Month: March 2016

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with love from Hong Kong (1987)

with love from Hong Kong

10.10.87 Dear Hilary & Simon, Here I am at last, I can hardly believe it Hong Kong is very exciting & the shopping is out of this world!!  I am trying to pack in as much sightseeing as time will allow, there is a lot to see & I am snapping photos madly. I leave for Perth to see Linda tomorrow.  Janet xx

Postmarked ‘HONG KONG 1pm 12 OCT 1987’ this card carries a HK$1.70 stamp featuring Queen Elizabeth II, who continued to be head of state until the territory was returned to China in 1997

There is a good deal of excitement in the text as Janet tries to make the most of her time before catching her onward flight to Australia.

 

Here’s another one from Janet, my friend from infant school.  Linda is Janet’s sister, who is quite a bit older than us.  I remember her emigrating to Australia as a ‘Ten Pound (£) Pom‘, which must have been in the very early seventies, but at 8 or 9 years old I had no idea what it meant!  I later understood that she had gone to Australia very cheaply and that it would be a long time before she saw her family again.  This was possibly the second time that Janet went out to visit Linda.  On her first trip she was a young teenager (minor) and I recall her telling me all about how the cabin crew looked after her and chaperoned her through the airport process.  Janet and I now communicate regularly via email 🙂

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with love from Portofino, Italy (1987)

with love from Portofino

21/9/97 Dear Hilary, Many thanks for your nice letter. Eivind and I have a ‘honeymoon’ to Italy and France, arrived yesterday. It’s very hot and nice. Extremely charming. We play tennis, swim, eat and relax! Just marvellous. Tomorrow we go to La Eze, near Monaco and stay till Thursday evening. In Oslo it’s +2º in the morning and snow in the mountains. It’s a pity you cannot come to Oslo but hopefully later.  We go to Meribel in France for winter holiday end February with all the children.  Much love from Vibeke

It sounds lovely! Interesting comparison of September temperatures in Northern and Southern Europe.

The card carries a damaged 500 lire stamp, issued in 1980, featuring the Castello di Rovereto in Rome, and is postmarked ‘PORTOFINO 22.9.87’

The images on the front of the card show the picturesque harbour of Portofino, which is on the north west coast of Italy.

Vibeke (pronounced ‘Veebecca’) and her family employed me for a year, to live in their Oslo home and help with the housework and children. One of my main tasks was to play with and speak English with the children. The youngest spoke no English when I arrived but was reasonably fluent by the time I left; my Norwegian continues to be virtually non-existent! This card was sent five years after I left Norway, and I’m pleased to say that I am still in regular contact with Vibeke, over 30 years later; as well as with some of the children, who are really only a bit younger than me, and now have their own families 🙂 Despite the best intentions, I have never been back to Norway…

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with love from Bodrum (1987)

with love from Bodrum

Simon & Hiliary, Weather hotter than tenerife often over 100°F. Bacardi not so cheap but Raki (Like pernod) is. Lots of sailing and windsurfing done out here, Sailing holidays very reasonable. The sun is helping the cartlidge scar to fade quite nicely. Hope there are more IN’s than OUT’s. See you soon Andy & Kev

Lots of information in this status update – the weather features of course, since we Brits are always so fascinated by non-stop hot sunshine!  The price of various drinks is also something we tend to be interested in as well.

The picture is of the iconic Bodrum castle and the beautiful surrounding scenery ensures that the area continues to be a popular holiday destination.

Postmarked ‘BODRUM 30 VII 87’ the card carries a 150 Lira stamp; one of a set of three issued in April 1987 which highlighted road safety.

Andy (who has written the card) was at University with my husband; I got to know Andy soon after I met Simon, over 30 years ago; then, through Andy, we met Kevin. We all had several holidays together (one in Tenerife) and still see both of them and their respective families regularly.  Andy, Kevin and Simon all run their own businesses – hence the ‘more IN’s than OUT’s’ comment.

 

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with love from Manchester (2016)

with love from Manchester

Dear Hilary, We’re in Manchester, staying with Julia and Matt. Had a visit to the Whitworth Gallery. Julia & Matt are now in their own little house in Didsbury. Hope the foot is on the mend. Sue

Post marked ‘Royal Mail South Midlands Mail Centre 19-01-2016’ the status update on this card is brief and informative.

Featured on the front is Manchester’s Whitworth Gallery, which has recently undergone extension and renovation works.

The other postmark is ‘Celebrating 500 Years of Royal Mail 1516-2016’ Amazingly, it seems we have had some sort of postal service in the UK since Henry VIII was king!

I have been friends with this fourth Sue for over 20 years; we met when our children started school and we used to chat every day in the playground. We still see each other, but not quite so often these days; the children have all remained friends too 🙂  I had a minor operation on my foot in January which Sue refers to in her message.  I’m still no wiser about Sue no 3, 2 or 1….

 

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with love from Stratford-upon-Avon (1976)

With love from Stratford-Upon-Avon 1976

Dear Hilary, I hope you are well – I am. We have just got back from the Cotswolds having had a super time. We went to Stratford theatre and saw one of Shakespeare’s plays called ‘The Winter’s Tale’. It was good. Enjoy yourself love Ida x

Post marked ‘Brighton & Hove East Sussex 23 Aug 1976’ this card was obviously posted after Ida’s return from Stratford-upon-Avon, as indicated in the text, which again is a quick ‘keep in touch’ status update.

The other post mark reads ‘Enjoy a day at Brighton Races August 3, 4, 5, 18, 19, 24’

The card carries a 6½p stamp; the cost for a small post card in 1976

 

This is another ‘school summer holiday’ card from from Ida, updating me on her travels; although the notes are always brief, I received a great many of them over the years.  I have now emailed the blog link to Ida, so I am hoping she is ok with it and that we can meet up again at some point.