I’m not sure whether to be relieved, or sad, as the sun is not beating down the back of my neck as I write this – although it is the right time of day – and we are stuck in a major storm in north Germany, with high winds and lashing rain. Compared to storms…

I had a letter from a young woman in Germany recently, one who had written to me first seeking a penfriend to help improve her English language and writing abilities. It was about the third time we had corresponded, but this letter was very short and to the point: she could see no reason to…

I wonder, casting an eye over your profile, whether we are not all looking for that one precious jewel hidden somewhere in life; in a place a person or an event, and failing to find it because we either have expectations which are too high, or ones which do not encompass the idea of the…

After almost a week of blazing sunshine and warmth, bearing in mind the time of year, it was pleasant to have a brief respite with rain today. Walking through town and along the banks of the river in the freshened air, the smell of freshly mown grass from nearby fields, the sound of numerous birds…

A true appreciation of life and the freedoms that we enjoy, for the most part, is only possible for many when those freedoms, when the benefits of society and the Rights which have been fought for over generations, are taken away from them through no fault of their own. The internet, which for some is…

I agree with your thoughts: developing a penfriend relationship, or any written friendship, is considerably harder than creating and maintaining a friendship where two people can meet, talk, and see one another face-to-face. It requires considerably more dedication, and patience, to keep a conversation alive, not just because of the unusual form it takes, but…

One of the greatest things we have been given is that of the imagination: the ability to put ourselves into a different time or place, to turn left or right, to view and experience something which we cannot physically touch, but which comes alive within our minds through our own efforts. I often think that…

I’ll come straight out and say it the way it is: I was never one for Hemingway. For some reason his work has never appealed to me, although I will also admit to not having read a great deal of what he wrote during sober or not so sober moments. Shakespeare was one of the…

It is fair to say my time is, indeed, taken up with many things – including the dinner parties and meetings or discussions with friends that you mention in your letter – but also so arranged that I always have time to receive and read letters, and then make time to write a half-way decent…

For a while, many years ago, I had a web site which covered the idea of letter writing, of how to frame a letter, who to contact, what to write about. It was a moderate success, but didn’t really satisfy the need. Rather, I discovered, it covered all those platitudes which every other site sets…