Round robin - what do you think?

susie123 · 14-12-2011, 15:51

I’m not talking fat birds here but the Christmas circular letter sometimes known as a round robin. Some people seem to dislike them and I have never been able to understand why.

In our 35 years together my partner and I have moved about a bit so we have friend all over the place. Most of them we don’t see or hear from from one year’s end to the next though when we move house we tend to get a lot of visitors to check out our new place. Every year I send about a hundred Christmas cards as a way of keeping in touch and I compose a letter to go with them. We don’t have children or grandchildren to brag about, which is I think what annoys a lot of folk about these letters, it’s really just about our travels, what we’ve done in the garden, how the house refurbishment is going… This year I thought there would not be much to say as we have not been away, done no gardening as the garden was dug up for drainage work, and taken a breather from house refurbishment, but it seemed take as much space to say what we hadn’t done as what we had! The recipients seem pleased to get our letter, the alternative being no news as I couldn’t do 100 personal messages, and we usually get about ten in return, plus some hand written notes, and one or two letters after Christmas.

One problem is that you’re usually responding to news that is at least a year old if you comment on last year’s letter, also as we get older (we are in our sixties) there is more sad news from other people. So far this year one friend has told us that her father had died (not unexpected as last year’s letter mentioned his decline), she and her son have broken their ankles and her son’s girlfriend had been diagnosed with breast cancer. And this friend is the one who most enjoys getting circular letters from people. Another 80 year old friend wrote that he had been in and out of hospital as the scar from the previous year’s heart surgery refused to heal. Yet he still sent a very positive letter full of family doings. Last year in April we had a letter from a firm of solicitors telling us that the intended recipient had died a year before! We have also had lots of good news about family weddings but so far this year no births.

So I think these letters are a good thing as they keep us in touch and I like to receive them. I also like to get cards and display them to remind me of the senders. I don’t like it when folks send an e-card instead though I did email my letter to Canada, Oz and NZ to save postage. I still posted a card to my friends there though, and the ten or so that I send to Europe all had a letter with them.

Suppose in a few years time ecards will be the norm just as the kindle is taking over from printed books (programme about that on BBC1 last night).

I think the round robin is a good thing, but what do you think?

Thanks for reading this and I look forward to hearing your views.

Cheers

Sue

flashy · 14-12-2011, 16:45

what a great idea, one i've never heard of before

cashman · 14-12-2011, 16:51

Nowt wrong wi that if thats what yer into, meself am cutting down on xmas contacts.

Margaret Pilkington · 14-12-2011, 18:13

I like them too...we have a friend who works on engineering equipment all over Australia.
He isn't computer literate at all. I did try to get him interested when we were last over there, telling him we would be able to converse face to face.....but although he is good with mechanical things the laptop baffled him....so the only way we can keep in touch is by this circular letter at Christmas.
I have sent him a Christmas card, but if he is working in the outback, the wineries or the opal mines, then he will not get back to his PO Box until January....but strangely he will still display the cards in his mobile home....he doesn't adhere to all decs and cards down by 6th of Jan. We haven't had much news to send this year, as I haven't done the usual travelling around....it just seems to have been the mundane stuff.(Lord, if you are listening, I am not complaining.....I like mundane).

Keep doing what you are doing. I'm sure it gives those friends a feeling of being in your lives, in thought, if not in reality.
Sometimes it is good to know that someone has thought about you...or is thinking about you.

susie123 · 14-12-2011, 18:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Keep doing what you are doing. I'm sure it gives those friends a feeling of being in your lives, in thought, if not in reality.
Sometimes it is good to know that someone has thought about you...or is thinking about you.

Thanks Margaret, after all they don't HAVE to read them if they really don't like them.

susie123 · 14-12-2011, 18:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by flashy

what a great idea, one i've never heard of before

Thanks for the karma, glad you liked my post.

jaysay · 14-12-2011, 18:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

Nowt wrong wi that if thats what yer into, meself am cutting down on xmas contacts.

Me too, Ba Humbug

jaysay · 14-12-2011, 18:48

Mind you, I have to say I've never heard of this before

mobertol · 15-12-2011, 15:25

Keep sending them Sue -I receive a few from my best friends and they are the only letters I get these days!

I write about 20 personalised cards every year - with a short letter to each recipient.

I have always kept my personal correspondence from the last 25 yrs and it's a great record of events. Shame e-mail has destroyed the art of letter writing....

heth · 15-12-2011, 20:58

I think its a great idea, keep em going!

Even if it is once a year that you get in contact with some friends it doesnt matter as long as you have made the effort and people know that you are thinking of them thats all that matters.

Retlaw · 15-12-2011, 22:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysay

Me too, Ba Humbug

That lets me out, don't know any body to write to, and wouldn't have nowt to write about if I did.
Retlaw.

mobertol · 15-12-2011, 22:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retlaw

That lets me out, don't know any body to write to, and wouldn't have nowt to write about if I did.
Retlaw.

I love gettting letters if you want someone to write too - PM me for address!

susie123 · 15-12-2011, 22:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobertol

Keep sending them Sue -I receive a few from my best friends and they are the only letters I get these days!

I write about 20 personalised cards every year - with a short letter to each recipient.

I have always kept my personal correspondence from the last 25 yrs and it's a great record of events. Shame e-mail has destroyed the art of letter writing....

In two places we lived before Morecambe I befriended an elderly neighbour. My mum died in 1978 so they were probably mother substitutes. One wrote to me every year on my birthday after we moved until she died at the age of 105. Lovely letters with no hint of a failing mind.

I now correspond with a neighbour in the last place we lived before here. She is now 94 and very frail but the other day she sent us a homemade Christmas card as she does every year. We also exchange letters during the year.

susie123 · 16-12-2011, 10:47

The consensus seems to be that it's a good thing but I'm surprised thst some folks have not heard of the idea. These letters have become more common since computers made it easy to print one off in quantity.

mobertol · 16-12-2011, 15:58

Received my first "Round Robin" today in the card from my friend Jaqui - lots of good news, photos and family milestones. It will get filed away with the others I have always kept plus the letters she used to send before we started e-mailing!

Another card was from my last Great-Aunt, Jeanne - with a nice long letter and all her news and a couple of photos of her Grand-children who i have never met! We have been keeping in touch twice a year for 24 years, since i moved to Italy. Her husband Granville (my grand-dad's brother) always had a soft spot for Italy as he was hidden in Piedmont for some time during WWII by the Italian resistence (his plane was shot down, he was a navigator). He fell in love with the country and they had many holidays here over the years.

What a shame we are losing the culture of writing letters - they are lovely to keep and re-read years down the line...