poliphilo: (Default)
poliphilo ([personal profile] poliphilo) wrote2006-11-13 12:24 pm

What's In The Post?

Almost all the mail that comes into the house is for Ailz. That's because she deigns to deal with corporations- fills in their on-line questionnaires, buys things from catalogues etc. I do my best to keep below the radar.

When was the last time I got a letter? I mean a proper letter from a proper human being, beginning "Dear Tony" and ending "love, X". It must be years.

I used to like writing letters.

I still get magazines through the post. The magazines I subscribe to are:
Current Archaeology
World Archaeology
Radio Times

We get hundreds of catalogues. Literally hundreds. At the rate of two or three a day. Most go into the recycling box unviewed. The only ones I bother with are the ones from the companies selling DVDs of world cinema.

[identity profile] pondhopper.livejournal.com 2006-11-13 03:11 pm (UTC)(link)
When was the last time I got a letter? I mean a proper letter from a proper human being, beginning "Dear Tony" and ending "love, X". It must be years.


Yes, years. Holiday cards don´t count because they´re usually not accompanied by more than a signature after the pre-printed "Seasons Greetings".

E-mail has become the communication of choice bt it´s not the same, is it? I read your post earlier this morning and was inspired to unearth the pack of letters I have from when my husband and I were separated by an ocean before we got married. That was over 30 years ago and they have the air of museum pieces.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2006-11-13 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I tend to write emails as if they were proper letters. When I'm writing to my friend in New York I always top the message with "Dear Judy" and end "love, Tony" and she does the same. I suppose this is really rather quaint.

[identity profile] pondhopper.livejournal.com 2006-11-13 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
I write my emails like proper letters, too. Those of us over the age of 40 were instructed in proper letter etiquette and we tend to follow it, I think, even in this new age of communication.
:)

[identity profile] zoe-1418.livejournal.com 2006-11-13 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I still write "real" letters sometimes, although not nearly as often as I did before email. But if you send *me* one, I'll return the favor! ;-)

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2006-11-13 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Dear Zoe,

I haven't written a proper letter in ages. But I still tend to observe the formalities of letter-writing in my emails- beginning and ending with a salutation- as I'm doing here.

Love,

Tony

[identity profile] zoe-1418.livejournal.com 2006-11-14 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Dear Tony,

Thanks so much for your recent correspondence. Those salutations really gave me a lift.

Love,
Zoe [my poodle] and JoAnne [me] ;-)

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2006-11-14 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Dear JoAnne,

Whoops, sorry about that.

Love,

Tony
(deleted comment)

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2006-11-13 10:03 pm (UTC)(link)
That's true, downloading email isn't nearly as exciting as hurrying downstairs to see what the postman has brought.
(deleted comment)

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2006-11-13 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
My handwriting has deteriorated alarmingly over recent years. Now that I no longer have to write for others to read it has become a scrawl.