Remember when writing to a pen friend was a common form of communication?

My mum had a pen pal when we were growing up. She lived in Cambridge and once a year would come up to Manchester and stay with us for a week or so. I can still recall her round smiling face with big rosy cheeks and that she laughed a lot. She loved to crochet and taught me how to do it too. The resulting bed spread was used for years afterwards!

I have no idea now how their pen-palling journey started. My mum spent much of her childhood in hospital so it could have been there; or perhaps at school. However it happened they continued writing to each other throughout adulthood and both seemed to find it rewarding.

Their day-to-day lives were so dramatically different that I can’t imagine they would ever have come across each other through normal social channels. And they were friends in the truest sense; not one of thousands of online acquaintances they knew nothing about.

They both looked forward to receiving those updates. It feels special to receive a hand-written letter because you know the scribe has taken time out to put pen to paper and they’ve written that piece with you in mind. Certainly, it’s far more personal and has the added value of being something tangible.

So, if you had a pen pal and it was your turn to write; what information would you be sharing with them? Why not put pen to paper anyway and see what rolls off the tip of your pen when you’re in full flow.

If you have (had) a pen pal or you regularly write to your friends, do leave a comment and let us know what it gives you; as I’m sure we’d all love to hear about your experience of writing along with any unexpected benefits.