Diary delights

Following a recent Meeting Place letter about diaries, we received many letters and emails about the power of keeping a diary. Here are just some of your thoughts...

I haven’t written a diary since my teens (due to a nosey sister who used to pry!) but I must admit, during this pandemic jotting down just a few lines a day has given me a sense of calm.

Mrs R Aggio, Herts

I’ve written a diary since the birth of my son, who’s now 46! I write a page a day and have never missed a day. I write about what I’ve done in the day, the weather and how I feel about things. I find it so therapeutic. Lots of people have asked me on many occasions to check the date of something for them. It’s like a reference for everybody!

Linda Harling, Lancs

I’ve been keeping a diary for the past seven months – one for my heart and one for my head. It’s a way of separating my thoughts from my emotions. I write the head one last thing at night with plans and thoughts, and the heart one first thing in the morning. For example, if I’ve had a bad night with not much sleep I write it up in the heart diary in the morning and feel freed, as if I’ve given it all away. Then I’m free to get on with all the plans for the day. I’d recommend the system to anyone. It’s very liberating.

Adrienne Hill, Worcs

I’ve written a daily diary since I was 14 (I’m now 76).

Once it was even used in a court case when a friend wanted evidence of something happening and

I’d written about it in my diary! I’ve been recording all the Covid news and hope my future family will find it interesting and educational. After all, 2020 will be written about in the history books of the future.

Joan Hedley, Bexleyheath

We’d love to see your snapshots from the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. Send your photos, marked Fashion We Wore, to the address on page 3, along with your name, address and a 50-word description of your outfit.

Here is a photo of my Scottish friend Nancy and me, taken in the gardens of Whitstable Castle, Kent. We’re both wearing suits that were very fashionable back then – Nancy in navy and me in pink. We still write to each other now, aged 86 and 87. Peg Simpson, Kent This is a photo of me aged 19, in my black and white polka-dot dress which my husband bought for me in Doggarts department store. I teamed it with black peep-toe court shoes, a red corsage, string of pearls and pillar box red lipstick. Muriel Joy, County Durham