to receive banana sweets

I love the taste and texture of bananas, and all things banana-related (hold on there, girls, I'm being serious here!).

To clarify, I'm talking about fresh bananas, barbecue bananas,  roasted bananas, banana loaf, banana pancakes, banana with chocolate fondue, banana milkshakes, banana smoothies (there's lots of banana in smoothies), banana ice cream, banoffee pie... I could go on, but will stop with these as they're all things that I've made and enjoy.  In addition to these, I love those 'penny' sweets - you know, the ones that are made from 'stuff' which is coloured yellow, flavoured then shaped into banana-like treats.  I know they're cheap and unhealthy, but I love them.

My banana obsession is known to all my close friends and family, so it was no surprise that on my birthday my son gave me a small parcel wrapped in tissue paper,  with a ribbon and a bow, and inside was a small 'bunch' of sweet bananas that I intend not to share, but to indulge myself in.  I've already started, but I'm saving some for later.  Opening the parcel in the evening when all my day's work is done, and treating myself to a banana goodie, just makes me smile. (just like a banana!)

to receive old-fashioned post

I get lots of post. Hold on a minute, I need to re-phrase that and start again.  Lots of post gets delivered to my house (that's far more accurate), and once I've sifted out the parcels from ebay, Amazon and Asos (almost a daily delivery - that's what happens when you have two daughters!) all that's usually left is junk mail, bills and statements (why do they keep sending these when I have opted out of paper copies?).

Now and again  may get a white envelop, but the franking and pre-printing give away the fact that it's yet another offer for cable tv, cheap insurance or a credit card, and rarely, very rarely, I get an item of post that puzzles and excites me - yes, it does excite me really (but then again I lead a sheltered life!).  This week I have had two of those days as my doormat welcomed me home with unexpected visitors of a very pleasant kind.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and today I had a card through the post from a friend who lives quite close by, but who often posts stuff, maybe because she knows what a pleasure and surprise it is to be on the receiving end, or maybe because it's easier to pop a card into the post box than to think about when to call round. Whatever the reason I approve wholeheartedly - a coloured envelop too so I could see as I came down the stairs that there was something special waiting.

When I came home from work on Wednesday there was another coloured envelop waiting for me - this time all the way from Nepal.  One of my very lovely friends has been travelling around India, Nepal and surrounding areas for a few of years now (I joined her for a couple of weeks last year) and we keep in touch regularly by email, but seeing the words in her handwriting felt all the more personal - I could hear her talking to me as I read the letter and found myself talking back (in my head - I'm not that weird!).

The best things about real post though (there's two of them) are that firstly, you can keep, read, and re-read to your heart's content, reliving old memories that, when combined, tell a story that my deleted chain of emails don't, and secondly, you get to hold, touch, turn and even smell the paper (especially the one from Nepal!) - a really tactile experience.  Seeing, picking up and reading the letter and cards that have plopped through my letterbox this week, just makes me smile.