Lettercrossing?

[devi]

How much faith do you have in human nature? Are people helpful and socially responsible in general, or lazy self-serving bastards? I've had a nice idea, but I'll need helpers, and now with my new poll capabilities I can try and recruit.

This is it: Apparently PG Wodehouse never went to a postbox. He just dropped his letters out of his window on to the street. He said that they all, without exception, made it to their destinations - posted by nice helpful passers-by. I'm sceptical - I find it hard to imagine it working then, let alone now. I want to try it out.

So anyone who would like a snailmail from me, put your address in here (I've set it up so only I can see the results). It doesn't matter where in the world you are. In fact, faraway people, you'll be even better - maybe someone coming across a letter stamped and addressed to Australia would make more of an effort to post it than if it was addressed to Croydon. Or would they? Let's find out.

I will write letters, stamp them, and leave them at various locations. To make it easier, they will all be within sight of a postbox. If you get yours, let me know. The letters will also contain a slip of paper saying 'If you are not (the recipient), you have just failed a test of social responsibility' or something. Heh heh.

So come one, come all. It'll cost me a few quid in stamps, but no matter: I'm curious.

(Edit: Duh. I thought it was Evelyn Waugh, but apparently it was PG Wodehouse - but I can't figure out how to change the name of a poll. Oops.)

[Poll #366408]

Comments

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I recall hearing that it was PG Wodehouse who did that. But now I think of it, the exhaustive biography I just read of him made no mention of the habit.

[niallm.livejournal.com]

It's in 'Wodehouse on Wodehouse' a collection of his autobiographies. One of the funniest book collections ever, bar none.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Ah. I had better change that, then.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Ah. Apparently those autobiographies are massively unreliable. So the story is certainly *associated* with him, but not necessarily true.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Good grief. You live down the road from where I used to live (over the World's End pub).

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Was that when it was still the favoured boozer of the local care in the community set?

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. Sometimes I would have to hide in a doorway until the current group of lairy lads stopped hanging around outside the pub and moved on...

[jamesward.livejournal.com]

Is "the local care in the community set" a polite way of referring to your friendslist?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

No, we only moved in between the renovation and the realisation that their karaoke regime was corrupt.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Ah, the karaoke on Wednesdays and Fridays that made my floor vibrate. My usual strategy was to put on the Sisters of Mercy and turn them up even louder.

(I was much gothier then)

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

The one we did was on Thursdays, so different era. And we rendered it plenty goth - especially when drasticsturgeon did 'Poison'.

[smorgasbord.livejournal.com]

I am game.

[dakeyras.livejournal.com]

Sounds intriguing - I'm in!

[miss-newham.livejournal.com]

Excellent use of a paid account, my dear!

[snowballjane.livejournal.com]

Since I live so near you, maybe it will be hand delivered instead.

[kesstrel.livejournal.com]

What she said! *points upwards*

I'll let you know if it has a post mark on it.

[venta.livejournal.com]

This sounds like a fun game!

[modulatorium.livejournal.com]

If PG Wodehouse relied on others to post his mail because he couldn't be bothered to walk down to the post box, doesn't that make him a lazy self-serving bastard?

Maybe the passers-by were too nice and helpful. If they'd simply thrown his letters in the nearest bin, he might have learnt to get off his arse and post his own mail.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

It's a fair point. I, however, won't be throwing them out my window. I am willing to go to great lengths in the cause of social experiment, so my motives are pure.

[modulatorium.livejournal.com]

It certainly is a fun/interesting game/experiment that you've created - I can't dispute that.

[mzdt.livejournal.com]

Something I've always meant to try is using the minimum possible amount of address - in the case of numbered streets, just the house number and the postcode (assuming the postcode covers only your street). I've used that as an external return address on packages for a while now, assuming that the post office can work it out if they have to. It should be all you need...

[anam-uk.livejournal.com]

I've tried this
it worked (well no worse than the post usually works :>)
I spent about a year addresing all correspondence that way

[http://users.livejournal.com/_alanna/]

And probably resulting in the employment of a full-time member of staff, employed solely to work out the intended address on improperly-addressed enveloped >:P

[ellenscult]

It does indeed work (speaking as an ex sorting office employee), and assuming the postcode is correct, should get to its destination with pretty much no delay. Letters get sorted by postcode, rather than by place names - but it's usually a good idea to include some of the address; some people have a very odd idea of what a postcode is! It's usually if you forget the postcode that some poor sod has to go away and look it up.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Just a quick tip: pick a day that isn't rainy and you're not expecting dustmen !

[tokyo-mb.livejournal.com]

An amusing idea. I know I'm not on your friends list (yet?), but having found you and this post via haggisthesecond's friends list I'm intrigued whether this will work.

I think here, in Tokyo, it would stand a good chance - regarding London, I'm less sure.

Hope you don't mind my intrusion.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Intrusion? Not at all. You're welcome to join if you want. And give me your address!

[tokyo-mb.livejournal.com]

Address - done.

Cool Idea -

[killalla]

I've given you my Oxford address, but I can give you my Hawaii address if you prefer to try for destinations as far afield as possible. (Of course, it's an odd letter that would travel halfway around the world and back again, but then it is an experiment...;)

Re: Cool Idea -

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Hawaii would be fun indeed. The more interesting the destinations, the better.

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

If I join in, will you just leave the mail lying around on the living room table?

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of surprising you with one anyway, but leaving it lying around in South Ken or somewhere...

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

I've picked up letters in the street and posted them before. Only a couple, and they looked like someone with a bundle of letters had just dropped one on their way to the postbox.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Great - that gives me hope that some of these will reach people. If there's any justice in the world one of those should be yours :)

[inskauldrak.livejournal.com]

cool idea : )

Btw, the 'A' in the house number is quite important as otherwise the estate agents downstairs may be inadvertantly accused of failing a test of social responsibility... and I'm sure they knew that already!

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Being estate agents, they'd probably go "um... what's that?"

The A has been duly put on your envelope. A nice big capital A.

[eponymousarchon.livejournal.com]

Yep, send me one and I'll let you know what happens :)

[dermfitz.livejournal.com]

Glasgow here. A sort of midrange target, if you like. This is excellent, and I wish you luck.

[foxy76.livejournal.com]

This is a lovely idea - am I too late??

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Not at all - it's still going on. I've still got about 27 letters to drop, counting one to you!

So far, only two have arrived, so the odds are against you ever getting yours :(

[sera-squeak.livejournal.com]

Found this through nisaba and I think it's a really interesting thing to try so, if you don't mind, I've left you my details.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

also here via nisaba -- I'm fascinated by this experiment! Have left you my details, hope tghat's OK.

[duranorak.livejournal.com]

Another one here via nisaba, and I'll gladly leave you my address but I also think it's a wonderful idea and wondered whether I might do it as well, or whether you'd rather keep it. :) I'd understand if you wanted to keep it with just you doing it, it would probably make more sense from the social experiment point of view anyway.

Best of luck with it. It does seem to be working. :)

E.
x

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

God no! I'd love to see it spawning other experiments. Feel free to try, but don't forget to put me on your list...

[(Anonymous)]

I had some first hand experince with this. While vacationing in Edinburough (I'm from the States) I wrote & stamped a post card to my girlfiend... and promptly lost it on my way to the mailbox. I retraced my steps 3 times & finally gave up hope of ever finding it. A week and a half later it arives in her mailbox.

People are suprisingly considerate.