A Letter A Day Keeps Loneliness At Bay…

Hello everyone!

I hope you’re all doing well given these  crazy times. Lockdown is still in place, everyone is so confused about what’s going on and sometimes I can’t tell if it’s Monday or July. But I’ve been engaging in a lot of creative projects to keep me busy, including:

• Relining my Ace jacket with a new orange material to give it a funkier edge and to match the real thing a bit more!
• Painting LITERALLY EVERYTHING. I’ve painted a set of drawers, two panels on my bookshelf, several of my magazine files and some storage baskets! I binge-watched a load of Moriah Elizabeth YouTube videos and I got inspired by her to paint on everything! Check her out, she’s amazing!

• Working on my journals, adding new entries and drinking tea or coffee out in the sunshine when possible. Or inside listening to the rain beating against the windows, that’s pretty relaxing too.
• A musical theatre challenge that stemmed over 25 days with a different prompt every single day – and I kept it up!
• Writing a song inspired by Jo Grant’s departure in ‘The Green Death’, and getting noticed by Katy Manning, the real Jo! I’m currently working on a recorded version and once that’s polished, I will be having a go at making a music video!

I’ve also had some amazing opportunities come up – back in April, I got to chat to Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, the Sixth Doctor and Peri, while cosplaying as Peri! Both of them were super nice and complimented my cosplay! (I actually didn’t know Nicola would be joining us until about two hours beforehand!) And as you can see from this screenshot, Nicola approves the Peri look! I recently picked up a new shirt for my Peri outfit, but it hadn’t arrived in the post yet – but this one looks so cute!

If you want to watch my fangirling episode, you can feast your eyes on this! (Skip to 8:30 if you only want to see my little cameo!) 😀

I’m also taking part in a web series called ‘Self-Isolation’! It follows the story of Jamie and three conversations he has during lockdown – one with his boyfriend Ben, his grandma Polly and his friends, Zoe and Victor. I’m honoured to say I’ll be playing the role of Zoe in episode three – and my co-stars are incredible! Ashleigh Carter is Jamie, Devante Fleming is Ben, Oliver Martin is Victor and Louise Jameson is Polly! To see my name on a poster next to a Doctor Who companion is something I never dreamt would happen in a million years, but it came true! Thank you to Andrew and Third Time Lucky Productions for the opportunity, and I can’t wait for you all to follow the series! Episodes One and Two are out now, and you can check them out on the Third Time Lucky YouTube channel!

Be sure to tune into Episode Three, that’s when I’ll be making my little appearance! 😀

(You can also follow them on Twitter, @TTLProd!)

But I also decided to pursue another new project. I was inspired by a little gift I received in the mail from my dear friend Tom. At the start of this pandemic lockdown, I found myself becoming increasingly worried and depressed. So Tom sent me this BEAUTIFUL journal card of me, him and our friend Ben as Nyssa, Adric and the Doctor when we screened Earthshock with the Doctor Who society! I cried some happy tears and was reminded that even though we’re apart geographically, we can still be connected.

There’s something so magical and special about receiving ‘snail mail’. Someone has literally taken the time to write out their wishes and thoughts in their best handwriting and either post it into a post-box to be delivered by the mailman, or they have had to leave their house and walk their happy little butt round to your house and post it through your letterbox themselves. It seems more personal to receive a handwritten letter than a message on Facebook, maybe because we can see the individual’s unique penmanship that is revealed when they pick up a pen or pencil, their own flourishes and mistakes scribbled through.

I also wrote to my best friend, Julia, and received such a beautiful reply. I got such a cute card and it reminded me of when we’d doodle in my notebooks or on my Starbucks cup one time! I washed that cup out SO well and I still have it! I use it as a pen pot and always makes me smile.

It got me thinking about how much these letters can mean to someone. There’s so much we want to say, but are afraid of putting pen to paper. So I started a new project called ‘A Letter A Day’, in which I’d be writing a letter every day to someone who fits the prompt I pick. I have a list of thirty prompts, and at first I was literally writing every single day. However, I’ve recently taken days off in between letters if I don’t know who to write to, or if I’m struggling to find motivation to write, especially on the days where I struggle to motivate myself to get out of bed or out of my pyjamas.

I’ve written a fair few letters, and it’s been a lot of fun! So, here’s a list of the prompts. If you want to have a go and feel comfortable sharing your letters, share them on social media and use the hashtag #ALetterADay so I can see if I can find them!

THE PROMPTS

These are the prompts I follow. Pick whichever takes your fancy on the day, there’s no particular order you have to follow!

• Someone you miss
• Your best friend
• Your high-school best friend
• Your favourite actor
• Your favourite musician
• Someone who makes you laugh SUPER hard
• Someone who helped you out
• Someone who makes you smile
• A fictional character you love
• Your role model
• A friend you met online
• A friend from another country
• Your mum/dad
• Your school bully
• Your favourite teacher
• Your first friend
• Your future partner
• Your future child
• Your fifteen-year-old self
• To a stranger
• A historical figure
• Someone with a lasting first impression
• Your favourite ‘influencer’ (YouTuber, Instagrammer, blogger, etc.)
• The barista at your favourite coffee shop
• Your future self
• Your favourite ‘Doctor’ (Interpret this however you like. It would be the Doctor from Doctor Who – or a doctor from another show! – Or it could be an actual real-life doctor who impacted you in some way)
• The author of your favourite book
• Your brother/sister
• Someone who changed your life
• Someone who came into your life with a bang!

You don’t have to stop there, but I find that thirty is plenty for me! And you’ll find out that there’s actually a ‘bonus letter’ I wrote on day three! I’m still going with this prompt list, and it’s been interesting opening up to people I love. I’ve been sharing my letters on Twitter and on my Facebook, and there have been some interesting and heart-warming responses, some of which I’d like to share with you. I’m still working on this challenge, so I’ll probably write more about any other responses I get in a later post.

THE RESPONSE

Prompt – ‘Someone Who Makes You Smile’. 

I chose my friend Jake, who has been nothing but such a supportive and wonderful friend. He always makes me smile and his positivity is SO infectious to everyone around him. I figured I should let him know how much I appreciate his friendship and how much he had made me feel better over the years. So I wrote him a letter and got the sweetest comment… But then he filmed his own response to my letter! It was so unexpected and definitely brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, Jake.

Prompt: A Fictional Character You Love

Now we all know I live in the fictional worlds right now, so this was tricky to whittle down to just one character. But in the end, I chose Tegan Jovanka, the no-nonsense sassy Australian air stewardess from Doctor Who, who I ABSOLUTELY love! She is a character who I’d love to be best friends with so much, we’d sip wine and bitch about the Doctor together! So I wrote a little letter for her.

Now, remember the ‘bonus letter’ I mentioned earlier? Well that ‘bonus letter’ was written to the incredible woman who brought Tegan to life – Janet Fielding. So, I decided to write a second letter that day, but this time thanking Janet for bringing Tegan to life and for helping me to learn how to do an Australian accent through her! Janet liked both of the tweets with the letters in, and then sent this response to the one I specifically wrote to her:

How sweet is this! I thought my Australian accent was god-awful, but she said it has ‘real promise!’ I’m gonna keep working on it until it’s even better! I also got a few tweets from other fans who said it was a beautiful letter and how heart-warming it was.

Prompt: Your Role Model

So this was a difficult one. Defining ‘role model’ can be tricky. But I was sorting through some old papers and came across some of my documents from when I was diagnosed with autism. It specifically mentioned a show called ‘Words and Pictures’ which I had a ‘special interest’ in as a child. And then it hit me – I could write to Sophie Aldred! Not only did she present that show, but she also starred in ZZZap!, a show I was in love with as a kid, and of course, she brought Ace McShane to life in Doctor Who! So I put pen to paper and wrote a heartfelt letter, thanking Sophie for influencing me as a kid, inspiring me as an adult and bringing happy memories into my life.

I honestly didn’t think anyone would see the video of me reading this letter out or that it would affect anyone. But oh, I was so wrong! The next day, I received a tweet from Sophie herself!

This made my day! It made me feel so happy to know that she appreciated what I wanted to tell her. But again, other people were sending messages to me telling me how heartfelt and beautiful it was. They were words locked in my mind and now I’d turned the key and let my thoughts out. And yes, I did wear my Ace jacket for the occasion!

Prompt: Someone Who Helped You Out

For this prompt, I picked my friend Matt, who has been one of my closest friends in university. In my second year, I was having the toughest time with my anxiety and general mental health. But he gently guided me towards getting professional help, and remains to be a wonderful friend to me to this day. I received the sweetest comments from him after I posted the letter and it made me smile so much. Thank you, Matt.

Prompt: Your Favourite Teacher

I found it hard to pick just one person for this prompt. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had some amazing teachers over the years, from primary school to secondary school, college to university. But I decided  to write to Pavel, my university professor. Not only did he support me during my Bachelor’s dissertation,  but also through my whole Masters year. I was super anxious about travelling abroad without my family for the first time when I went on the Prague Masters trip last year, but Pavel called me up and talked to me and reassured me that things would be okay – and they were! He responded in such a wonderful way! Thank you, Pavel.

Prompt: A Friend You Met Online

I’ve been so fortunate to have found some amazing friends online, and being able to talk to them right now is so freaking helpful during this time. One of these online friends I’ve been fortunate enough to know is Dom, a.k.a. @dominusoftime on Instagram. His kind words and enthusiasm for other people’s creative projects makes me so happy, and I’ve been fortunate enough to meet Dom in real life – I hope our paths get to cross again after this lockdown is over. I got the kindest tweet back from him and it honestly made my day. Thank you, Dom.

Prompt: Someone With A Lasting First Impression

This one was easy to pick. I decided to choose my friend Courtney, who I met while doing the Masters course. The first time I properly met her was certainly interesting. I ended up going to see a show called Foreign Radical by Canadian theatre company Theatre Conspiracy. There was one particular scene where there was a lot of lights, distortion, noise, shouting and vibrations in the theatre floor. It caused me to feel very overwhelmed, but it wasn’t until after the show that I got upset. Courtney swooped in and gave me a MASSIVE hug, helping me to calm down and slow my breathing down. She was super-duper kind to me and continues to be a wonderful friend to me. I received the sweetest comments from her and it made me smile so much. Thank you, Courtney.

 

It’s amazing how something as simple as a handwritten letter could mean so much to someone. Writing to people and telling them what I’ve been meaning to tell them for a long time has been such a great way for me to express my creativity and to let people know that they are appreciated. It’s important to let those you love know that you appreciate them and you are thinking of them, even when you’re apart and can’t be together physically. Especially in times like this, when we can feel disconnected from the world because this virus is throwing a temper tantrum and is making our lives anxiety-riddled. It’s a nice way to practice compassion and gratitude, which is something that people treasure.

THE AFTERMATH

I’m still working my way through this challenge, but I have a plan once I’ve completed all thirty (okay, thirty-one) letters. I’m going to write some of them up super-nicely and decorate them. Then when I get to see the recipients (for example, seeing Janet, Sophie or Dom at a comic-con, or reuniting with my friends when I’m back in Hullywood!), I’ll give them the copies as a little reminder that they are appreciated and loved.

(ALso I recently got a WAX SEAL STAMP kit and I’m SO OBSESSED so I might use it to seal the letters! One is a moon and stars, and I recently got two coins to add to my handle – one is the theatre masks, the other is a KOALA – perfect for Janet’s letter, I think!) 😀

I hope you’re all staying safe and well during this time. I’m sending you all loads of love and hugs (virtual ones, of course!) and look forward to seeing you all on the other side.

Until next time, Stay Strong and Hold On, my friends.

Laura Jayne 🙂 xxx