Sixty years ago this week I sent a letter to the Guardian, my first ever, suggesting that readers like me – with young children, moving frequently and having left interesting jobs, separated from friends and family and uninterested in conventional women’s groups – could meet up to discuss everything and anything in their own homes. I was surprised that it was published – on 26 February 1960 – and even more surprised to receive a mass of letters enthusiastically agreeing.
The postman was overwhelmed and so was I. With the help of new friends, met locally, we launched what was to become the National Women’s Register, handwriting reply letters until I borrowed a typewriter, and asking the most enthusiastic writers from all over the country to receive letters from their area and put people in touch. Sixty years on, through the NWR’s national organiser Natalie Punter, I have again been overwhelmed by the deluge of cards and thank-you messages from members and groups from all over the UK, who tell me that the register has really enriched their lives.
As Janet Linington said (Letters, 20 February), it has done so much to combat isolation and loneliness by putting women in touch with others who like to share ideas and experiences, with none of the formality of other organisations. The simple idea of meeting in our own homes, with basic refreshments and everyone contributing, seems to work, and has been a touchstone. Thank you, Guardian.
Maureen Nicol
Kenilworth, Warwickshire
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