Meet Serena, aka AllSerene from England! She’s both an avid postcrosser and a birdwatcher, an interest she shares with her cat Lucy :)
Here is what she had to say to our interview questions:
- How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?
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Two online friends (Enitharmon and Niles) blogged about it, within a few days of one another. I thought it sounded interesting, visited the site and was hooked! This was about three and a half years ago, not long before Postcrossing reached the first million postcards sent.
I’m almost entirely housebound, due to serious health problems, and I loved the idea both of being able to make contact with people around the world and of seeing places I would never be able to visit in person. Postcrossing has added considerably to the variety and fun in my life!
- Do you have any other interesting hobbies?
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Being fascinated by wildlife, I’ve taken part in the British Trust for Ornithology’s Garden Birdwatch for several years, recording the varieties of birds who visit my garden each week. This means that, as well as enjoying watching the birds outside my window, I’m able to contribute, in a small way, to environmentalists knowledge of the changing bird populations.
I also have a much loved cat, who shares my interest in bird watching (and who’s old enough not to be a danger to the birds).
- Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!
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My cards get put through the letterbox on my front door, to arrive on my doormat. My lovely posties collect any mail I leave out for them, on my windowsill.
This normally works extremely well. On one occasion though, a card, GB-37113, took the scenic route to the US, via Germany, having remained wrapped in a plastic bag (to protect them from the rain) with another card, GB-37117, destined for a German postcrosser. Luckily, maju30, having told me what had happened, very kindly forwarded it on to it’s proper destination. I must admit to being relieved that it was a postcard which took such a detour, rather than a letter to my bank or something of that kind!
I have a display of recent, and favourite cards on display in my kitchen and, when cards are taken down from there, they are stored in boxes, sorted by country. I also scan all my cards and have the screensaver on my computer set to show a slideshow of my pictures. These always provoke a lot of comment from visitors and often mesmerise them, so that discussions will be broken off when a friend’s attention has been grabbed by one of my cards!
- Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.
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I found it impossible to choose just one or two cards out of all the ones I’ve received. The pictures above show some of the cards currently on display, which are a mixture of cards I’ve recently received and favourites which refuse to be dislodged.
- What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?
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I love requesting addresses, wondering who, and where, I will be sending a card to this time. Having received an address, I love trying to work out which of my cards that person would particularly enjoy and trying to get a feel for the person I’ll be writing to, so that I can try to make the card as interesting as possible for that person. That said, later on, I’ll be keeping a close watch for the postman, wanting to see what cards he’s bringing me that day, as I always very much enjoy receiving a new group of cards, looking to see what the pictures are and reading the messages on the back.
35 comments so far
Serena, how lovely to see you in the spotlight! It's wonderful to see a bit more of your postal life, and I love all the cards in your kitchen!
What a great blog! Love the cat's name...Lucy :)
Woo hoo! Glad to see you in the spotlight :)
Awh, this lady was one of my first five cards sent on postcrossing, lovely to see her in the spotlight! :)
How nice to see you in the spotlight, Serena!
one of my cards will in those boxes filed under Australia! what a nice postie you have!
serena how do you buy all your cards i wonder?
Have got a card from you, thanks again :-))))
Hi Serena (and Lucy) - your kitchen looks like a lovely, cozy place :)
Great interview! Your postman sounds nice to collect cards from your windowsill :-D Your cat is beautiful, and what a nice name she has ;-)
I often admire the beautiful cards you send when I browse the UK Gallery. Send my regards to your lovely postie, in an ideal world they would sell us stamps too on our doorstep!
Very nice to read :). Just one remark: the first link in the story about the postcard going to Germany seems wrong, as it should be the one send to the US, but is the one send to Germany (just like the second one). So now I don't know which card made such a detour!
Thanks for all the comments! I'm passing comments, and compliments onto Lucy and I'll also pass them onto the postie. I am lucky to have some lovely posties here (who seem to enjoy my postcards as well) but it's not too uncommon, in the UK, for them to collect cards from houses in rural areas, where they've got a van with them.
Imre90 - Oops, you're right, the card which went astray was http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/GB-37113!
Aberline - Friends get me a selection of local cards but I also phone Tourist Information Offices and the shops attached to tourist sites and buy selections of cards by mail order. They tend to be a bit surprised but very willing to help me! Others, I buy online.
Chevalcheveux - No, I haven't seen that; I find movies difficult to follow though, so I don't watch many.
So nice to read more about you here, Serena! And thanks again for the nice card which we recently got from you :-)
Wow, so many postcards!!
Very interesting post. Nice to meet you, Serena! :)
I love to read this, so nice to get a closer look to someone enjoying this like I do!
And the photo of Lucy is a fabulous one; could be a card on my wishlist!
Nice to see you here Serena, remember it's never too late to come back to computer science ;) Thanks again for the rather wonderful card you sent me last month (GB-291395).
Wow. What a great interview with such a wonderful person! Really nice to see your degree of involvement with Postcrossing. Serena, you're an inspiration to others (like me) in similar circumstances. :) Thank you.
Lovely to 'meet' you Serena! I've seen your name many times in Postcrossing so it's good to have contact. You really enjoy Postcrossing and that's how it should be, a life of looking forward. We too have a super postman, must ask him to pose for me. Lucy is so much like our Tassie they could be twins. Tassie sends a hug and a purr to Lucy and I send my warmest wishes to you.
cool interview!
nice interview~
something i found out is the electricity plug switch on the picture is same as my country though~
no need to buy adapter when visiting your country~
lol :)
It's so awesome to see you here, friend! :)
AllSerene, nice to see the right postcard. It made quite a journey!
Great interview, congratulations Serena!
a great interview ! and i love the cat :)
Nice to learn more about you Serena. Lucy is a beauty :)
one of mine is in your collection also .I am glad you have someone to share your hobbies,especially the bird watching.
Lovely interview - See you in the British Isles Community on the forum
Nice interview. :)
Hey Serena, great to see you featured here :) Greetings from only a few miles away!
Wow!! Fancy seeing you in the spotlight! Now I feel I know you even more, Serena! What a fantastic postal collection service you have! Puts faith in humanity! You deserve a special card for this.. I will sort one out! Take care and keep warm! Hilary
Hum....what's about that name? Wasn't that from where I got my last caed? Yes it was, how fun to read all this. And you sent me a lovely card. Still happy postcrossing to you.
I enjoyed reading this. Every cat my grammy (grandmother) had was named Lucy. Small world :)
Your cat looks wonderful! :-)
Great to read your PostCrossing story, Serena ... you've certainly been an inspiration to me since I joined this amazing community. Keep up the good work ;)
Wow Serena, I cannot believe how many postcards you have sent and received! And I agree with Robin67 - you're cat looks lovely. Keep going, you're an inspiration to the rest of us!
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