This postcard pictured above was sent to my great-grandmother from her brother Bill on October 15th, 1912 - the day he left England for Australia. Today is October 15th, 2012 - one hundred years later to the day - and this very same postcard that was brought from England to Canada about ten years ago after my grandmother died (she had kept it from her mother, Alice), has been put into the hands of Canada Post today to find its way from the recipient's great-granddaughter to the sender's granddaughter in Australia. It is about to become one of the most well-traveled postcards in recorded history.
When I got in contact with our Australian cousin a week or two ago and told her about my having this card, she was thrilled to find out about some of her family's history that they had not been able uncover. I asked if she would like to have the postcard, and she replied with an enthusiastic Yes please. Then look at the date today: I was going to just take my time in parting with this little bit of treasure, but a perfect centenary was too much to resist.
Anyway, I was telling this story to the person at the post office when I took it in to mail it, and she summoned another colleague over to hear the story too, so I repeated it all - it was a fun little "post office moment" - and it was duly date-stamped, and taken away from me.
Safe journey postcard!
P.S. AR thinks that Gangan (Alice) might have had a hand in all of this. I'm all for having such interference from The Beyond. What fun!
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