I’ve written (often) of my love of sending hand written letters or cards, and how important both sending and receiving these are to me. This week I have been thinking about the summer post card.
Do you remember those days when sending postcards from your summer holiday was as normal as buying a stick of sugary, pink rock or cowering behind the hastily erected wind break on a breezy beach. Certainly if you holidayed in the UK in the 70’s and 80’s this will all be very familiar.
As I child I always sent postcards from my holidays. Usually to grandparents, best friends and the neighbours. Whenever we arrived, one of the first things my mum did was to buy a postcard and send a quick few lines back to grandparents letting them know we had arrived safely.
Standing outside the gift shop spinning the displays of post cards around as we chose the one with the yellowest beach and bluest sky, or my particular favourites, those with a grid of pictures from lots of places all on one card. These were great for showing off all the great places you were visiting. All of this was once an essential part of the holiday experience.
When I was 19 I went inter railing across Europe for a month. This was way before the time of mobile phones or email or really anything digital. Contact with home was reliant on a phone call from a pay phone, when we could find one which worked, which wasn’t often. Much more reliable was the post card we sent from every country we visited. I know that my family enjoyed reading them and I loved sending them.
I also receive lots less holiday post cards than I used to. I have a particular special friend who is very good at sending post cards, and I always look forward to receiving one from her. My mum is also a faithful post card sender and also keeps any she receives, stuck to kitchen cupboards for long after the sender has returned from their exotic destination!
Over the years if I’m honest I too have sent less postcards from my travels, mainly because my travels have often been to more far flung and remote places. I also began to presume I would get home before the post card arrived, and lets face it, finding stamps can be a hassle when you are in the throes of relaxed holiday mode. Even for me, a dedicated pen and paper person, digital contact has sometimes taken over. I too post pictures on Instagram of my travels, or send group whatsapp messages and photos to family and friends.
Even though I don’t send postcards when I’m on holiday so much these days I still buy them from every where I go and keep them in a box which I often dip into. I am much less drawn to the garish photographic ones these days. Instead, buying more vintage inspired ones or postcards that I like and would want to keep if I received them.
I have a huge collection of postcards. They are great memories from my own travels, and often get used as ways of sending notes long after I have returned. Sometimes I will send postcards when I get back from my holiday, not quite the same I know, but still a handwritten note containing a memory or a few thoughts, which I hope the recipients will be pleased to receive, and let them know I have been thinking of them.
Post cards are readily available, from stationery shops to gift shops and almost everywhere else. I have in recent years sent post cards from places I have been on a day trip to. There is no reason why the traditional summer holiday post card has to be restricted to holidays or summers. Any excursion is worthy of a post card! I often pick up them up at galleries or exhibitions and send them to friends or family. A quick few lines on the back of a post card from somewhere special is a lovely and very easy way of keeping in touch.
Sending the traditional summer holiday postcard may not be quite as popular these days, but there is no reason not send a post card at any time of year. Is there?
Do you still send or receive postcards? Is sending post cards still part of your summer holiday tradition? Let me know in the comments below.
You may be interested in some of my other posts on letter writing.
WhyThank You Letters Still Matter.
February A Month of Letter Writing.
