I was sorry not to hear from Hannah after my letter to her a while back, but at least I know she is still alive now, and that clearly nothing bad has happened to her which prevented her replying. I tend to answer every personal letter I receive, and it makes no difference to me…

I have also spent a good deal of my time combing through the various penfriend and Snail Mail web sites available, in the vain hope of finding some form of comparable listing, not just of basic interests but also where it is clear that when started the conversation will not simply die after one or…

Dear Bree Olsen, your tearful plea to all young women not to enter a life of pornography is to be welcomed in many respects, and regretted in many others. That you could not have foreseen what life away from the camera would be like, as a ‘public figure’ so to speak, at age nineteen smacks…

I thought your suggestion was wonderful, and that is the reason I decided to do it. Now we have Penny Black as a web site in place of a sub-domain on another site, and you could almost say that this one has come of age. Although, maybe in Internet terms the site is old enough…

I’m not sure whether you will be able to imagine my surprise when I received and opened your letter. Perhaps if you placed yourself in my shoes, tried to see what it would be like to receive such a missive, you might understand what I have to say. It’s not every day, after all, that…

I am now settled down with a fresh cup of tea and the chance to reply to you without fear of disturbance or distraction. All my housework has been completed, the cat has been fed and is now asleep, and the lights are all switched off so no one can see I am home. It…

Sometimes, when you take a chance, the strangest things happen; things which you might not expect such as, for example, a letter arriving written by someone you had almost given up on. You comment in your letter that I am perhaps not looking for someone from Germany to write to, and yet a reply is…

I received your letter over a week ago and have been mulling over how to reply, what to write about and, more important in the long-term, what it is that you are looking for. My problem is not who you are nor where you are and also not why you are where you are. All…

Your letter did indeed find me in both good health and high spirits, despite the bad weather and all the things which we need to do to keep ourselves healthy and happy, but never really want to, and which I had planned but couldn’t see through. It has been one of those hectic weekends where…

Starting a letter, for the writer, is probably the hardest part of all. My mind is filled to overflowing with ideas about what to write, how to introduce myself, but the blank sheet of paper is still a challenge, something which has to be overcome. This, to my way of thinking, is a good thing;…