Yesterday I mentioned having received news of a 'penfriend' of mine having passed away. I didn't mention his name or other details then as I didn't know at the time how far the news had spread. But as his brother Graham (GB) also wrote an official memorial post yesterday (on his own blog Eagleton Notes), most of our mutual friends probably know by now. So I'd like to add a bit more today.
John (or CJ) Edwards (as blogger also known as Scriptor Senex) was one of the first bloggers I came into contact with after having started my own first blog back in 2009. I think our paths first crossed on an inspirational website called The One Minute Writer (no longer existing). From there I started following his blog Rambles from my Chair - where in turn I made more friends.
It was also through John that I first learned about Postcrossing. He joined Postcrossing in February 2012; and that's also when he and I started a private postcard correspondence, even though I didn't join the Postcrossing community myself until May 2013. - I just checked his Postcrossing profile page, and I note that in total he sent 1557 cards to strangers via that website; and received as many.
He and I also continued to send each other postcards fairly regularly for twelve whole years, which means I have quite a collection of cards from him alone. (Well over 300.) So it occurred to me to write some sort of memorial post based on those. But I soon realised that if I tried to just pick some random cards from that whole period, I'd get stuck forever in the choosing process. So I decided to stick to the first year, 2012. I think these cards and quotes actually give a pretty good summary of (some) things he enjoyed and was interested in. Like books, words, writing, postcards, stamps, photography, nature, history...
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| February 2012 |
The very first postcard, to be followed by many more.
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| April, 2012 |
"Since it's such beautiful weather and we have lambs in our fields, I thought I'd send you a glimpse of our Spring."
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| July 2012 |
"I'm sure that when GB moved here in the early 70s, people thought this was how he would be living!"
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| August 2012 |
"This will be almost my last chance to 'legitimately' use an Isle of Lewis card to you. Jo arrives today and on Sunday we leave for the mainland to amble back home..."
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| September 2012 |
"Is Beatrix Potter as popular with Swedish children as with English, I wonder? I have always loved her books, especially as the backgrounds are The Lake District."
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| October 2012 |
"Having just got back from Hay on Wye [on the border between England and Wales, renowned for its books and bookshops] this seemed an appropriate card to send to you. I had a really lovely time and must admit I bought far too many postcards. I shall have to be postcrossing until I'm 90 to use them all!"
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| The Cross and Rows, Chester, England |
(November, 2012)
"...when GB comes to visit... he and I usually have a day wandering around the Tudor (16th century) shopping arcades and their modern equivalents, doing bits of shopping and taking photos."
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| Boreray and The Stacs, St Kilda |
(Dec 2012) "I've just finished 'The Blackhouse' [by Peter May, first in the Lewis trilogy] and I hunted through my postcards for one of St. Kilda. It's not the right rock, but at least it has gannets on it. I picked up a few postcards of St Kilda --- because it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a lot of postcrossers collect them."
This is a unique and beautiful tribute to him!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ginny ♥
Deleteoh no I wasn't aware, just checking blogs now. Each day we live is so important.
ReplyDeleteAmy, a quote comes to mind that I don't know the origin of: "All those days that came and went, little did I know that they were life"...
DeleteMonica, that is a beautiful tribute to CJ. I remember his wonderful photos and the "Friday my town shoot out" days so clearly.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pauline. I realised by my own reaction to the news that I find it hard to believe that we never actually met in the so called "real" life. I feel like we did. Other long-term bloggers probably get exactly what I mean - but I find it hard to explain to people in my "other world"...!
DeleteHe would have liked this, a tribute based on his postcards to you. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI suppose you and I owe our friendship to CJ, too, just as I "met" Graham through his blog.
It was always interesting and entertaining to read his blog, and I particularly loved those posts about unusual words.
Thanks Meike - I do hope so. And yes, you too are among the blogging friends I trace back to CJ and GB. I.e. meeting you in the comment sections of their blogs before I also started following yours.
DeleteIt's so sad to lose someone you have corresponded with for so many years. The lovely selection of cards he's sent you are a brautiful reminder of your friendship.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol. It really is quite a treasure of a postcard collection from one and the same person.
DeleteI am sure he would be so happy to see these cards and messages that you have had for so many years. he certainly picked all different types, they are all very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra. Besides picking interesting cards (and often with stamps to match) he was also really a master of corresponding in that short format.
DeleteI am also one of the lucky ones who exchanged post cards with John. Thanks very much for sharing this post! I wrote a bit on my blog but I found it incredibly hard to write. As you say above, he took such care with what he sent, including the stamp chosen for each card! It was wonderful to find one of his cards in my mailbox. We are sisters together because of our brother, John. x
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and reading my post, Kay. Glad to have a new sister :) I think I've seen you around on on other mutual friends' blogs too. I'll pop round to read your post as well.
DeleteIt is very heartwarming to read this, and other, posts about CJ. The interesting thing about the post cards you have chosen are all ones (bar two) that have a significance for me as well for one reason or another. Even the sheep postcard was a photograph taken by a friend of mine - not long dead too.
ReplyDeleteReally strange. I did a two sentence response last night or was it this morning and it's disappeared.
ReplyDeleteThat was a really lovely post. It's good to know how CJ is remembered.
All bar two of the postcards you've shown have special memories for me too. The one of the two lambs was taken by a late friend of mine.
Graham, for some unfathomable reason Blogger withheld your first comment as suspected spam. The email notification of it came through to my email though, without any such indication, so I did not notice until later that it had not shown up here. I just retrieved it from the dashboard comment section.
DeleteI know CJ loved his visits to the Isle of Lewis, and spending time with you; and as he knew you & I were friends as well, I think he also quite often made references to include you (especially perhaps in the beginning). - I did not know that that photo of the two lambs was taken by a friend of yours, though! You having told me that now, I'll also quote his PS on the back of that card: "Even GB thinks lambs are cute, even though he thinks sheep are the opposite!" ;-)