Young and old become pen pals swapping letters
Dennis Spence and Jesse loved writing to each other about football, even though they support different teams
- Published
When was the last time you wrote a letter with a pen and paper? Have you ever written one?
Lots of us send WhatsApp messages or comment on social media posts without even thinking about it. But letter writing takes time and effort.
Now, a new pen pal project from BBC North West Tonight, has seen primary school children in Fleetwood, a seaside town in Lancashire, swapping letters with members of an aqua aerobics class at a local leisure centre.
Author, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the UK's Children's Laureate, thinks the scheme of writing letters is "so brilliant".
"You're going to find so much pleasure in it, so much fun and so much treasure in it," he said.
He also explained why letters are so powerful: "A letter is a brilliant place to learn to write because you're not writing for a teacher, you're not writing for a competition, you're not writing for marks, you're writing to connect with someone."
Do you still write letters?
- Published7 March 2025
Nine-year-old Jesse decided to give letter writing a try. "I've never been a pen pal and it's just so exciting," said Jesse. "It's just been like a calming thing to do."
His letter was sent to 76-year-old Dennis Spence. They discovered they both love football — even if they support different teams! Dennis joked: "I could just reply to what he was saying because he likes football, even though we do disagree about the teams."
Dennis's wife, Sue Spence, 75, also received a letter. She said: "It was just a lovely interaction and a breaking down different generations."
For 10-year-old Skyla, writing to a new friend has helped her at school. "It's helped me with a bit of confidence as well because I'm really shy in class and quiet," she said.
She began her letter: "Dear friend, my name is Skyla. My favourite thing to do is to roller-skating. I'm 10 years old and my favourite thing at school is English. What do you do in your free time?"
Her new pen pal, 73-year-old Lynne Aldersley, once went to the same school as Skyla. Lynne replied: "I did try roller-skating when I much younger but I kept falling off."
Lynne said: "It was just such a nice thing to do. I thought it was such a good idea as everything is on emails now."
