reunions

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With love from Canary Islands (1982)

with-love-from-canary-islands

Dear Hilary, You will gather I’ve made it to the sun, well some sun, but also cloud, but it is warm.  The Island is beautiful – gorgeous flowers in profusion.  The Atlantic seems always to be in fury.  I tried to swim in it one day but the undercurrents were frightening so have stuck to the pool.  Hope all is well with you, love Auntie Joyce

What an evocative and descriptive status update from back in the day – the picture on the front confirms the colourful flowers and we can imagine the waves crashing to the shore!

Postmarked ’18 FEB 82 TENERIFE’ the card carries 20 pesetas of stamps featuring King Juan Carlos I from the 1976-84 definitive series.

It is unclear which of the Canary Islands Joyce is visiting, but the postmark suggests that it is Tenerife.

This is an earlier card from Auntie Joyce who appears to be holidaying alone on this occasion.  She has always loved cultivating flowers in her garden and is continually on the look out for new varieties.  I remember that Auntie Joyce was a strong swimmer; it seems that she was wise to stick to the pool.  About 6 months ago some of my family met Auntie Joyce with members of her family for a bit of a reunion and a saunter down memory lane – it was good to catch up 🙂

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with love from the Texel, Netherlands (1995)

With love from Texel 1995

Dear Hilary & Simon! We’re spending our holiday on the dutch island Texel this year and had two weeks with a lot of sunshine at the North Sea – very relaxing! Hope everything is allright with you and we’ll hear from each other soon! Yours Paul & Claudia

There is a little sketch of a seagull at the top of this card, which at first glance looks printed on but is in fact drawn by Claudia – look even closer and you’ll see the seagull relieving himself, perhaps this is the only hazard to be found on the peaceful island of Texel?

The postmark reads ‘HAARLEM 31 V 95’ and carries 80 cents of stamps.

Claudia and I exchanged letters and cards between Germany and the UK for many years, losing touch some time in the 1990’s.  Amazingly, in ‘parallel’ lives fashion, she recently found some old letters from me, did a quick internet search and got back in touch via this blog.  Even more amazingly, Claudia had planned a visit to London last weekend, so we met for an afternoon and caught up the last 20 years.  We got along very well, helped by her ability to speak fluent English; and as she pointed out, we already knew lots about each other as we’d always written long and detailed letters. I’m confident that we’ll continue to be good friends into the future 🙂 Happy Endings/Beginnings!

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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… 

 

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with love from Looe, Cornwall (c1984)

With love from Looe, Cornwall

Dear Hilary, Having a super time eating lots of fish & cream teas. Doing lots of walks along Cliff tops its very pretty here. We have seen Dartmoore & Bodmin & Jim had a day shark fishing. We are off today to a place called Lansallos where no cars can get too. So its more walking. Lots of love Gill & Jim

Post marked ‘Plymouth, Cornwall & W. Devon, 3pm 9 Sep’ – the year is illegible but the 17p stamp suggests that it may have been 1984

It is unclear whether they were staying in Devon or Cornwall, as highlights of both counties feature in the narrative. The picture on the front is Looe, Cornwall, which continues to be a very popular tourist destination.  Lansallos beach, mentioned, remains relatively inaccessible today, as do many of the hidden coves around the Cornish coastline.

This is another card from Gill and Jim (Gill is not with Jim now). I am pleased to report that, as a result of this blog, Gill and I finally got together for lunch recently. We worked out that it’s nearly 30 years since we last met up. Time flies, but it was lovely to see each other and we had a great time reminiscing; we’ve vowed not to leave it another 30 years…