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So I've just heard that this week is National Stationery Week in the UK. It's not like I really need an excuse to get excited about new stationery but...
I believe that the inspiration behind National Stationery Week (at least, this year) as well as celebrating all things stationery, is to celebrate the power of the written word and to encourage more children to put pen to paper. Don't get me wrong, an email or message from a friend with some news or just saying hello is always exciting, but a handwritten letter or card is infinitely more special. One of my dearest friends (hello Mels!) regularly sends letters and postcards, and their arrival never fails to put a smile on my face...particularly as they have a wonderful knack of arriving after a difficult day at work! I keep them all and am amassing quite a collection of memories and words to look back on and treasure.
A handwritten letter always makes me think of one glorious summer holiday while I was at school. It was very early in the holiday and I was spending the day at my Granddad's house, where my brother and I would always go while Mum was at work. I didn't want to go outside (too hot!), there was nothing on TV (snore!) and I didn't want to start my homework (that's what the last weekend before school is for!) I decided to write a letter to my best friends - twins - and the three of us were inseparable at school, which swiftly turned into a flurry of exchanged correspondence over the course of the summer. In an age before mobile phones, non-cordless landlines meant that phone calls to friends involved sitting in the hall whispering into the mouthpiece while various family members hovered nearby. These letters exchanged over the summer holiday were full of the snippets of news and secrets that could never be uttered aloud. By the end of the summer holiday, I had a little pile of envelopes which I still have - treasured memories of a summer before the years when we would hop on a train and go into town, just to sit around in cafes or endlessly browse the same shops.
One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to send more letters and so far, I've sent the grand total of ONE. Oh dear. I've sent a few cards and we're currently working on the designs for our wedding invitations, so that'll mean a lot of post to be sent out, but somehow I don't think that's quite the same! So this weekend, a three day weekend (bliss!), I'm determined to evoke a little bit of that summer (too many!) years ago - to put pen to paper and write a few letters to some friends.
Happy National Stationery Week :)
I believe that the inspiration behind National Stationery Week (at least, this year) as well as celebrating all things stationery, is to celebrate the power of the written word and to encourage more children to put pen to paper. Don't get me wrong, an email or message from a friend with some news or just saying hello is always exciting, but a handwritten letter or card is infinitely more special. One of my dearest friends (hello Mels!) regularly sends letters and postcards, and their arrival never fails to put a smile on my face...particularly as they have a wonderful knack of arriving after a difficult day at work! I keep them all and am amassing quite a collection of memories and words to look back on and treasure.
A handwritten letter always makes me think of one glorious summer holiday while I was at school. It was very early in the holiday and I was spending the day at my Granddad's house, where my brother and I would always go while Mum was at work. I didn't want to go outside (too hot!), there was nothing on TV (snore!) and I didn't want to start my homework (that's what the last weekend before school is for!) I decided to write a letter to my best friends - twins - and the three of us were inseparable at school, which swiftly turned into a flurry of exchanged correspondence over the course of the summer. In an age before mobile phones, non-cordless landlines meant that phone calls to friends involved sitting in the hall whispering into the mouthpiece while various family members hovered nearby. These letters exchanged over the summer holiday were full of the snippets of news and secrets that could never be uttered aloud. By the end of the summer holiday, I had a little pile of envelopes which I still have - treasured memories of a summer before the years when we would hop on a train and go into town, just to sit around in cafes or endlessly browse the same shops.
One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to send more letters and so far, I've sent the grand total of ONE. Oh dear. I've sent a few cards and we're currently working on the designs for our wedding invitations, so that'll mean a lot of post to be sent out, but somehow I don't think that's quite the same! So this weekend, a three day weekend (bliss!), I'm determined to evoke a little bit of that summer (too many!) years ago - to put pen to paper and write a few letters to some friends.
Happy National Stationery Week :)
