Postcard Stories - A Huge Thank You

I’m a big believer in ending well. Yesterday I shared the last Postcard Story in this series and it seems only right that I should stop and celebrate everything we’ve achieved over the last four months. Way back at the beginning of March, when a stranger posted on Twitter to say she was self-isolating and would appreciate some reading suggestions, I decided to mail her a Postcard Story. It wasn’t the first time I’d written a tiny story on the back of a postcard. In 2015 I wrote one every single day and the Emma Press were good enough to publish a collection with illustrations by the wonderful Benjamin Phillips. I must’ve got a taste for Postcard Stories because I continued to write them each time I traveled and by the end of January 2020 had accumulated around 850. (Another shout out to Emma and Benjamin who have worked with me on a second collection which will be published mid August). Entering Lockdown, I had just vowed to give myself a bit of a break from Postcard Stories. But then I saw the stranger’s Tweet and I thought, “I’ll just write one wee story and post it to her.” What followed quickly spiralled out of control… in the very best way.

My niece, Izzy agreed to illustrate the initial Postcard Story, then as I realised I should probably write a few more, (just to cover the wonderful ladies who’d been part of my Falls and Shankil Women’s Centre writing project for the last two years), I decided to recruit a few friends with small children to help with the illustrations. People wanted to see the artwork and read the stories, so I began posting each morning on an Instagram site @JansPostcardStories (I’ll keep this site live as an ongoing archive of the project). Five volunteer kid artists somehow became 135 kid artists from 9 different countries and my inbox was soon full of incredible, colourful, soul-steadying art. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say that during the most difficult days of Lockdown, the children’s artwork was often the only thing which sparked joy during a really lonely time. I am so grateful for both their generosity and their creativity. It was hard to keep writing and imagining for the last few months but the kids helped me feel connected, like we were all part of a team.

The stories went out to isolated individuals and couples. I’ve counted almost 125, though several went to nursing homes and retirement communities where they were passed round the staff and residents, cheering up dozens of people in a tiny but profound way. I have so many stories of how Postcard Stories impacted people and there are no doubt, hundreds of others out there I’ll never get to hear of. The tired paramedic who came off a tough shift to find her postcard waiting for her at home. The visually impaired lady shielding by herself whose friend would call to read Postcard Stories down the phone. The older man living by himself whose neighbours’ kids popped in to read the daily story through an open window and share their own illustrations. The older lady living by herself who said her story had given her her first giggle in six weeks. The hundreds of people who followed along on Instagram and Facebook, commenting and leaving encouragements for our young artists whose parents often got in touch to say these kind validations helped a lot with the insecurities and anxieties raised by the Pandemic. Postcard Stories has never been particularly streamlined or elegant, but I’ve loved the way all these connections have grown organically allowing the project to take on a life of its own.

We got a little famous for a while. Postcard Stories was covered in the Belfast Telegraph, the Irish News, Rick O’Shea’s Shelf Life Talk Show, Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Scotland, the Wigtown Book Podcast and we even made it on to the the BBC NI News webpage. Several schools also shared the project on their websites, taking every opportunity to show how proud they were of their students’ creativity and kindness. I began my slow transition into a fully-fledged CBeebies presenter, making instructional videos for around half a dozen different organisations in several different countries. If you want to have a go yourself you can follow along with this short video from the BBC’s Afternoon Club (please note the overhead shots were created with nothing but an Iphone and a roll of masking tape).

We had a lot of fun with collaborations. For ten days back in April we mixed up the usual formula, inviting ten adult illustrators to work their magic on short stories written by young writers. The end results were phenomenal. I got to collaborate myself, working with amazing Postcard Story artist and comic book creator, Milo who turned my Mr Whiskers Postcard Story into the most awesome, sparkly, colourful comic book. Postcard Story artist Stella and I collaborated to surprise David and Claudia at our all time favourite Book Store (No Alibis), with a bespoke story and illustration. I think they liked it. They have Stella’s illustration pinned over the till. Other Postcard Story artists sent suggestions for stories, paintings, stamps, blank postcards, chocolate, a recipe book of isolation eats, letters, videos and even some wine, (I suspect/hope those two had some help from their parents). When I needed inspiration for a writing commission, a dozen of them got their art materials out and sent me a whole caravan park’s worth of beautiful caravans. When I couldn’t get to the beach, one of them posted me a portable beach sunset painted on a pebble. At one point I had sixteen little penpals on the go. Let me tell you, I was seeing an awful lot of Alan at the Post Office, (a big shout out to Alan at the Post Office, who has kept me going with second class stamps and encouragement these last few months). This has been nothing short of a massive team effort and I am grateful for everyone who’s contributed in any way.

I’m signing off tonight but I’d like you to do me one last favour. Almost half the artists involved have created self-portraits which I’m about to post over on the Instagram site. They are stunning and though they’re only a sample of the amazing souls who contributed to this project, I think they are a gorgeous testament to the individuality, creativity and generosity of everyone who got involved. It’s not easy being a kid at the minute. It’s not easy being an artist either. If you wouldn’t mind taking a minute or two to leave an encouraging, validating comment it would mean a lot to me. Let them all know how inspirational they are.