Month: May 2015

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with love from Porlock Weir (1987)

With love from Porlock Weir

Taking a week away in Dunster with such lovely surroundings. Our flat is very satisfactory and well furnished & situated next to a large house & garden, of which we have the use. Taking things quietly & exploring the village My love to you from Auntie Vi

A classic status update from my great aunt. The postmark date is Minehead 5 Oct 1987.   The 13p stamp was the cost of sending a postcard second class in 1987 (this is approximately 34p in 2015).

We were still being reminded to ‘Be properly addressed’ and to ‘POSTCODE IT’ – this is some thirteen years after it became mandatory; by this time most people in the UK seemed to have got the idea!

Porlock Weir is still a popular spot for visitors, it is about 10 miles from Dunster. The yellow dragon in the top left hand corner of the picture is the logo of Somerset County Council.

The eagle eyed amongst you will notice the name change – I’d got married.

Auntie Vi was married to Uncle Wilf who was Grandad‘s brother. They did not have children, hence no grandchildren; they were great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them when I was a young child. We were out one day, us in our car, with Wilf and Vi following behind; there was a crash, Wilf died. With a child’s eye view, the horror was lost on me – he was my Grandad’s brother, therefore ‘old’. I saw Auntie Vi more regularly, she holidayed with us and livened up our birthday parties, but she lived as a widow (seeing me grow up, get married, have my own children) for at least another 20 years. How sad that she was denied spending that time with Wilf. 

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with love from Leningrad (c1984)

With love from Leningrad

Dear Hiral, Back in the USSR…! Having a wonderful time, though the schedule is exhausting. We’re being real tourists, sightseeing relentlessly. We have started exploring on our own though, braving the soviet tram & metro systems. We even went to a Russian film last night – screamingly boring, but an interesting experience! We also found the woolly mammoths in Zoo Museum – amazing!  Lots of love Anne x

Another card from Anne featuring my nickname from school which endured for several years. ‘Back in the USSR’ refers to an organised college trip we took there in 1980 – it is also a world famous song by The Beatles.

The postmark is Leningrad but the date is not clear. Leningrad reverted back to St Petersburg in 1991

The stamp is large, glorious and of the time, commemorating something that occurred in 1980

The buildings featured are beautiful, I think the top one is the Hermitage – can anyone else identify them? Or translate the descriptions? My Russian is quite limited.

I’m pleased to report that as a result of this blog Anne, Sara and I all met up recently in London. We spent time enjoying Tate Modern, had a meal, some drinks and a great wander down memory lane. Many great (and small) things are forgotten and lost without a trace – they can only be resurrected by reminiscing with those who shared the same experience. 

 

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with love from Koh Tao, Thailand (2015)

With love from Koh Tao

Dear Auntie Hilary, Uncle Simon, Tallulah, Stormé, Jasmin and Gus, It is highly unlikely that this will reach everyone at the same time, but hopefully it will get round to everyone at some point. A very hearty (written in Thai) from Thailand! It’s currently the school holidays so I’ve been travelling around Thailand and am currently writing this from the rather beautiful Koh Tao, where I have spent the past couple of weeks learning to freedive. Freediving is basically just holding your breath and swimming downwards as far as you can. It’s very relaxing and good fun, but sadly I injured my middle ear and had to stop diving while it healed. I booked a trapeze lesson to occupy myself in the meantime, but bashed my toe open within the hour. Does this get me into the ‘weird sports club’? I’m sure Nan will be thrilled. I would also like to say a really huge thanks for the lovely parcels you’ve been sending. They’re really touching to receive and absolutely help when I’m missing food from home. It really means a lot to have such thoughtful (and experienced) family. I look forward to seeing you all soon, maybe even in one place! Lots of love from Alexander

Postmarked 24 04 15 Kanchanaburi this is a fabulously detailed status update from Koh Tao.

Alexander is my nephew – on his gap year, teaching in Thailand for a year. His older cousins (my children) have all travelled and worked abroad. A year is a long time to be away from family, friends and familiar treats, so I make sure I send regular parcels filled with Cadbury’s dairy milk, Cadbury’s mini rolls and Fox’s party rings. I was very pleased to receive this card a couple of weeks ago – we are not FB friends – the descriptive and detailed status update confirms that he is making the most of his time and enjoying new experiences. Alexander is academic and articulate with a gift for languages and I am a proud Auntie.

 

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with love from Quebec, Canada (c1985)

With love from Quebec

Dear Hilary, You can see it, I am in Canada.  I’ll stay here only for 3 weeks. It is a very beautiful country and automns colors are very beautiful People are very nice. I hope to have news from you very soon. Bonnes salutations et grosses bises Christine.  ***Coppet (VD) Suisse.

There is no date on this card and no legible postmark, but the 68 cent Spinning Wheel Heritage Stamp was issued in 1985.

The pictures on the front are of The Montmorency Waterfall, The Château Frontenac, The Saint-Jean Gate and The City Hall of Quebec.

Quebec City is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec.

I met Christine when I first arrived in Norway and she was coming to the end of her time there. We exchanged addresses and stayed in touch, she has included a contact update at the end of this card. Christine comes from the French speaking region of Switzerland. We continue to exchange cards and emails in faltering French (me) / English (her), and have managed to meet up several times over the years, in both the UK and Switzerland.