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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
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Fancy a trip down memory lane .... or to Bexley?

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When I was 7 years old, I met a friend on holiday in Spain. We chatted about everything and anything like most 7 year olds and at the end of the holiday we exchanged addresses and became pen pals. She lived in Bexley in London and I was in Birmingham in the West Midlands. It seemed like a million miles away from each other back then, in the days before email, texting and Facetime. We would write to each other every single week. She would hear about everything from my aspirations and exam woes to friendship squabbles and boyfriend drama.

Pen friends 1

I couldn't wait for the letter to come through the letterbox each week to hear about her adventures "down south". Bexley seemed like a foreign land, so when our parents agreed for us to meet up, it was like having a mini holiday all over again. I remember us getting the train and tube into London and my pen pal laughing at me for being in awe of the tube, we went sight seeing around London and went to visit the Queen (although you couldn't get in past the gates in those days)

Pen friends 2

Fast forward 30 years and our lines of communication have changed a little (along with our ability to travel without our parents).  I have held my driving licence since I was 17 although there is still some childlike thrill about taking a train or tube ride but rather than sleeping on her bedroom floor like we did as children, I can now choose to say at a local hotel, like 

Holiday Inn Bexley

 

Pen friends 4

She is one of my oldest friends but these days we now we tend to use Facebook and emails to stay in touch and arrange to meet up I love how instantly we can chat now but I do miss seeing the hand written envelope popping through the letter box and ripping it open to see what secrets we were sharing that week.

This weekend she is coming up to Warwickshire, although I suspect that Warwick Castle may not quite match up to Buckingham Palace, so we will be planning another trip down south very soon and I plan on doing some real sightseeing around London. I may go and visit the Queen again but the London Eye is top of the list for me this time.

Did you ever have a pen pal as a child? Did you ever go and visit them? 

Pen Friends 3

This is a collaborative post.

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Comments

  1. I loved having penpals. I seemed to always make friends easily on holiday and keep in touch for a few years. None of mine I am still in touch with though.

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  2. No I didn't but I wish I did. It is so wonderful you two are still in touch.

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  3. I did! I had a French penpal and we visited each other, she lived in La Rochelle and I spent a week or two with her only she spent the entire time with her best friend speaking French. It was awful but luckily for me her cousin became my friend and took me out and about as he had a car.

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  4. Wow, I can't believe that you're still in touch. That's amazing! Such a lovely story and I'm totally with you on the excitement of receiving a letter. It's such a nice surprise to find something personal in between bills and flyers.

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  5. Aw how nice that you're still in touch. I think I lost touch with my pen pal when I was about 13!

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  6. Oh how wonderful that you're still in touch! I hope my children get to experienced the thrill of having an old fashioned penpal. There's nothing like receiving a letter in the post and even now I get excited when the postman comes! x

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