In 1986, 17-year-old Alena from Singapore started writing letters to people overseas through the International Youth Service. One of them was Chad Benson, a teenager from Devon, England.

“I sent it for the fun of it, not thinking that I was going to get a reply,” Alena said.

They kept writing for seven years and eventually began exchanging cassette tapes, sending more than 100 between them.

When Alena was 23, she decided to visit Chad in England. When he first saw her at Heathrow, his reaction was:

“Wow is she my pen pal?”

After spending 19 days together, their friendship turned into something more. They started calling almost every day, with Chad’s phone bill eventually reaching £350 a month and Alena’s £450.

In February 1994, Chad traveled to Singapore and proposed. Despite opposition from her parents, Alena chose to marry him.

“I came to a stage where I realized that we have so much history together and I couldn’t just let it go.”

She moved to the UK in 1995, and they married in Kingsbridge. They went on to raise three children.

Thirty years later, Chad still says:

“She is my best friend. We do everything together. She is an amazing woman.”

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/couple-who-met-as-teen-penpals-7000-miles-apart-celebrate-30-years-of-marriage/

Our Golden is the master of door boops. Persistent, too.

Man saves groundhog

there’s this flat we have but don’t live in and it’s in another city. went to the balcony and saw this majestic family outside. they can instantly brighten your mood. the baby looking towards me is very naughty.

wanna take them home w me but i stay in yet another city than my hometown and the puppy im currently taking care of would get angry on me. there’s also another cat i feed every now and then. he hates her like crazy.

i wanted to take all of them but i can only watch them. they are all so gorgeous. my favourite part of them is their eyes. their eyes draw me towards them.

I made a new book display at my local library in Vernon-Rockville, CT yesterday.

Here are some familiar faces on the back covers of books they previously wrote.

Have you read anything by these authors? Who is your favorite author?

I hope you enjoy this book display. Have a great day!

One fact about libraries in Connecticut: You can use your own library card (from the town you live in) at any public library in the state of Connecticut. You can borrow a book from one library and then return it to another and have it brought back to the original destination.

By @ breannawilson488

Love it 🥰

“An Asian water buffalo surfaces from Lake Kumana, Sri Lanka, wearing a bonnet of flowers.‘When this water buffalo lifted her head up, it looked like she had a fancy bonnet on so we called her Doris!’

Photograph: Andy Rouse/Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2026