Blast from the past: Writing letters
World Letter Writing Day, held every year on September 1, encourages people worldwide to pick up a pen, grab a piece of paper, and write a letter. It's also a day to learn about the art of letter writing.
But when was the last time you got out the Basildon Bond and a lovely fountain pen and actually composed a letter in your best handwriting to a friend or loved one?
The introduction of email in 1997 dealt a death blow to traditional letter writing; possibly the rising cost of stamps too (the price of a first class stamp is set to rise to £1.65 from October 7).
I remember being taught how to write letters at school, with your own address in the top left hand corner, the date and so on. I’m not sure if schools teach this anymore – in our digital age it somehow seems slightly antiquated.
But how lovely it is to receive a written correspondence. The thrill of seeing a letter on the doormat, the frisson of excitement as you open the envelope then sit down and read the words someone has taken the time to write, rather than hurriedly dashing off a note on email.
Letters give you something physical to hold, to read back over in years to come, for as John Donne wrote, ‘More than kisses, letters mingle souls’.