Please Send me a Postcard

We have our first postcard from Suffolk, finally! Well, actually on the map its Essex, but its close to Suffolk (You wouldn’t think our friends and family lived in Suffolk, would you?). So this postcard comes from Stoke by Nayland, between Flatford (Constable Country) and Colchester in Essex. The postcard seems to be of a quilt or communal something or other but comes with no explanation apart from ‘Wall Hanging’ so you’ll have to work it out yourselves.

This postcard comes from Kate,

When in Nayland, eat at the Crown and take a walk up to the church. It is a huge wool church surrounded by magical Tudor buildings. Wonderful!

I can see the church on the picture, so I guess the pub must be near by. Thanks Kate!

Would you like to send me a postcard? PSMAP | PO Box 906 | Ipswich | IP1 9PP | UK

postcard

Ahh, Blenheim Palace near Oxford (but closer to Woodstock) a beautiful stately home (says Wikipedia).

Jane’s tip is,

If you are planning to eat here, you may want to bring your own food. The queues are horrendous!

OK, well that is a tip! Thanks Jane, picnic it is for next time.

Would you like to send me a postcard? PSMAP | PO Box 906 | Ipswich | IP1 9PP | UK

postcard Blenheim Palace, England, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK

Firstly, thanks to all of you who have responded positively to the idea, and have visited the site so far. The postcards are starting to trickle in and I am excitedly checking the post box every day to see where the new postcards are coming from. I hope the trickle will grow but all in good time.

I have added a few more additions to the site, most noticeably the voting button. If you would be kind enough to rate each postcard post we can start to see what is good and what is average. In time I would like to add in a vote for the postcard picture and the tip so we have two criteria. I need to play with the settings to work that out.

Second, I am about to trial some auto translation tools. I can add in the Google dynamic translate which will allow any visitor to translate on the fly but the first one I will trial actually caches the pages in different languages which hopefully means I can offer direct pages for our international visitors, Hungary, France, Russia and India so far this week.

If you do stop by it would be nice to know who you are (if you wish to share) as this is quite a personal project. I have added Google Friend Connect or Myblog on the right hand side if you roll with those services or leave a comment.

Thanks for reading, there is another postcard coming up shortly.

News

A piece of sunshine came in the post today, from Cannes, in the South of France. I debated about putting the postcard up due to its ‘naughty’ nature but decided to proceed. Let me know if this is not acceptable (nb – this is as risque as I will publish.)

So, this postcard comes from Mike,

If you come to Cannes, try eating at Cafe Roma – it is a great place to eat good food with large portions and a fair price. It is very close to the Croisette and always buzzing. Try the Salad du Chef (its huge!) and the chips!

Thanks Mike! Mmm, I’m hungry already! I googled Cafe Roma and they have a site here.

Would you like to send me a postcard? PSMAP | PO Box 906 | Ipswich | IP1 9PP | UK

postcard Cannes, cannes travel tip, Croisette, postcard, postcard from cannes

So our third postcard and another museum! Do people only send postcards from museums? Maybe I should set up another site for novelty erasers found at museums? www.pleasesendmeanoveltyeraser.com is available, is it a goer?

Onto the postcard, from Salem in Massachusetts. My only knowledge of Salem was the witch trials and Salem’s lot by Stephen King, but I don’t know if that is anything to do with the place. So I checked the official site for their promotional blurb,

Since 1626, when Roger Conant arrived with the first settlers, Salem, Massachusetts has been attracting people from all points of the compass. Many come to visit and some decide to stay and make Salem their home.

It may be most widely known as the site of the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692, but this colorful, coastal city has much to offer both residents and visitors: a culturally diverse population, a rich maritime heritage, an impressive display of historic architecture and amazing stories that span almost four centuries.

This postcard was kindly sent by Tina, thanks Tina.

The witch museum is a ‘must see’ lots of history and spooky stories. The best time to visit is of course Hallowe’en!

It seems Salem cannot escape its witch history so embrace it and visit the museum!

Would you like to send me a postcard? PSMAP | PO Box 906 | Ipswich | IP1 9PP | UK

postcard Mass. USA, Massachusetts, Massachusetts postcard, Museum, Salem

Keeping the Scottish theme for our second postcard, this one comes from The Scottish Crannog Centre, Kenmore, Loch Tay, Perthshire.

I had to admit to looking up what a Crannog was,[from Wikipedia]

A crannóg is an artificial island, usually originally built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters, and most often used as an island settlement or dwelling place in prehistoric or medieval times. The name itself may refer to a wooden platform erected on shallow floors, but few remains of this sort have been found. The name crannóg, Anglicized “crannoge”, is from Old Irish “crannóc”, from crann, tree and ‘og’ young.

The postcard comes from Jim.

Visited this Crannog on the shores of Loch Tay. Many enthusiastic staff to tell the story. Told what our ancestors ate and wore and shown how to make fire. Much more interesting than the local stately homes!

Thanks Jim!

Would you like to send me a postcard? PSMAP | PO Box 906 | Ipswich | IP1 9PP | UK

postcard Loch Tay, Museum, Scotland

Our first postcard comes from Lerwick, in the wonderful Shetland Islands.

Shetland Museum, Hays Dock, Lerwick

This has got to be the best museum ever, stunningly presented, beautiful building to house the boats and artefacts. For me the best bit i outside, in front of the green building. Four speakers which [quietly] broadcast snippets of stories as told by the old locals, and traditional music. When the wind changes, so does the story or the music. A must see.

from Lorna

Thanks Lorna, we are delighted to welcome you as the first postcard.

postcard Lerwick, Museum, postcard, Scotland, Shetland, Shetland Islands

Hi, thanks for reading.

So, what is Please Send me a Postcard?

The concept is simple. I am asking you to send me a postcard from wherever you are, or whever you are going. On the postcard I am asking for one travel tip. This could be, “if you are in New Jersey, try the burgers at Janey’s” – really anything you want.

You then send it to me:

PSMAP
PO Box 906
Ipswich
IP1 9PP

I then receive your postcard, scan the front and write up the tip, sharing it with you all. If you wish to add a relevant link that would be useful for our readers, then please do. Note, however that I will check all links and won’t publish anything that is rude, offensive of no value or relevance.

If you wish to leave your name, I will credit it to you, using first names only.

And that’s it! If you wish me to let you know when your postcard is up add your co-ordinates (email, twitter, whatever) – I will not publish, share, rent or sell these details.

Why are you doing this?

I feel the art of postcard writing has been lost. It is quicker to text from the beach than send a postcard. I am just as guilty as the next person for not sending postcards. I thought this would be an interesting exercise to see if people will send me a postcard and from where. I sometimes daydream that we could get a postcard from every country in the world, or break the Guinness World Record for number of postcards [I don't know if there is one!] but those are just daydreams.

If we get enough postcards to make this interesting then I will be happy.

This is not a money making exercise, so you shouldn’t see much advertising on here. If the site takes off I may need a little to cover post costs and stuff but we will see. This site does not need to be commercial and I don’t want it to be.

Who is behind it?

Hi, I’m Jamie Riddell – I live in Suffolk, on the East Coast of England with my family. I have a succesful background in digital marketing and I am currently taking time to have some fun. You can read my other blog here, or my professional biography here. I am also on Twitter.

What’s the Catch?

There is no catch. This site will succeed only if I get enough postcards to make this interesting so I do need your help.

So.. please send me a postcard!

News postcard