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| The Kelpies, Falkirk |
When I was a kid, which wasn't yesterday; I took part in a school project which encouraged us to have penfriends. It was a way not only to get us writing, but to communicate with our peers throughout the world. We exchanged photographs, little snippets about our daily lives, our culture and if you were interested in collecting stamps it was great.
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| The Falkirk Wheel |
I corresponded with two girls in New Zealand, both lived on sheep farms. and they sent me photographs of the sheep and little cuttings of fleece, which as a ten-year-old really grabbed my attention. One girl I found a little more interesting than the other because she was indigenous, something I knew nothing about and found fascinating. I found myself eager to receive her letters each month. Sadly though, I think she didn't find me so engaging as she stopped writing and I filed my memories of my oversea's friends away.
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| Forth rail bridge |
However, when a relative of mine received a 'Flat Stanley' in the mail from Florida last week, my memories of my penfriends came flooding back.
He was given VIP treatment and in a very short space of time, Stanley along with his new amigo had in one day visited more tourist hotspots than many of the locals have. The wonderful thing about Stanley's visit was that adults and children alike were keen to join in the fun and have their photographs taken with him, a pleasurable visit by Stanley indeed.
That is so cool, Christina. I wonder if social media has replaced pen pals, but I have fond memories of letters, too.
ReplyDeleteSocial media has taken over but it's great that kids in schools are still being encouraged to write letters and use our mail service.
ReplyDelete