AN award-winning author has pleaded with fans to help find the birthday card she exchanged with her dad for over 30 years – and is now lost in the post.
Claire Fuller, 50, has been sending the same birthday card back and forth with her father, Stephen, 78, since 1984 and was devastated when it went missing last month.
Claire celebrated her birthday on February 9 and the card went missing en route from her dad.
The author, who lives in Winchester, Hampshire, shared two images of the 33-year-old card which is covered with birthday wishes from over the years, on Twitter.
Posting last night (SUN), she wrote: “My Dad and I have been exchanging this birthday card since 1984. This February it got lost in the post. If you find it send it home to me.”
Her tweet has already been retweeted 3,700 times with a further 2,400 likes.
She later added: “Can’t tell you how upset I am that it’s gone.”
The first picture shows the front of the card, which features a yellow duck dressed in a red hat and boots with armbands on as it stares at its own reflection in a pond.
Birthday wishes dating back to 2006 can also be seen on the front as space for messages started to run out on the inside.
Her second photo shows the inside which is littered with messages written in different colours of pen from across the years.
The messages are all dated, with some written horizontally, some vertically and others twisting round other scrawlings with space for new wishes at a premium.
Messages include: “Dad congrats on your old age in 1988,” and “To Dad, Happy Birthday 1986, sorry it’s late, love Claire.”
Whilst one from her father reads: “Happy Birthday Claire, love from Daddy, 1991.”
Speaking today (MON), Claire said: “Both me and my dad are feeling really sad because the card has been exchanged between us for 33 years.
“I sent the card first in 1984 and then my Dad found it when my birthday came around so he sent it to me and then I sent it back to him, and so it continued.”
Twitter users were quick to react to the photos of her missing card.
Louise Walters wrote: “Oh no. Hope it gets back to you somehow. At least you have photos of it.”
Neal (CORR) Robertson commented: “lost UK post goes to belfast, give it a try and good luck.”
Whilst Claire King added: “So sorry this lost and hope you are reunited, but it is heart-achingly lovely.”
Claire won the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for her first novel ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’.
Her second novel, ‘Swimming Lessons’, was published at the start of this year.
