‘What’s a pen pal’ queried one of my offspring this week - peering over the top of a school book.

Born into a world of email, text and other online messaging - the concept of writing regular letters to people you may have never have met was somewhat intriguing.

Intriguing and also expensive in this day and age I pondered, for anyone still keeping in touch with acquaintances from afar?

Because from next month, the price of a first class stamp will increase to a whopping £1.65 .

‘Very real and urgent financial challenges’ says Royal Mail have forced its hand, as the organisation tries to mitigate last year’s eye-watering £419 million loss.

It’s hard to believe that in 2020 - at the start of the pandemic - the price to send a letter first class cost us just 76p.

But while posties must deliver six days a week under current rules, the cost to get us each item has increased significantly, say postal chiefs, as the volume and rate at which we send mail is forever decreasing.

Now while I don’t meticulously track neither the volume of post we get - or when - I’m not convinced those are targets repeatedly being met where I live?

Not least because the last birthday card I posted first class in August took three days to reach its intended recipient in the next town.

And last Christmas we regularly went days - at one point well over a week - without any sign of a letter or card.

In fact so significant were the complaints in Kent last winter, with people missing hospital appointments, greetings cards and the like, that Kentonline decided to put sorting offices to the test.

According to Royal Mail’s most recent performance records - 79.1% of first class mail arrived within one working day in the three months to June 30, meaning it missed key targets set by the communications watchdog.

But as someone only calling on the service every six weeks or so at best, have I really got any right to complain? Or am I simply part of the problem and somewhat to blame?

Use it or lose it comes to mind.

Albeit at £1.65 for a first class stamp (or 85p for second) I can’t be the only one already mentally preparing to scale back the Christmas card lists this year?

In fact Father Christmas himself might be lucky to receive any correspondence at this rate.

Has anyone got an email address for the North Pole?