name has been added to the list. I think it will be fun to join in, it's not often I receive a 'proper' letter these days, it's all texts or emails, and most of the things dropping through my letterbox are either bills or junk mail. It will be a good way to make a new friend too.
Do you fancy joining in? It's not too late. The Sign Up is open until the 19th of December 2016 so what are you waiting for? Head over there now and put your name down, just think of all the lovely letters you'll receive throughout the year and all the gorgeous stationery it'll give you a reason to buy. That's an incentive in itself!
I also had penpals when I was young, Scarlet. I loved writing letters and I have to say that this was a good grounding for my professional writing (such as that is - features for magazines). When my uncle died - now many years ago - my mother gave me a bundle of letters I had written to him when I was 14 and he had gone to Canada for a long summer's holiday, visiting his brother and family. The letters, written in green ink on onion-skin airmail paper, by my 14-year-old self sound much the same as those I write now, only the content is of course different - family life having replaced school life - so I was either a precocious teenager or I'm an immature adult!
ReplyDeleteIn the 1980s I was also a member of a correspondence magazines organized by the National Women's Register. This was great fun and I am still in contact with one of those former members. I would not like to take up the offer of a new pen-friendship as I still write to a lot of people, but for those who enjoy writing letters and don't have a lot of correspondence friends, what a wonderful idea.
Margaret P
www.margaretpowling.com
How lovely to have those letters you wrote to your uncle. I'd love to see some of the letters I wrote as a child, sadly they'll be long gone now as the relatives I wrote to died many years ago. There were lots of organisations that put people in touch with each other as pen pals when I was young but it doesn't seem to be something which goes on these days, perhaps it's because of the internet, there's so many ways to correspond with others now.
DeleteI got in touch with my first pen pals (aged about 12) through my comic, School Friend (I had Girl comic as well, but it was through School Friend.) I had several in England and a couple in America. My family were great ones for keeping things, and I have letters from an uncle I never met who went to S America in the 1930s and wrote home to the family from Venezuela and Peru.
DeleteMargaret P
Another thing I would add, Jo, is that years ago when I was working in a Teachers' Centre, the new warden, a woman, had a Geordie-sort-of accent, and I said to her that I used to have a penfriend called Dorothy Milburn in Spennymoor, Co. Durham ... and my new boss said, "Oh, that's my cousin!"
DeleteSmall world!
Margaret P
I remember getting a pen friend through a magazine or comic too. My family were the opposite, there weren't many personal things kept over the years which is rather sad really.
DeleteWow, that is a coincidence, it really is a small world, made even smaller by the internet these days.
DeleteWell, I do love me some nice stationery! It would be nice to get something other than bills or junk mail through the door.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. I'm really excited about it, it will give me a reason to put my new(ish) fountain pen to use too. I hope you'll join in.
DeleteSounds like a wonderful idea, unfortunately my time is very limited at the moment, my daughter-in-law is going through chemotherapy and with three little ones under six my son needs all the help I can give..........one of the reasons I don't blog as often as I used to. Enjoy your writing Jo, it's a lovely skill to have.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear this, I had no idea. I know what a tough time it is when you're going through chemo, especially with young children and it's tough on those around you too as you need so much practical, as well as emotional, support. My children were very young too when I went through chemo, Daniel was five and Eleanor just two. Sending your daughter-in-law all my very best wishes.
DeleteThanks Jo.
DeleteI apologise if I called you Scarlet, Jo! Muddling the various blogs - I need my breakfast, I think, to get the blood sugar up to snug!
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
Ha ha, don't worry, I've done that on numerous occasions.
DeleteGlad I'm not the only one then, Jo!
DeleteMargaret P
I joined up to one of these a couple of years ago and my American pan friend and I exchange letters and e mails regularly. Settling down with a cuppa, an unopened letter and a letter knife is one of the great pleasures of this life.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to hear that it's worked out well between you and your pen pal, striking up a friendship in this way can be magical.
DeleteWhen I was at school we were all allocated a French penpal - we wrote to them in French and they replied in English. the idea was to improve each others language skills. I have met my penpal once when she turned up ay my home unannounced one day (we had both left school at the time), she was accompanying some French children on exchange visits and arrive with a friend on the off chance. They ended up staying for a few days. We still keep in touch from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI think blogging (and other social media) is a modern day version of the penpal idea especially when bloggers comment on each others blogs and sometimes email one another.
I must admot that I find email a much easier way to keep in tough as you can just send a quick one liner to touch base and receive a quick response so news isn't out of date by the tome it arrives especially from abroad where the postal service isn't too good.
I've heard of schools organising pen pals before to help the students improve the language they're learning, it's a really good idea. How lovely that you're still in touch with her and that you got the chance to meet. I don't know why the letters fizzled out between myself and my pen pals, it's such a shame as we wrote to each other for a long time. I think you're right about social media, it's so easy to strike up friendships these days with people who have similar interests to yourself and it is easy to correspond through email, but it isn't as magical as finding a handwritten letter waiting for you on the doormat.
DeleteWhen I left Liverpool at the age of 10 I wrote to my best friend for years. We lost contact for about 15 years but have rekindled our wonderful friendship since, although we use WhatsApp these days! I Love the idea of a pen friend.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely that you've kept in touch all these years, especially when you lost contact somewhere in between. I think those are special friendships when they've lasted so many years.
DeleteThe same happened to me when my school friend emigrated to South Africa after uni. We wrote for a while but we were both busy with life and the post took ages to arrive so we lost touch. Then a few years ago I received an email from her. She had found me online. For a while emails bounced back and forth minutes apart and we resumed our friendship after nearly 30 years gap. We even met up a few months ago when she was in the UK.
DeleteI think the internet is responsible for many rekindled friendships. It's amazing how someone living so far away can track you down with a few clicks of a mouse, isn't it?
DeleteOh, pen pals - I had a couple of those back in the day and I think it was arranged through the school but am not altogether sure. What I do recall is that it usually took me a while to respond to letters - I suppose that I was busy even back then! Some things never change, it seems :)
ReplyDeleteI remember magazines orgainising pen pals when I was young and there was an organisation which put people in touch with each other too. I was always the opposite, I couldn't wait to write back as soon as I received a letter. I think it will be fun to have a pen pal again.
DeleteThanks so much for the lovely post announcing the Pen Pal Sign-ups! We have 37 lovely ladies so far! I'm very exited :)
ReplyDeleteColletta
You're welcome. It will be lovely if we can get some more people interested and involved, especially since letter writing now seems to be a dying art. I've always been excited to receive a letter through the post so it will be thrilling to have a pen pal once again.
DeleteI still have a German penpal, but we do use email, it's a lovely way to get to know different people and cultures. I so love bloggrfor the same reason.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think it's fascinating getting to know someone, especially if they live in a different country to yourself, and finding out about their customs and traditions. I think email is a brilliant invention but it's a shame that 'proper' mail has suffered because of it.
Deletepen pals have been an interest of mine in the past.A big interest.I joined IPF,International Pen Friends.I think it was based in Dublin and the idea was to promote international goodwill.I had pe friends in Russia,Hungary,Estonia,USA,Australia ,Cayman Islands ,South Africa,Germany etc.This is going back 30 plus years.andxa lot of those countries were undergoing political changes.Estonia was in the USSR and of course is now independent but the Russians are gathering at the border.Fascinating stuff .So I am thinking of joining in.I still keep in touch with some of the pe friends but just at Xmas.Barbarax
ReplyDeleteWow, you did have a lot of pen friends. How lovely to write to people from so many countries, I'm sure you must have learnt a lot from them all and it's wonderful that you still keep in touch with some of them.
DeleteI love stationary too and I used to enjoy writing letters. It's nice that people still have snail mail penpals xx
ReplyDeleteIt is nice, I didn't realise that so many people still had pen pals these days.
DeleteWhen I was at school I had French, German and Indian penpals. When I grew up, I had a Canadian quilting penpal ...... in the days before email!
ReplyDeleteI think it's nice to make friends with people who share the same interests, that's one of the things I love about blogging.
DeleteThanks for sharing Jo I would love to do this, I have been thinking about this, I have a few blogging pen pals already.
ReplyDeleteI email a few people I've met through blogging too, but I think a 'proper' letter is always a joy to receive. I hope you do join in.
DeleteA pen friend does sound like a fun idea. I used to have one when I was much younger and I do have oodles of stationary to use....
ReplyDeleteI love stationery and having a pen pal will give me just cause to buy more, it's a valid excuse, not that I need one really.
DeleteI also had a penpal back in the 60's and can even remember her name. We exchanged a few presents over the years, one of which I still use. I've looked her up on line, but to no avail. Good luck with joining in & hope you enjoy. Take care.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame you can't track her down online. I've tried looking up my old pen pals too but I can't find them either. There's so many people with the same name as the Swedish pen pal I had, I wouldn't know where to start.
DeleteWhat a lovely idea, enjoy your letter writing!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a wonderful idea, it's a long time since I thought about pen pals but I'm eager to start making a new friend through letter writing now.
DeleteHi Jo - send me an e-mail - Kimberley@atkinson.org.nz
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be your penfriend - I've a bookcase full and boxes full of writing paper - I'm the penfriend queen. Have written to lots for 30 years now and met a ton all over the world too! I'm a year younger than you, I knit, 3 teenagers...
Thank you for the lovely offer. I've put my name down on Colletta's Pan Pal Sign Up now and I think one pen pal will be enough for me at the moment, but I'll definitely drop you an email in the future.
DeleteMe too and and still write occasional long ones to a couple of friends here and abroad. Happy writing! Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteI can't say I write many letters at all these days so it will be lovely to have a pen pal again.
DeleteI din't mean to join the penpal swap but I just did. Honestly, I'm a sucker for a letter.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll have lots of fun writing to your new pen pal.
DeleteThis brings back memories from my high school days. I had pen pals from Europe, America and Asia back then and it was always so exciting to get a letter. Sadly we lost touch after a few years and I sometimes wonder where they all are now, if they have their own families, etc. Anyway, I hope you enjoy writing your new pen friend. It's a refreshing change from just texts and emails. It will be great fun! x
ReplyDeleteIt was quite a common thing to have pen pals when we were younger but you don't hear of them so much these days, I suppose with all the technology available to the younger generation letter writing is falling off the radar. I wish I could contact my old pen pals again, as you say, it would be lovely to catch up with their lives and find out what they're doing now.
DeleteIt is so lovely to receive a handwritten card or letter.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your letter writing and pen pal contact.
Happy Weekend
All the best Jan
I love receiving cards and letters, they're so much rarer these days than they used to be.
DeleteI hope you find a nice new friend to send snail mail letters to Jo.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Leicester gal!
It will be lovely making a new friend. We visited Leicester a lot when I was younger as my mum had a lot of family there. She was born in Derby but the family moved to Leicester when she was in her teens.
DeleteI had penpals while in school too, I wrote to an American girl for years, then one fine day, her and her entire family arrived at our house for a holiday....my parents were not at all impressed! Family of six,trying to put up a family of six....I often wonder how that happened, I was 17 at the time. I'd love a penpal, but would never have time to write. A lovely scheme though, how nice to get a handwritten letter.xxx
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I can't imagine a whole family turning up on the doorstep waiting to be housed. No wonder your parents weren't impressed. I'm looking forward to making a new friend and sending and receiving letters once again.
Delete