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'.