Sophia Money-Coutts: When is a thank you letter still mandatory and when will a voice note (under a minute, please!) suffice

A letter? A letter? What is this — 1897 (Editor's note: incidentally, this is when Country Life was first published)? Do I have to cycle to the post box on a penny farthing?

Ahem, no it’s not, and no you don’t. There are various occasions now when you can get away with a thank you text — someone picked up the tab after dinner, someone gave you a book they thought you’d like, someone dog-sat for you, someone gave you unwarranted and ultimately quite unhelpful love life advice, but the thought was there. A brief WhatsApp or even a voice note (under a minute, please!) can work in these situations.

Alas, there are still moments when you still have to sit down, like a reluctant child after Christmas, and bash out a few thoughtful sentences by hand. After a wedding, after staying with someone for the weekend, or after a particularly inspired present.

That said, I’m a big fan of a postcard. Did you take an adorable snap of their baby during the weekend? Did you take a photo of the bride and groom, emerging from church, confetti floating into their open mouths? Go online and knock up a photo postcard, in that case, and write a few (heartfelt!) lines to go on the back of it. Quick, easy, still personal and delivered through the letterbox, but most importantly the website sends the postcard for you, which means it’ll arrive promptly rather than rolling around in the bottom of your bag until you remember to stick it in the post five months later.

Alternatively, make like my godson, Jack, who sent me a terrific thank you letter a few months ago. Jack is five, so it wasn’t a long or notably articulate letter. ‘Dear Sophia’ it said, in wobbly orange, felt-tip pen letters at the top of the page, and underneath that was a very rudimentary felt-tip drawing of a camera since I’d given him one for Christmas. ‘Love Jack,’ said more wobbly letters below his picture. That was it. Just a drawing, but I loved it so much I’ve framed it. So you could always try that after a wedding, and send a ropey sketch of a salmon canapé.