Month: July 2015

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with love from Scotland (1978)

With love from Scotland

Dear Hiraly,  We are in Scotland and having a brilliant time. We’ve had quite a lot of lousy weather but the last two days have been boiling. The other day we went to Loch Ness it’s really huge  22½ miles by 1½ miles! We didn’t see any sign of monster so we all sat & stared at Neil instead! ow! He just hit me. I hope you had a topping holiday what ho! By the way did I tell you I have definitely & decidedly gone right off Pete. You’re right he is a ugly spotty little weed! I don’t know how I ever could have liked him! Who’s the latest love in your life. I hope you’re luckier than me (that’s right I ain’t got one booked) I’d better go now not much room left. Lots of love Jacq x

PS I will write or phone you up so you can tell me what time you want me to come etc See you soon.

PSS Mum sends best wishes to everyone

Post marked Aberdeen 29th July 1978 and Jackie and I are still writing and apparently visiting each other. Once the status update is dealt with, Jackie gets on with the serious  business of teenage angst about our favourite topic, boys – it seems I was none to complimentary about her recent beau!

The other postmark is a different version of the post code reminder – it states ‘ABERDEEN is mechanised Letter Office PLEASE USE THE POSTCODES’. The whole point of postcodes being that mail could be mechanically, rather than manually, sorted.

Jackie’s brother Neil is mentioned in the card – Neil was the same age as my brother; it worked out really well when they lived right next door! 

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with love from Upper Slaughter, Gloucestershire (1977)

With love from Slaughter, Gloucestershire

Dear Hilary, Sorry I could not come to the lake on Sunday and I am afraid I cannot come on Easter Day because I am on a cycle trip in the midlands. We stayed here on Thursday night. The weather today was absolutely terribly. Firstly the wind, which was very strong against us and then it decided to snow. It was terrible and everybody got absolutely freezing. We got to the host about 7.30 Love James

An earlier card from James, but still the same year. Much is made of the weather, which sounds a bit miserable for what must have been the Easter Holidays. The post mark is Cheltenham 8th April 1977

Upper Slaughter, pictured on the front, is described on the back as ‘one of the Cotswolds most beautiful villages’ – the macabre name is derived from an old English word meaning muddy place, but don’t let that put you off visiting!

The card is carrying 6½p stamp, being the rate for a small postcard.

 

1977 was obviously the year of James and me! We lived equidistant, in opposite directions, to the lake where our families were members of the local sailing club. This meant that our teen romance was constantly thwarted by dependency on lifts from parents and the various other commitments of our families… needless to say, it did not last long!  

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with love from Dolgellau, Wales (1981)

With love from Dolgellau

14th June 1981 Dear Hilary, Just to let you know that I’m having a good time here in Wales. The weather has been awful but never fear all is not yet lost. We have tried to go out as much as possible because there is such a lot to see. The cabin we are staying in is lovely. It is so well planned and equipped. I promise to write soon. Love Janet xx

Here’s another one from Janet making the best of a wet week in Wales!

The post mark is illegible, but Janet has helpfully dated the card. The other postmark says ‘Be properly addressed Post Code It’ – this is now seven years after post codes became a requirement on all addresses in the UK

The stamp is 14p first class, which is equivalent to 54p in 2015

Dolgellau, in the beautiful Snowdonia National Park in North Wales, still looks much the same – although today the cars driving through are more modern and probably more numerous!

 

I have recently been in touch with Janet to tell her about this blog and she had ‘a good laugh’ reading the words of her younger self which brought back memories of many happy holidays. 

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with love from Mystras, Greece (1987)

with love from Greece

Greating from Greece where the sun is hot. I am here for 3 weeks and it’s fun to see this country again. I hope what every things are all right for you. Do you have a nice sammer? Grosses bises xxxx Christine

Postmarked Monemvasia 5th August 1987, this card shows a partial view of Mystras, the thirteenth century castle built near Sparta, which is now a World Heritage Site.

The stamp is one of a series of four commemorating 150 years of higher education in Greece.

 

This is another card from Swiss Christine who continued to work in and travel to many countries – it was always exciting to receive her postcards.  

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with love from Lyme Regis, Dorset (2015)

With love from Lyme Regis

28.5.15 Dear Hilary, Simon & Co. A few days away to re-charge the batteries! Place is lovely, with plenty of eating, walking and swimming. Not far from ‘The Cobb’. Forgotten how hilly Lyme is. Lots of love Gill, Ash, C & P X

Picturesque Lyme Regis is famous for its Cobb, which has featured in several films, most notably The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), starring a young Meryl Streep.

This card was sent recently and carries the new style UK stamp which merely states 1st or 2nd class. These ‘valid in perpetuity’ stamps were introduced on 30th April 2012, negating the need to purchase smaller value stamps to add on when the postage rate goes up. This is convenient for users as well as for Royal Mail, who can hike prices without anyone noticing. Indeed when these stamps were introduced, first class postage jumped 30% from 46p to 60p. Three years on, very few people in the UK know the current price of a first class stamp!

 

Since finding out, through this blog, that I have kept postcards over the years, my friends and family are joining the campaign and sending cards with enthusiasm.  Gill sent this to me shortly after we met up again…