#53: Cambridge to Japan

Postcard number: 53
Bought in: Cambridge, UK
Sent to: Kotona in Japan
Written: 27 March 2012
Sent: 28 March 2012

Text says:

27 March 2012, London UK

Dear Kotona,

Konban wa! I found this Cambridge postcard in my Postcardia box tonight, and thought it needed a new home in Japan. Cambridge is one of my favourite English cities. It’s the sort of place that I’d like to live in for a while – particularly if my home was one of the beautiful Cambridge University colleges!

My husband and I visited Cambridge in September 2007, for our first wedding anniversary. It was a lovely weekend, staying in a B&B, strolling through the city and punting along the River Cam. My husband had a go at steering our punt, but I preferred to just watch. I’m so uncoordinated, and I just knew I’d fall into the water if I stood on the back of our boat.

The mathematical bridge on this postcard is designed to be self-supporting. One of the legends of Cambridge University is that students took it apart and couldn’t put it back together correctly, which is why there are bolts – but apparently the bolts were there in the original as well.

Hope this postcard finds you well.
Sayonara, Tash

#52: Hampton Court Palace to Turkey

Postcard number: 52
Bought at: Hampton Court Palace
Sent to: Sema in Turkey
Written and sent: 27 March 2012

Text says:

27 March 2012, London UK

Dear Sema,

Since I moved to the UK I’ve become somewhat obsessed with the kings and queens of the Tudor period. This can, in part, be blamed on the TV series and the novels of Philippa Gregory; but it’s also a lot to do with our visits to the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and other historic sites in and around London.

Hampton Court Palace was originally built for Cardinal Worsley, but was passed to King Henry VIII when the cardinal fell out of favour. Catherine Howard, Henry’s fifth wife, was confined there for a few days after he was told of her affairs. Legend has it that she managed to escape from her guards for a few moments and run through the corridors of the palace, begging to speak to her husband. When we visited the palace, we were told that her ghost still haunted the Great Hall. Ghost or not, it’s easy to imagine the stories of kings and queens being played out in such places.

Sending best wishes from London,
Tash

#51: Bath to Latvia

Postcard number: 51
Bought in: Bath
Sent to: Zane in Latvia
Written: 20 February 2012
Sent: 25 February 2012

Text says:

20 February 2012, London UK

Dear Zane,

Warm greetings to you on a rather chilly day here in the UK! Most of my time in Bath – during trips in January 2008 and December 2011 – has been in similarly cold weather, wrapped up in coats against the wind and rain. That said, it’s a beautiful city. It’s on the UNESCO World Heritage list because of its Roman remains and Georgian architecture (such as the Royal Crescent that you can see on this postcard). For a time, it was also the residence of the writer, Jane Austen, and her legacy lives on in the city.

In 2008, my husband organised a surprise trip to Bath for my birthday. Before we left he downloaded a Jane Austen walking tour onto my iPod. We wandered up and down the streets, while listening to commentary and quotes from Austen’s works. Later we visited the Jane Austen Centre for a very English cream tea. A real birthday treat for a booklover like me!

We spent my daughter’s first birthday in Bath as well. Though there was less Austen involved in that trip overall, we did visit the Centre again, and bought her a ‘Pride and Prejudice’ board book from the gift shop. We also walked through Bath’s Christmas markets, stopping for mulled wine, and out to the Field of Light installation in the grounds of the Holburne Museum: thousands of tiny fibre optic lights in ever changing colours.

I’d really like to visit Bath again, one day, during summer… but even if I never do, I have wonderful memories of this beautiful city in the wind and the rain.

All the best,
Tash

#50: Chester to France

Postcard number: 050
Bought in: Chester
Sent to: Erin in France
Written: 19 February 2012
Sent: 20 February 2012

Text says:

19 February 2012, London UK

Dear Erin,

Our trip to Chester in January last year was the first time we had travelled outside of London with our daughter. She was a month and a half old and, to be honest, we perhaps should’ve chosen somewhere a little closer! Still, my parents were visiting from New Zealand, and Chester was a place they’d loved when they lived in the UK in the 70s, so we thought we’d give it a go.

My husband and I had done quite a bit of traveling before our daughter was born, but were fairly clueless on the topic of holidays with an infant. Would the hotel take a baby? Would we need our own cot? Why did a one month old have more bags than four adults put together?

We learnt a lot on that trip: especially about how much of the city we could realistically expect to see in a day while also attending to a baby’s needs… but I still have wonderful memories of pushing her pram around the city walls and through the cobbled streets of Chester.

All the best,
Tash

#49: Oxford to America

Postcard number: 049
Bought at: Bodleian Library, Oxford
Sent to: Wayness in America
Written and sent: 18 February 2012

Text says:

18 February 2012, London UK

Dear Wayness,

To go with the Roald Dahl postage stamp, I thought I’d try to find you a bookish postcard from my collection. Unfortunately, this is the best I could do: the Convocation House, which is part of Oxford University’s Bodleian Library. I wish I could’ve sent one of the library itself, as it truly was an impressive sight – all dimmed lighting and large leather-bound books, just like something out of the Harry Potter movies. The Oxford students and other users all have to take a vow not to bring “any fire or flame” into the library (we bought a souvenir tea-towel which had the full vow on it!). I’d love to study in there – but I’d probably be too distracted by the building’s history to get any work done!

The Convocation House, located in the same area, was one of the stops on the Bodleian Library tour we did last year. I have a photo of my husband sitting on the Vice-Chancellor’s chair.

Wishing you all the best,
Tash

#48: The Globe to Hong Kong

Postcard number: 048
Bought at: The Globe, London
Sent to: Iris in Hong Kong
Written and sent: 17 February 2012

Text says:

17 February 2012, London UK

Dear Iris,

Since we arrived in London five years ago, I’ve spent many happy hours watching shows at the reconstructed Globe Theatre. During the 2008 season, my husband and I volunteered as stewards here – selling programmes and directing people to their seats.

From 2009 onwards, we’ve tried to see as many of their productions as possible each year, usually buying the cheaper ‘groundling’ tickets which mean that we have to stand for the entire show. The quality of the acting usually makes up for my aching feet!

Standing at the theatre wasn’t such a good idea when I was pregnant, however: five minutes into “Henry IV part one”, I fainted, falling to the floor and landing on a Coke can which apparently made a very loud noise! Embarrassed, but otherwise fine, I watched the rest of the show (and part two) from one of the seats.

The 2012 season brochure arrived in the post last week. I’m hoping we’ll get to see “Twelfth Night” and “Henry V” at the Globe this year.

All the very best,
Tash

#47: Castle Neuschwanstein to Poland

Postcard number: 047
Bought at: Castle Neuschwanstein, Germany
Sent to: Agnieszka and Szymon in Poland
Written: 16 February 2012
Sent: 17 February 2012

Text says:

16 February 2012, London UK

Dear Agnieszka and Szymon,

Since your wedding is coming up soon, I thought I’d send you a postcard that I bought on my own honeymoon back in 2006. My husband and I were married in New Zealand on the 16th of September, and five days later we left for Europe. We spent just over two months travelling around Greece, Italy, France and Germany, before arriving in the UK – where we’ve lived ever since!  It’s been such an adventure, and I feel so lucky to have had my husband by my side through it all, to share the sights and the memories of all the places we’ve visited.

With this postcard comes my very best wishes to both of you, for your wedding day and your future together.

Tash