SIGNED WITH LOVE
As we have commented in previous magazines, letter writing may be in
decline, but thousands of people have not written them off (pun intended)
just yet.
The history of letters can show that
the first people to introduce written
communication to send messages
over a long distance were the
Sumerians in Mesopotamia in about
3,000 BC.
They used it to facilitate trade. Scribes
would make marks on lumps of wet
clay with a reed implement – this early
form of writing was called cuneiform –
and the tables would then be baked in
the sun.
Last year the British Museum unveiled
one such piece.
It was written in 1750 BC by someone
called Nanni, who was complaining to a merchant about being given the
wrong grade of copper ore, and it’s thought to be the oldest customer
complaint letter ever discovered.
Opening a crisp envelope containing a handwritten letter that someone has
spent time over is one of life’s pleasures.
Sadly, technologies such as email, text messaging and social media have
made communication so immediate and easy that the humble letter, already
in decline since the advent of the telephone, has been left trailing far behind.
Children’s Charity World Vision state that one in five children in the UK have
never received a handwritten letter.
A recent survey of 2,000 adults found that 57% believe letter-writing will die
off within a generation. Writing letters gives historians an extraordinary
insight into people’s lives.
How are we going to tell our history through emails?
(From Women’s Weekly)
Editor - Don’t be shy! Please write a piece for the Church magazine as a
one-off or become a regular contributor for the pleasure and enjoyment of all
the readers.
13