Week Eight

Sometimes I spoil my brother. This week I've got him a Lee Healey original, who peddles his wares from his Twitter page - @Cartoonist4Hire. I'm still astounded by the way the numbers of views go up each week and I can't help but worry about the day I have to tell him thousands of people have been following our correspondence over the year.

Incidentally I've been treading very carefully this week. It's not impossible his call last week could turn into a regular catch up whereby we update, reminisce and I lose a point without getting so much as a single postcard. It's nice to hear from him but I'd prefer it if my numbers were a little higher first. 6-2 is nice yet still precarious.

There's still room for more submissions if you fancy showcasing your talents on a postcard so please get in touch; I hang around on Twitter most days - @Lyvit. Keep your fingers crossed for my score increasing too if you would.

Week Seven

Something massive has just happened - my brother actually rang me. He said it was for a catch up but really I knew it was to ask why on earth I keep sending him postcards. His first question was an obvious one - "I know 'mi hermano' means 'my brother' but what does 'mi oido' mean?" - and I'm pretty sure he mispronounced 'oido'.

I was completely prepared for this and told him that if he translates 'oido', to which he replied that he's a busy man and doesn't have time so I should just tell him and I had to repeat the phrase IF he translates oido, he will see that it means 'ear' in Spanish. I then told him that it also means 'he who goes before me, such as an older brother, and can hear things and report on them'. This was an elaborate lie that I've been waiting to tell since I started and if my brother ever reads this I'd like to apologise now for telling a fib.

Oh how I laughed when he put the phone down, though.

This brings the score to 5-2, proving that it only takes a quick fifteen minute phone call to completely alter the score and bring it as close as it is. I'm not expecting another call in the next couple of weeks but anything could happen.

A big thank you to Julia for this week's postcard, which came in a selection of tacky postcards from the good ol' US of A. You can follow Julia on Twitter - @TinkSaid.

I was particularly drawn to this postcard although it wasn't just the presence of Big J. I was wondering whether the couple had spent their entire lives in Death and had woken up to the fact that there was an alternative or whether they were just visiting the area and had passed through Death into Life, needing to ask a local who was stood beside a signpost. Maybe, from their angle, he was ironically hiding the post itself and making Himself seem more important? I don't want to open a theological discussion but perhaps the couple could have made their own way to Life if the man in the bedsheets hadn't been blocking the directions?

Keep sending them in, I have a couple of showcases to come and I'm sure my brother will appreciate them. He certainly didn't tell me to stop sending them.

Week Six

I've had some fantastic responses from postcardists over the past few weeks so thanks to anyone who is up for donating/drawing a postcard or has done so already. This week's is an @AlyaBessex creation, proving that you don't have to be Picasso to submit something to send to my brother.

So far I've still only had the one text calling me a weirdo and, judging by the fact that I'm smiling about that, perhaps he has a point. I'd like to reiterate that we are close as brothers but, when given the opportunity to return contact, he'd rather do anything else. I can only guess that he's lying across his sofa watching Thundercats episodes one after the other. This brings the score to 5-1 in my favour.

I could ask at this point for a donation of a trophy so that the winner can have something to show for all their hard work but that would be fantastically self indulgent and I couldn't even consider suggesting such a request let alone actually doing it. Can you imagine the kind of person that would have written that last sentence?

Here is this week's entry to his letterbox:

Week Five

Big thanks to Kent Tayler for the postcard this week, be sure to find him on Twitter - @TaylerToons. I have two more from the same delivery and promises of more from other potential participants. I'm hoping this will be a good way for people to showcase their work as, what started as an annoyance for a close relative, has quickly become my most popular project when comparing average monthly views.

I'm keen to get another point this week as last week's blip has rocked the boat a little. My brother is due to come down to Cornwall in May and, technically, it could be all but over by then if he doesn't reply in the meantime. I'll still send more postcards after I pass 27 points but it will be more as a lap of honour than anything.

This week's offering takes the score to 4-1 to me as it stands. Without feedback from him I'm not sure what his favourite kind of postcard is so I'm assuming he's enjoying the variety I'm trying to offer.

Week Four

Outside forces have intervened. I met and spoke to someone my brother went to school with after he recognised me. He asked how we were all doing after which I returned the questions and, before we parted, he asked me to say Hello to my brother for him. This meant I had to send a text and, without having to buy a stamp, he saw it as the perfect opportunity to mention the postcards.

It went exactly like this:

Me:         "*Name of person* says hello, he's a fireman now"

Brother:   "Hello right back have recieved [sic] your postcards you weirdo....."

Me:          "Weird is a state of mind"

A few things to mention here. Firstly, he couldn't even be bothered to check his spelling on the message to me. He's an educated young man, he went to university for more than a one day football competition and literally saves lives every day. Also, this is where the conversation stopped. I haven't spoken to him since May last year and I'm assuming everything's alright with him but this highlights the importance of regular contact with family quite well in my opinion.

I'm reluctant to give him the point as he didn't directly contact me to ask about the postcards and took no time to write a letter or call me at least. However, he has replied and used the word 'postcard' so I will give him this one. This makes it 3-1 to me. 

One final point - I hope Moose Allain doesn't mind me turning his character into a protester.

Week Three

Still nothing back. It occurred to me that he may be receiving these, thinking I've gone over the edge and throwing them in the bin. Perhaps he really is too busy to reply? I only hope the post office haven't marked the stamps so he can at least re-use them if he has time to steam them off. I'm not even certain that works with the self adhesive stamps though.

I'm not quite sure where I was going with this one as, admittedly, I winged it. I'm fairly happy with the pickled egg beating story and wondering if he'll consider a ban on pubs a good thing or not. I wouldn't like to speak for him, mind.

I'm going to put this down as 3-0 as it stands. If he replies this week I'll add it to the score next week. I'm getting a nice early lead, something I always strive for as the stress of getting behind is too much for me to bear at times.

Week Two

As explained in the postcard it's a bit of a double episode this week.

I've acquired some postcards from Moose Allain who sells his superb artwork on www.worldofmoose.com and appears on Twitter - @MooseAllain. I bought the positive postcards which come with slogans such as 'I am in awe of your superb brain' which I was very tempted with. However, if you know my brother, you'll know he doesn't necessarily need slogans like that in his life.

I started with the usual and went straight into it. Apologising for the time of delivery is just good manners as I'd hate for him to reject the postcard. I haven't yet heard back from him regarding the first one and will start scoring soon; not that he's time limited, but I should get the point until he does so. He probably took receipt of the first one and thought 'there's no way I'm playing into that idiot's hands by replying' which is fantastic for me. A 52-0 whitewash will look excellent on my CV.

I coloured in the front myself although I have to say thank you to my four year old for her use of the brown pencil. That was a drama in itself as I was offered a black pencil and a brown crayon before we got the right equipment. I couldn't believe it.

The initial greeting was almost forgotten this week so I wonder how long I can keep it up for before it's lost forever. Two weeks is pretty good for me.