Writing – letters, cards and postcards

I recently discovered an old suitcase which had been stored away for years and forgotten . . . almost.

In it I found a bundle of memories and memorabilia – old ballroom dancing sashes and trophies (from another life!), timeless trinkets and keepsakes – but the most precious of all are the letters, cards and postcards dating back to my teenage years . . . so quite a collection.

Among them are beautiful cards from my Mum, Dad, Sister and Brother – priceless, sad, funny, lovely memories of holiday trips and weekends away. There are also hundreds of postcards, letters and things called aerogrammes which went backwards and forwards between my family and myself when, at 21, I traveled to Italy by ship . . . across the Pacific Ocean to Acapulco, up through the Panama Canal, then with a glimpse of Gibraltar, a quick stop at Lisbon and into the Mediterranean Sea.

There are also postcards from wonderful friends and colleagues I worked with over the years. Some I don’t remember and others who still remain my dearest friends.

I know we all keep in touch now – texts, emails, social media, but somehow these things are more real. I can hold them, smell them (yes they are a bit dusty) and feel the warmth of the messages they contain. Some of the cards are so beautiful. I’ll be parting with some but there are others I will go on treasuring forever.

Among the miscellaneous papers is my Youth Hostel Membership booklet, my Lloyd Triestino (Shipping Line) Crossing the Equator Certificate, The Sea Herald from the ship G. Marconi, and a menu from the Badenoch Hotel where I worked in Aviemore in Scotland as a waitress, about a million years ago!

I wonder what would happen if everyone who reads this post, writes a card or a letter to a friend or relative instead of a text or email . . . I wonder.