Postcrossing Blog

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

August has snuck up on me this year, but it’s actually my birthday month! Which means I’m hoping to get good and spoilt, of course, and that will hopefully include some chocolate and sweets. Which inspired me to pick this month’s prompt: maybe you can all give me some ideas about what to try!

I thought this would be an easy way to answer, but hmmm, what’s my favourite?! I guess at the moment it’s a ridiculously sweet little bar my dad started buying for me: the McVitie’s Gold Bar. They have a biscuit centre, covered in a caramel-flavour coating. They really are very sweet, but I like that, and I especially enjoy how crunchy the biscuit part is.

For a slightly more traditional British sweet, well, I’d have to go with the aniseed flavour chewy sweets called Black Jacks, and the related fruit-flavoured Fruit Salads. I don’t get them a lot, because it’s not very professional to go around with my tongue stained black… but sometimes, as a little pick-me-up!

What about you? What’s your favourite treat? Is it something global, or a local secret? We’d love to hear from you in the comments here, and if you’re stumped for something to write a postcard, you can use this as a prompt!

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

Sometimes we pick a writing prompt from someone in the forums, and this month’s was posted a while ago, and comes from Helen (aka helenis). She was curious about what painter from past centuries you’d order your painting from—which sounds like a fascinating question to me!

I have to confess that I couldn’t answer this off the top of my head. I’m not a very visual thinker, so I’ve never had a big interest in art. (Cringe! I’m sorry.) But I did know the style I really like, so I poked around the internet and ended up with a very firm favourite: Alphonse Mucha, a Czech artist who had a strong influence on the Art Nouveau movement.

There’s actually a fan artist who does Art Nouveau portraits of people’s Final Fantasy XIV characters, very much in this style, so maybe I really will order “my” portrait in this style. My character has much better style for it, let’s be honest.

Now’s the part where I get to learn more about all kinds of artists across the world! Which artist would you order your portrait from? Maybe someone local, or someone who created a style of their own? You can share it in the comments here, but you can also use it as a prompt for something to write on your postcards this month.

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

When choosing this month’s writing prompt, I’d just happened across some news articles about a pretty weird… sporting(?)… event in the UK. So it seemed like the perfect time to ask you all about unusual and conventional sports you have in your country. Or maybe even really, really local events!

The item in the news that I happened across today was… cheese-rolling. To be accurate, the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling event, held at Cooper’s Hill near Gloucester. Apparently there’s a cheese-rolling event in Chester, too, but the one at Cooper’s Hill has been running longer, and gets in the news each year because. Well. It consists of rolling a cheese down a really steep hill, then having people chase after it, and inevitably people get themselves hurt!

Apparently the event hasn’t been run officially in a while because of the safety concerns, but rogue cheese-rollers go ahead and organise it anyway. If you catch the cheese, it’s yours, which admittedly is some slight temptation to me because I do love cheese—except I know that I’d be well behind the competition, and also, I could just get cheese that hasn’t been rolled down a hill on a warm day.

Are there any weird sporting events local to you? Something famous from your country? As ever, we’d love to hear about it in your comments, but also on your postcards this month if you don’t know what to write!

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

A while ago, Eva (aka lauranalanthalasa) suggested on the forum that we ask about people’s favourite scents for our monthly writing prompts. Scent can be really powerful and nostalgic, so that definitely made me curious!

I’d say my favourite scents are vanilla and old books, which aren’t quite so different as they sound! Books are made up of paper, which is made of wood pulp; that contains a lot of cellulose and lignin, which are tough components of the original wood. They can last a long time, but they do break down partially—and it turns out that lignin is closely related to vanillin, a compound which gives vanilla its scent and flavour.

I don’t know about anyone else, but some books smell better than others (I have one in front of me right now that smells delicious, though it’s quite new!) so I don’t think lignin breaking down into vanillin-like particles is the the whole story, but it does neatly make sense of things!

How about you? What’s your favourite scent? You can write about it on your postcards this month if you’re stuck for what to write, but you can also answer us in the comments on this post!

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

Here in the UK, the days are getting bright and sunny, there’s warmth (and pollen) in the air, and people are beginning to plan their summer holidays. Given that, and the fact that I keep telling you how lovely Wales is, I thought it would be a good time for this prompt…

My family all come from the Cardiff/Caerphilly area, and I went to university in Cardiff, so you’re not going to be surprised when I recommend Cardiff. If you’re into shopping, it has a compact city centre that’s easy to walk around, with lots of “arcades” which contain smaller (often independent) shops of all types, and an indoor market. While you’re in the market, you might like to pick up some Welsh cakes to try from Cardiff Bakestones. Once you’ve nibbled one of those (preferably fresh and warm), then if you love books, don’t miss a little detour into the arcades to find Troutmark Books, a second-hand bookshop that I love and which kept me stocked up on books throughout my time as a student. And while you’re in the city centre, there are plenty of places to get postcards, don’t worry!

If tourist attractions are more your thing, Cardiff is a great base camp for visiting them. You can start with Cardiff Castle, right in the city centre—give yourself some time to catch a tour and hear all about it, and don’t forget to look up: some of the ceilings are absolutely astounding. There’s also the National Museum in Cardiff itself, which combines art and natural history. However, my favourite museum experience is St Fagan’s, which is full of old buildings and reconstructions that give you a glimpse at Wales through the ages. My most recent trip was on a “ghost walk”, which was a pretty fascinating way to explore, but if you do that then I recommend going back during the day to see how it looks in the light as well! It’s worth the time.

You’re also within easy travelling distance of Caerphilly, if you want to visit Caerphilly Castle and learn about the history and conflicts of the area, and Castell Coch, which I’ve always loved best and is absolutely beautiful.

And if you’re more the walking and hiking sort, the Brecon Beacons National Park might suit you… But by this point, I hope I have folks convinced! Is there somewhere in your country that you love like I love Cardiff? Tell us about it, on your postcards this month and in the comments!