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!

This month’s writing prompt was a suggestion by HM on the forum. I’ve often found that people have interesting stories when they’re asked this question, so here goes…

My favourite animal is a hippo. Hippos have tough competition from hedgehogs: I’ve even helped rescue a sick hedgehog once; he stayed in my sister’s room for a couple of days while she was away, while we waited for an expert to pick him up. I was often the one to check on him, and can tell you that he snored when he was asleep… which is very cute, but doesn’t quite edge out hippos. Likewise, people might expect rabbits to be my favourite, given my little menagerie of three rabbits.

But no! Still hippos, and yes, there’s a story here! When I was born, my mother’s best friend bought me a teddy. As I remember, the story goes that she went into a shop and looked for the teddy that seemed to most need adoption, when her eyes fell upon a little grey hippo, and knew that was the right one. I’ve been inseparable from this hippo since I was two days old: she’s lost an eye, she’s had countless other surgeries, and we even had to sew an extra layer of fur over most of her body to protect her fragile, furless skin.

Given she’s been my constant companion for so long, I always said my favourite animals are hippos—and they are fascinating animals! Did you know that the US once had plans to have hippo ranches? I learned this from a book by Sarah Gailey, and it does make me wonder how it might’ve changed the world…

Now it’s your turn! What’s your favourite animal, and why? You can let us know in the comments, or write it on your postcards this month. Or both! Maybe you can even send a postcard showing your favourite animal to your next recipient, and then tell the story on the back.

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!

This month, we chose one of Eva (aka lauranalanthalasa)'s prompts to spark conversations on postcards, which goes nicely with February’s theme of writing about comfort food. Eva suggested people talk about what they do for self-care or to treat themselves. It’s always important to do that when you can!

As usual, I’ll go first! For me, it depends on my mood. If I’ve just been stressed out and I need to wind down, then I’ll grab a book and either cuddle up in bed under my weighted blanket, or run a nice hot bath with some nice bubbles or a bath bomb. I have some favourite series which I reread when I really need a pick-me-up: I’ve talked about my love for Dorothy L. Sayers on the blog before, for instance!

Sometimes I need something a bit more active, though. Going for walks is nice, especially if I can get out somewhere where there are trees, streams, and birds/animals running around! The picture in this post is from a walk I went on earlier this month: it’s a little wintery, but I saw some squirrels and a pair of robins. It’s always nice to get moving, and to watch other little lives going on around you.

So how about you? Do you have special little rituals when you’re upset, or little routines you use to help you unwind? Feel free to share them with us here, and use this as a prompt for what 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!

January’s drawing to a rather dark and dreary close here as I write this with Storm Corrie throwing rain against my windows, and that’s been turning my thoughts to tasty warm comfort foods. It’s always something that’s interesting to hear about, because it can vary culturally and between people. So why don’t we all share what we love?

For me, the absolute classic comfort food is always going to be my dad’s cooking, namely the way he makes roast potatoes (or roasties, as they’re commonly called in the UK) that are beautifully crispy without getting them burned. I know how he does it, but we’ve never managed to replicate it in our kitchen. Sometimes I’ll ask my parents to ask us over just so I can get some roasties!

We do have our own comfort food choices at home, too, and the best part is that our absolute favourite is really pretty simple. We found the recipe on the BBC Food site when we were looking for ways to use some chorizo, and fell in love with the simple filling tastiness of it. The chorizo makes it super flavourful, as well! We usually add some nice crusty bread to dip into it, because I really love bread.

What about you? Do you have any recipes to share? Maybe you even have a postcard depicting your comfort food! Let us know here, and you can use this prompt when you’re not sure what to write this month as well.

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!

Now that 2021's over, we’re looking to the future with this month’s prompt! This time we’d like to pick your brains about what you’re hoping for this year…

It’s tough to make predictions about what I’ll be doing — I usually take the year as it comes. There are a few sure things, like my exams, and I’m definitely hoping that I’ll pass those with flying colours! I’m also hoping to take my first trip home to Wales since 2019, and get the chance to go for some familiar walks in the parks there.

Other than that, I think I’ll keep my hopes small and cosy. I’m hoping to spend more time reading this year, if I can: I used to read about 400–500 books a year, when I was a literature student. I probably can’t manage to read that much anymore, but it’d still be nice to read 300 books or so, which is still a lot! I’m also hoping to have the time to go for walks more often here in Yorkshire, e.g. in the grounds of Nostell Priory or on Marsden Moor. We have a National Trust membership we really ought to make more use of!

And, of course, I’m hoping for more postcards! Now it’s your turn: share what you’re hoping for this year in the comments, or write it 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!

Here in the UK, it’s already started to snow, which to me means it’s the ideal time to wrap up warm inside and do some daydreaming. So here’s a suggestion from Isaac (aka whitefroststreetboi) from our forum topic of suggestions for the monthly prompts:

As usual, I’ll go first! I have all sorts of dreams about what I’d do if I won the lottery! Most of them are sensible ones: buy a house, invest, put money into my pension fund, pay off my student loans, and donate a good chunk of it for people less fortunate. But let’s say you have plenty of money to do all those sensible things and do something a bit wilder, or fulfil a secret dream. What would you do?

I think my main indulgence would involve that house I mentioned after all, though. I have a lot of books already, and you can be sure that I’d buy more if I won the lottery! So I think I’d build myself a library, with plenty of room for expansion. I’d especially like to finish up my collection of British Library Crime Classics (I love the cover designs—wish I could send those as postcards!) and display them all together… and then it’d be nice to have a little reading nook or two in that library, to hide away and read.

So, what about you? What would you do, if you won the lottery? Do you have any big dreams you’d try to fulfil? You can tell us about them here, and use this as a prompt for your postcards this month if you’re not sure what to write!