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My Love Of Letter-Writing<br />
I’ve had a love-affair with<br />
letter writing most of my life.<br />
It began when I was 11 years<br />
old.<br />
My teacher asked the<br />
whole class to open their atlases<br />
at random, close their eyes and<br />
make a small pencil mark on the<br />
page, then write to the Mayor<br />
of the nearest town and ask for<br />
someone there of our own age who<br />
would be happy to be a penfriend.<br />
Before long Martha and I began<br />
our friendship. That was over 60<br />
years ago and we are still writing.<br />
We’re continually finding out about<br />
how similar, and different, life is<br />
on opposite sides of ‘The Pond’ as<br />
well as sharing recipes, favourite<br />
authors and just about anything<br />
and everything (not a good idea to<br />
mention Trump though!).<br />
It’s been fascinating writing to<br />
the two boys whom I’ve sponsored<br />
through World Vision – at first I<br />
knew very little about their country,<br />
Mozambique, but from their letters<br />
I receive I now know much more –<br />
and I hope they’re learning a little<br />
about life in the UK from me, too.<br />
I may never meet Abel and Joao,<br />
but I cherish their messages and<br />
their drawings and it’s wonderful<br />
knowing that, although we’re<br />
thousands of miles apart, we care<br />
about each other.<br />
I’ve also found it very humbling<br />
being involved with Amnesty<br />
International – they welcome<br />
people who are prepared to write<br />
to prisoners, offering support and<br />
comfort. Back in the mid ‘80s, I<br />
couldn’t stop thinking about the<br />
plight of the Beirut hostages so I<br />
wrote to them all, not knowing if<br />
my letters would ever reach them<br />
but, amazingly, I had a wonderful<br />
reply from John McCarthy which<br />
I treasure. I’ve also written to<br />
Archbishop John Sentamu on<br />
several occasions – he always<br />
sends a gracious response<br />
though, regrettably but quite<br />
understandably, he declined our<br />
invitation to write an article for<br />
Impact due to his heavy workload.<br />
Recently I’ve become an avid<br />
supporter of www.change.org, a<br />
website challenging injustice.<br />
Writing letters is a part of being<br />
able to speak out – they say that<br />
“the pen is mightier than the sword”<br />
and that certainly appears to be the<br />
case. It’s very humbling and, when<br />
the outcome is a positive one,<br />
it’s heart-warming knowing that,<br />
in a small way, you have helped<br />
someone. Years ago, my car broke<br />
down on a wet, windy night on the<br />
A38. The lovely AA man who came<br />
to my rescue not only fixed the<br />
problem but followed me for some<br />
distance to make sure I was safe.<br />
I wrote to the AA’s Head Office to<br />
extol the virtues of this unknown<br />
“guardian angel” and later heard<br />
that, as a result, he was awarded a<br />
commendation – so I had returned<br />
the favour and was I “chuffed”!<br />
I may be a dinosaur in this<br />
technological age and I’m aware<br />
that emails and texts are quick<br />
and easy, but they can also be<br />
deleted at the touch of a button and<br />
maybe lost for ever. The response<br />
I have from authors who’ve moved<br />
me, actors whose performances<br />
I’ve admired, programme makers<br />
who’ve inspired me, not to mention<br />
correspondence shared world-wide<br />
with many friends, show they all<br />
genuinely appreciate letters. It’s<br />
proof that letter-writing is something<br />
which brings tangible and lasting<br />
pleasure to writer and recipient<br />
alike as letters can be read, stored<br />
and re-read time and time again.<br />
Let’s hope that we dinosaurs never<br />
become extinct!<br />
Chris Laude<br />
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats<br />
Church Office: Linden Avenue, Sheffield S8 0GA<br />
Tel: (0114) 274 5086<br />
Page 22<br />
email: office@stchads.org<br />
website: www.stchads.org