I recently made my thirteen year old step-son write a thank you letter for a Christmas present he had received. As a teacher, and being pernickety about these things, I made sure he showed it to me before he sent it. It was fine, if a bit brief, but it made me think about the writing of letters.
Do you know, I couldn't even remember the last time I wrote a proper letter. I don't mean one sent via email or even one typed on the computer and I certainly don't mean a letter to the bank or a covering letter to go with your short stories - I mean a good old fashioned 'I just had to write and tell you about...' type of letter - hand written of course.
Anyway, I was interested to read that the art of letter writing is being reintroduced into the curriculum in secondary schools by the Government. This is due to worry over their growing reliance on texting: apparently thousands of teenagers are struggling to write letters with out using 'text speak''.
Actually, when I think about it, I realise that, for me, the demise of the handwritten letter is actually a relief - I never did like writing them!
Am I the only one who doesn't write proper letters? When did you last write a handwritten letter? (and no, I don't mean a note to the milkman!)