From Australia to Scotland, penpals celebrate 70 years of friendship on opposite sides of the world

Connecting with the people we love from a distance is something many of us have had to adjust to in 2020, but it is something Jill Stretton has been doing for most of her life.

In 1950, 12-year-old Jill Stretton (then Frankling) started writing to a girl in Scotland, called Cathie Alexander (then MacIntosh), whose address had been given to her by a family friend who had returned from Scotland.

From their correspondence grew a friendship that has endured a lifetime.

“She is just like one of the family,” Ms Stretton said.