A POSTCARD and letters written by a young girl while at school have finally arrived at their intended destinations - four decades later.
The correspondence sent by a young girl called Josie to her parents was delivered by Royal Mail to two addresses in Ambleside.
Sadly, it was so long after they were posted the intended recipients had long moved on.
A postcard sent in 1980 was finally received at YHA Ambleside Hostel last week and two letters posted to Josie’s parents at a Loughrigg caravan site also made their destination in the same week.
Now both the hostel and the log cabin site are appealing for information to help them return the letters to their rightful owner.
Addressing the postcard to Mr and Mrs English Josie wrote: “Kevin, our monitor, is at the moment being tickled by everyone, but he is also fighting back.”
The letters, which were written in April 1976, while Josie was at Blackwell School, provided a detailed account of her daily activities. “On Wednesday we got up early and went for a stroll,” wrote Josie. “On Saturday we didn’t do much, we played with Chris a game of English rounders.”
YHA Ambleside Hostel’s manager Damian Park said he was stunned to receive the mysterious postcard.
“My colleague Phil was pretty gobsmacked when the postcard arrived,” he said. “It’s happened before that we received letters for our guests but this is definitely out of the ordinary.
“The plot thickens really and we would love to find out who Josie is.”
Heather Aughpin, who received the letters at Neaum Crag, said she hoped someone would be able to help solve the mystery.
“We want to know where it’s been before it reached us,” she said. “It’s curious that they’ve all come at once after so long.”
Royal Mail Delivery Office at Troutbeck Bridge said they were on the case with the matter. Delivery Office Manager Michelle Rickman said: “The letters came to us opened, and anything that comes to us we have to deliver.
“One theory is that someone had been holding on to Josie’s post for a long time and just decided to send them again.
“The letters were stuck in time and we are all curious to find out more about who Josie is.”
Anyone who is able to help with the postcard mystery can email Celia Powell - celia.powell@newsquest.co.uk
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