German postcard collector looks for local pen pal
A POSTCARD collector from Germany is looking for pen pals from Shetland to add to his collection of almost 100,000 post cards from every corner of the world.
Volker Willschrey, from Dillingen, even has postcards from small islands like Tristan da Cunha and largely closed countries such as North Korea.
Willschrey said he is a great fan of the Shetland crime drama series – which screens as Mord in Shetland on German TV – but has never managed to add a postcard from the isles to his collection.
Having visited Scotland some years ago, he said that he “unfortunately” never made it as far as Shetland.
“I always have been interested in learning more about Shetland and I became a great fan of the crime series Shetland, especially of Douglas Henshall, I have not missed an episode,” he said.
“I have tried so many times to get some postcards from Lerwick and other places in Shetland but never found an opportunity. Really a pity.”
The 77-year old has been collecting postcards for more than 50 years; a hobby that had a life-changing impact on him when Marise from the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, started writing to him.
“We started a penpalship in 1976 and after she came to Germany to learn the language, we got married in 1982,” he recounts.
And he added: “Collecting postcards has had a great influence on my life as I have learned so much about other countries and it has broadened my horizon.
“It is so interesting to contact people from all over the world, to correspond with them and to visit many of them during my various travels all around the world.
“I would be so happy if someone could help me with a nice postcard from Shetland.
“It’s such a fascinating place and it would be a pity if it was not represented in my collection.”
His postal address is: Rosenstrasse 15, D-66763 Dillingen (Saar), Germany
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