Tell Me Over Tea Podcast Episode 20: Don’t Throw Away Your Letters
Show Notes
Episode 20: Don’t Throw Away Your Letters
In this solo episode of Tell Me Over Tea, I share something that has been sitting on my heart ever since it found its way back into my hands — a letter I wrote to my Aunty Kathleen when I was just six years old.
Two short pages in fat, six year old scrawl. And yet, the moment I read it again, the memories I hadn’t visited in decades began surfacing — slowly at first, and then all at once. Flooded!
In this episode I read the letter aloud, and then wander through the memories it unlocked — a rogue young horse named Mischief, a little black rabbit called Cindy, the saleyards at Mudgee, a green and white school dress in a sea of brown and white ones, and the strange comfort of a cane sickbay bed when you’re the new girl and everything feels just a little out of sorts.
It’s an episode about the power of ordinary letters. The ones we write without any thought of their future value. The ones that sit in shoeboxes and drawers for decades, filled with moments in time waiting to be rediscovered.
So pour yourself a cuppa and come and sit with me for a little while.
A little reminder from this episode…
We don’t write letters thinking about the future. We write them because we’re excited about a horse. Because we have the measles but we’re nearly better. Because there’s a PS about a rabbit that simply can’t wait.
And yet, forty, fifty years on, those small unselfconscious moments become something more priceless than we could ever have imagined.
Don’t throw away your letters. Pleasey!
Something to do after you listen…
If you have old letters tucked away somewhere — in a drawer, a shoebox, a box at your mum’s house — go and find them. Read them. See what comes back to you.
And if you don’t have old letters, or even if you do — write one this week. It doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t have to be eloquent. A tiny note with a PS about your rabbit is more than enough.
You have no idea what it might mean one day. To the person who receives it. Or to you, if it ever finds its way back home.
Come and write letters with us…
If this episode has nudged you toward picking up a pen, you’re warmly invited to join The Lovely Letters Project [https://bettymaewrote.com/pages/pen-pals] — my free snail mail exchange for women all over the world. With 900+ members across Australia, the US, the UK, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Italy, Canada and beyond, it truly is the loveliest little community of letter writers.
You can find the link here [https://bettymaewrote.com/pages/pen-pals] to sign up — it’s free, and once you’re on the list you’ll hear from me about the monthly exchange. You can choose a permanent pen pal or a fresh new one each month. Either way, I’d love to have you there.
And if this episode stirred something in you — a memory, a story, a little nudge to begin writing — you are welcome to grab my free guide, The Five Minute Memory List, to help you make a start. You’ll find it in the welcome letter when you sign up to my newsletter at bettymaewrote.com [https://bettymaewrote.com]
If you know someone who might love this kind of conversation, please do pass it along, and if you enjoyed this episode, follow Tell Me Over Tea wherever you listen, and if you feel inclined, leave a little review — it helps more story-lovers find their way here.
Kim x
Where to find me:
✨I write, on Substack, a weekly newsletter, you can subscribe to that here: Betty Mae Wrote newsletter [https://substack.com/@bettymaewrote]. It’s the space where I share stories (both mine and other people’s) and it’s also a way of keeping up to date with all things Betty Mae Wrote, Little Life Stories, Lovely Letters and the podcast.
✨To find out more about my writing membership, Little Life Stories [https://bettymaewrote.com/pages/coming-soon-in-2025-a-new-chapter-for-writing-your-stories] you can do that here: Little Life Stories [https://bettymaewrote.com/pages/coming-soon-in-2025-a-new-chapter-for-writing-your-stories]
✨I’ve created a simple and beautiful starting point for your own storytelling: The Five Minute Memory List.It’s a short, exercise (a cuppa’s worth), to help you gather memories and begin. It’s fun and easy peasey and it’s something you can use in your letter writing, journaling and personal life writing. You can grab that by subscribing to my newsletter (you’ll find it in the welcome letter one you’ve signed up): here [https://substack.com/@bettymaewrote]
✨The Tea + Toast Letter Club [https://kyl5j1fht23112jd-57438896333.shopifypreview.com/pages/tea-and-toast-letter-club]! A little moment to pour yourself a cuppa, find a comfy spot, and enjoy a letter (and some other goodies) in the mail every month. You can read more about it here [https://kyl5j1fht23112jd-57438896333.shopifypreview.com/pages/tea-and-toast-letter-club].
✨If you’d like to get back into the gorgeous slow soothe of letter writing, please know you are always welcome to join: The Lovely Letters Project [https://bettymaewrote.com/pages/pen-pals] (it’s free!)
✨Or if you simply need a good old sticky beak around the place, please head on over here to the website: www.bettymaewrote.com [http://www.bettymaewrote.com]
✨Oh and if you’re an Instagram type, be sure to follow me on Instagram: @bettymaewrote [https://www.instagram.com/bettymaewrote]
Music: Kim on the uke;) Rattling teacups – also KimProduction and Editing: Surprise, surprise, guess who? Yep! Kim again!
Art by Lewis Dillon (thanks, Lew!)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bettymaewrote.substack.com [https://bettymaewrote.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]
