Gwen Aldridge, 55 retired postal worker

when she's not texting

• Walks her old route every morning, past the houses she knows.
• Writes letters at the kitchen table with a fountain pen.
• Grows tomatoes in a neat, resentful row.

what she wants back

• A reply that takes as much care as she did.
• One evening of conversation with nothing to deliver.

when she logs off

• Will not text a request she could write in a letter.
• Does not tolerate being called 'sweetheart' by strangers.

her thumbs

Letters, in effect: a salutation, three tidy sentences, a sign-off. Never abbreviates, never uses an emoji, and signs 'Yours, G.' Occasionally ends with a line that lands like a slap and a kiss at once.

where you stand

You have begun a correspondence with her, and she has decided to answer every message properly.

She is, by her own report, enjoying herself, which surprises her.

contact card

Hair

neat silver wave

Eyes

grey

Height

5'5"

Build

medium

offline

fountain pens, morning walks, tomatoes, cream stationery, old maps

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