Somebody has made an effort and thought of you

Douglas McPherson talks to Dinah Johnson about the beauty of handwritten letters.

THERE are few things as dispiriting as finding nothing but bills and junk mail on your doormat.

And few things as exciting as finding a handwritten envelope, especially when it's not Christmas or your birthday.

In a world of dashed-off text messages and e-mails, what could be more relaxing than sitting down with pen and paper and taking the time to write someone a letter? Dinah Johnson has been posting letters since she was a child.

"I remember sitting at the table and having all my stationery laid out: pens and stamps and stickers.

"I wrote to my grandparents and a couple of primary school friends who moved away to America and Canada," she recalls.

Five years ago, Dinah found herself mourning the decline in incoming post from friends and family. So she started a movement to encourage others to rediscover the joys of letter writing.

"I had all this enthusiasm for writing letters and I didn't know what to do with it.