The Yorkshire Vet: Thank you to all those letter-writers - Julian Norton
I’ve had a spate of letters recently. It must be the time of year when primary school teachers set their pupils the challenge of writing letters to people they know, admire or want to meet. In the space of just a few days, I had correspondence from two youngsters from nearby schools, who I’ll call Isobel and Sonya.
Opening the letters, I was instantly impressed by the high standard of handwriting. “It’s neater than yours,” commented Anne when I brought them home. She was quite right and we had a brief discussion over dinner that evening about how (and why) handwriting deteriorates over time. She recollected one of her former veterinary bosses whose scrawl on the record cards we used pre- computers was so illegible that it was often necessary to involve the owners in working out what he had written regarding the diagnosis or prescription for their pet.
But it wasn’t just the neat handwriting that appealed to me. One letter began I hope this letter finds you and your animals well…. It was a turn of phrase well beyond the years of someone aged just eleven. This letter went on: You are more than just a vet. You are such a good story- teller and your books are amazing; they are so funny and interesting and I never want to put them down. Clearly, the author had great insight and perception!
My expanding ego was bolstered still further by the second letter. Sonya went so far as to invite me to do a talk at her school (though I’m not sure if the teachers had agreed to this plan). She went on to add details about why she was inspired: …you are strong, hard at work and always sensible and always having a good day. At this point, I wondered whether Sonya had written her letter to the wrong “vet off the telly”, as I am neither strong nor sensible and I do not always have a good day at work, but there was more to follow: wonderful detail which demonstrated this author also had great perception. Because of your sensiabilenes [yes, that was the actual word] and hard-working self, I’m more serious. I’ve watched you since I was five and now I’m eight. I love it when Lucy makes the whole room laugh! At this point it was clear that she had, in fact, addressed this epistle to the correct vet-off-the-telly, since my colleague Lucy is certainly the funniest person I have ever worked with. She really does make the whole room laugh.
I do get more than my fair share of letters like this, but I always try to reply. Admittedly, the odd one falls through the net and sits, unnoticed, at the bottom of my in-tray and for this I am truly sorry. Some writers do not provide a return address and so it is impossible to respond to those. But it is nice to write back, even if briefly. Over the years, some correspondents have become regular pen-palls, especially Martha from California, to whom I have referred previously in this column.
I met another letter writer at the end of last year, working in the bar at Swinton Park where Anne and I had been for a meal. She eyed me keenly and eventually plucked up courage to ask, “are you from The Yorkshire Vet?” I nodded as nonchalantly as I could manage. This young lady had fostered dreams of being a vet before aspirations of human medicine took over and a year off working at the hotel filled a gap. “I wrote a letter to you years ago,” she explained. I panicked for a moment, fearing that hers might have been one of the letters that slipped through my net.
“Oh no,” she smiled, “you replied straight away. I was really grateful.”