#1 The Spontaneous Holiday Postcard

Here is my first attempt at saying hello in a more experimental way...

Step 1:  Go on an unplanned 'holiday' for a day / morning / afternoon.  (I found myself quite spontaneously in an English tourist town on a sunny Sunday.)
Step 2:  Procure a postcard to send to someone who's not expecting one (hello mum!).  And a stamp if you don't have one to hand.
Step 3:  Write your message at the point at which you feel most alive with the joy of your holiday.  (I wrote mine whilst sat outside a waterside cafe in the sunshine, sipping black coffee and digesting my Mediterranean platter of bread, cheese and olives.  Pure holiday.)
Step 4:  Don't forget to post it before you leave!  (Searching for a postbox is also a good excuse for further exploration of your holiday destination.)

Unsolicited Mail

Well the flood of NYC postcards appears to have dried up - so I thought I'd take the opportunity to show my appreciation for all the unsolicited (but very welcome) messages I've received of late.

My pet bunny seems to miss me when I've been away as he leaves me pictures on my chalkboard...

...and I'll occasionally get home to find my doormat brimming with pre-loved magazines from my neighbour...

...or even a postcard from my mum, who's been beside the seaside for the Pensioners Parliament (http://npcuk.org/)

I've even received an extremely rare piece of fan mail!!

Every little message makes me smile, and so I'd like to try to give back at least as much as I get.

My next experiment: to try out different and creative ways of keeping in touch...

NYC #8

Another work-day Monday, another uplifting surprise on the doormat...

I left this one, on the recommendation of my partner-in-travel, tucked inside a 'Postsecret' book in a Brooklyn bookshop.  (If you don't know about Postsecret, have a look here: www.postsecret.com.)

Oh anonymous of Brooklyn, I'm so glad I made your day, and I don't think your secret-hunting is at all lame.  In fact, I was banking on someone like you coming along!  So, thank you.

In honour of this card, I challenge anyone reading this to leave a secret of their own inside a Postsecret book - and you can make someone's day too.

NYC #1

The 3rd Postcard back from New York is the first one that I left - on the observation deck of the Rockefeller Centre, on a gloriously sunshiney morning.

It's an extra-international one, as it's been returned by a little girl from France!

It struck me that, if I was ten years old, and I'd gone to all the trouble of posting back a message in a foreign language, including my address, then I might be a bit disappointed not to receive a reply.  

So, in the full spirit of the project, I have attempted to find a potential young pen-pal to write back to Eva!  Who knows what internationally collaborative creative endeavours this will foster?

Serendipitous Jazz

So there we were on our last night in NYC, relaxing with a margarita in a street-side Village restaurant, when my partner-in-travel receives an unexpected message from the UK recommending a jazz band playing in the city that night.

Upon further investigation we realised that we were sitting, quite by chance, in the next street to the gig, and had received the message just in time to wander round and secure ourselves the last couple of tickets.

It was a great night, and a win for spontaneity.

NYC #3 and #9

Just when I started to worry that the only mail I'd get would be from the NYPD for my multiple littering offences...

...I arrive home to find, not one, but two NYC postcards on the doormat!

#3 was returned by activist and singer Danielle:

#9 was returned by Clementine, with a simple but heart-warming message and sketch:

In this project, one of my aims was to try to replicate (and so make sense of) that very specific feeling of waiting for someone to reach out to you - the lows of perceived rejection by the unknown, and the highs of unpredictable positive communication.

Today I feel I touched on the highs.  I trudged work-weary to my front door and was completely re-invigorated by my unexpected (and very lovely) messages.  Thank you so much Danielle and Clementine - you seem like my kind of people.

Why Don't You Write Me New York City?

I just left 10 postcards in New York!
Will anyone post them back to me?
Watch this space!

1) Top of the Rock

2) New York Public Library

3) East Village Cafe (The Bean)

4) American Museum of Natural History (Grizzly Bears)

5) The High Line in Chelsea

6) The Staten Island Ferry

7) The Financial District

8) Hidden in a Brooklyn Bookshop

9) Hidden in a Soho Bookshop

10) La Guardia Airport Bus Stop