WHEN was the last time you put pen to paper and wrote a letter? We might live in a world of e-mails, text messages and information via the internet, but the importance of hand-written letters is not lost.

Tomorrow marks the start of national Write a Letter Week and people of all ages are being urged to keep traditional writing skills alive.

A suitable patron for such a campaign is local letter writer George Cowley.

Since June 1992, George has contributed to the letters page of your Worcester News almost every day, sometimes with comments on contemporary issues, more often with general musings.

George, aged 70, said writing letters was a therapeutic lifeline to other people.

He said: "I get a kick out of it, handwritten or typed. I like the contact with people. There is nothing quite like receiving a letter addressed to you and there is nothing like seeing your name in print."

George, of Warndon, Worcester, will wake in the middle of the night to pen a letter. At the start of each week he buys 24 second-class stamps and mails letters to everyone - from local papers to friends, celebrities and members of the clergy.

He said: "I wrote to Archbishop of York Donald Cogan and he wrote a lovely one back, signed Your sincere friend and Archbishop'.

"I keep all my letters. I've got one from BBC newsreader Sian Williams and quite a few from Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis."

Write a Letter Week is aimed at school pupils and encourages them to start writing letters from an early age. All week, schools across the UK will be taking part by establishing penpal links, writing to local heroes and burying time capsules containing hand-written notes.

Chris Davies, managing director of My Child, the education resource for parents behind the campaign, said: "Write a Letter Week encourages young people to celebrate the art of the handwritten letter, as it is a medium they are rarely exposed to since the advent of text and e-mail."

Locally, MP for Mid-Worcestershire Peter Luff has noticed a decline in letters landing on his doorstep.

He said: "We used to get lots but now it's only about two a day. Typing or emailing certainly makes it easier to read people's letters - but we are losing something. There's no substitute for a handwritten letter of thanks or of condolence, for example. My handwriting is awful so I suppose I should welcome the change, but I do still always try to write the most personal letters by hand. And a handwritten letter of thanks from a godchild or niece or nephew is especially welcome."

Mr Luff said handwritten letters suggest extra effort, a sentiment echoed by Worcestershire's soldiers.

Colour Sergeant Kevin Robins, an army recruiter for the Parachute Regiment, works at the Army Careers Office in Foregate Street, Worcester, and handles letters being sent to troops overseas.

"Speaking from personal experience, and I've been on several operational tours, it's so important to receive letters from back home," he said. "What you write doesn't matter. I wanted to hear about the cats and dogs, the weather, just anything. In places such as Iraq and Afghanistan you are so far removed that you crave hearing everyday things."

C/Sgt Robins, aged 39, said soldiers on tour often feel forgotten and look forward to all contact with loved ones at home.

Lisa Hughes, of Hayslam Road, Malvern, writes to her son Private Kevin Rudd, who is currently serving in the Gulf, every fortnight.

"I enjoy writing the letters," she said. "But we also get to speak to them on the phone. It's not like it used to be and we can contact them quite regularly."

So, why not write more letters to friends or family? You may be pleasantly surprised by the reply.

To find out more about the Write a Letter campaign, which runs from tomorrow until Friday, February 29, log on to www.writealetterweek.

co.uk.

HOW TO WRITE A THANK YOU LETTEREtiquette expert Jean Broke-Smith says: "In a time of increasing informality it is vital that time-honoured graces and conventions are not abandoned.

"The look, feel and lasting impression of a letter creates a special keepsake, and the hand-written word is powerful communication which should be part of modern etiquette."

Here are her top tips for writing a thank you letter.

* The reason for the letter should be in the first paragraph.

* Handwrite the letter to give it a personal touch.

* Use a first class stamp on a neatly written and correctly addressed envelope, including the postcode.

* Use matching writing paper and envelopes.

* Try to describe your appreciation of the gift, for example, how the flowers smelled wonderful or how you are now halfway through the book that you were given.

* Be thoughtful in choosing a card that is in some way relevant to the recipient, for example, if they are fond of cats choose something with a feline theme.

10 WAYS TO GET CHILDREN WRITING LETTERS AGAINCreate your own in-house postal service Make a post-box and get everyone to write to each other. Pick a postman to deliver the mail and behold the joy in everyone's faces as they receive their very own handwritten letter. You could even make your own stamps.

Find a penpal It could be a friend or family member, a pupil from another school (even one abroad), or someone you've never met before.

Group Letter Ask the children to decide on a local hero, perhaps someone in the community. Get one huge piece of paper and have every child in the class/family to contribute a few lines then send it off.

Dig out your old letters Find some old handwritten letters that you've received, show them to the children and discuss the story behind them.

Note to self Ask the children to think about bad habits they'd like to change or ambitions for the future. They can write down these thoughts in a letter addressed to themselves.

Personalised letters Make some personalised notepaper; create a unique stamp; jazz up a plain old envelope with a mark of individuality.

Fan Mail Ask the children to pick their favourite famous person and to send them a letter explaining why they are such an inspiration.

Create the ultimate local hero A great group activity to do in the style of the consequences game. One child draws the head and shoulders of the hero, folds over the paper then passes it on for the next child to draw the body who does the same until all the parts are drawn and you have the ultimate local hero.

Make the front page Children can design their very own newspaper and write a front page news story based on their local hero.

Bury a time capsule Get all the children to write letters to people in the future. Put them all in a time capsule and bury it for someone to find in the year 3000.