When I was at school, from Juniors School onward, we were encouraged to have pen-pals from around the World. I had several, mostly Europe or U.S. based, and none of them seemed very long lived. With Europe, language was always the problem, and with the U.S. I think most American kids thought we were living in some kind of time-warp, because what they took forgranted as part of every day life, where luxuries in my World. I often stopped writing to them because I thought they were sneering at how backward we were in the U.K.  I felt belittled and it was just easier not to correspond with someone who thought you were some kind of arcane freak.

One boy however, despite the language barrier without fail sent a fortnightly letter. He was as fluent in English as I was, and I suspect that is a testament to his country's education system, and their diligence and work ethic as a nation. His name was Eiji Kato, and he lived just outside Tokyo in Japan.  This is long before the days of the internet, text messages and instant communication. There was real joy in receiving a letter or a postcard from someone (I still prefer written communication to emails). Airmail letters were all the more exciting, with their striped edges and thin see-through paper and envelopes marked 'PAR AVION'.

As a child it seemed so exotic, glimpses into unseen countries and unknown cultures.  Photographs of people who you had written to and imagined how they might look arriving as they stood proudly with their families at some special event; a wedding, a graduation, a special birthday. Eiji and I corresponded  for about 5 years, until we both got properly into our teens, and then it gently drifted into oblivion. I often wonder what became of him.

These days, along with reading paper books and newspapers, corresponding on paper as a means of communication between two individuals seems a minority occupation.  People seem almost surprised and think it quaint, when you write a thank you letter using ink and paper, rather than a text message or an email. I love to receive letters, and despite my appalling handwriting and even more risible spelling I still love to send them too. (here I can hide it because I can pick a font I like and use a spell checker)

Anyway, lately I have joined up with two internet based pen-pal schemes which allow me to connect with new people around the country who share some of my interests. One goes by the name of Foody Penpals, and the other is known as Seedy PenPals. Their names are self explanatory and if you would like to join in or find out how it works, just click either of the icons in my sidebar on the right-hand side and you will be whisked off to the respective schemes creator's blog posts explaining how to join in.  You never know - you might end up with me as your Foody or Seedy Penpal!