Pen pals for 52 years meet for first time, recognise each other instantly

They exchanged up to 600 letters and emails over the years, and say distance didn't stop them from getting close

Two pen friends who wrote each other for five decades have finally met and both recognised each other instantly, despite never having exchanged photographs.

According to Mail Online, Linda Bennett, 63, from England, started writing to Canada based Karen Baksi, 63, when they were children. They exchanged up to 600 letters and emails over the years, and say the distance didn't stop them from becoming close friends. Though it became easier when the internet came in and they could exchange emails every couple of days.

Linda and Karen first started writing to each other aged 12, when Linda was in her first year of high school.



Linda said, “My math teacher, at the time, Miss Farrow, had a sister in Canada who was also a teacher. She got us all to write down our likes and dislikes to match us up with her sister's pupils. I was paired with Karen as we were both into sports, and from then on, we just didn't stop writing to each other. We carried on writing, and over the years we have shared our most important life events.”



Both ladies have been through a lot together for people who had never met; sharing marriages, a divorce, the birth of children and exchanging countless birthday and Christmas cards.

Karen, who worked as a school administrator, recalls telling Linda about all her precious moments, including when she was expecting a baby. The two pen pals also swapped more trivial details, like their cars breaking down - and how excited they were when they bought their first cassette players.



Although they'd sent each other photographs of their children when they were born, they had never once exchanged snaps of each other in the half a century they were corresponding.

After sharing every milestone in their lives via letters and emails, they finally met for the first time last weekend when Karen flew to London.
Both women were hugely excited when Karen and her family finally booked a flight to London and the they arranged to meet.



Describing the build up, Linda said, “It was absolutely brilliant. It was definitely a mixture of emotions waiting for her. There was some anticipation, but mainly I was really looking forward to meeting this person I had never met, there was a feeling of "would I recognise her"? but I saw her straight away.

“I sent her a bouquet of flowers to her hotel room, and she arrived wearing one of the sunflowers. It was fantastic. It was just wonderful to compare our lives and catch up with her children, it felt like we really knew them and they are true friends, it was as if I had known them for years. The only time we stopped talking was when we sat down to watch Jersey Boys at the theatre.”



Karen on the other hand was equally excited about the meeting. As quoted by Mail Online, she said, “We are so much alike and had fun catching up on our lives. We had no problems keeping up the conversation. I have to admit I was a little nervous back in Toronto thinking about our first meeting, but when we finally met it felt like we'd just not seen each other in quite a while.

“The funny thing is we both had kept our letters to each other and I brought over her first two letters that she wrote to me. What a laugh we had over them.”



She added, “Linda has always been my friend, and after writing for 51 years I truly believe that. We had a wonderful day together and I wish we had done it sooner. My husband and I want to go back some day. It was sad to say goodbye but I feel that we will see each other again.”

Linda said her and husband Eric found true friends for life in Karen and husband Ron, and they hope to go to Canada in the near future.