2 Medways divided by the Atlantic connect through pen pal project

Wake Lloire loves how slow letter writing is, from composition right to its arrival at its final destination by mail. It's like a "little time capsule."

That's why the art boutique owner, who spends time in Port Medway, N.S., was so eager to write their first letters to three new pen pals in Medway, England.

Lloire is one of dozens of people from the two similar-named communities on each side of the Atlantic who are now connecting through the Two Medways Pen Pal Project.

"The idea of meeting strangers through handwritten letters is just like a magical thing that we don't do anymore," said Lloire.

The project was initiated online by Audra Williams in Port Medway, a small village on Nova Scotia's South Shore, in late November. She hopes that people can tackle loneliness by mailing letters to each other.

Williams and her husband run Rosefinch Mercantile & Tea Room, a business that consists of a grocery, a post office and a café in Port Medway.

"We have the mandate of eliminating loneliness," Williams said. "So I’m always looking for ways to connect people."

She was inspired to connect the two communities in an old-fashioned way after reading an article by Ed Jennings, who runs an independent news site in Medway, England.

He had written about Port Medway, and introduced the pen pal project to his locals as a "slightly quaint, retro way of making a connection with someone new somewhere far away."

Port Medway has about 300 residents. Seely Hall and the Old Port Medway Cemetery mark the historical legacy of the maritime village.

Medway in the U.K. is an industrial urban area in southeastern England, consisting of a cluster of towns for about 280,000 people.

But they both sit on the rivers named Medway, and enjoy a glorious shipbuilding history.

Now they also have people who long for connections and a slow life. In less than a month, 68 participants signed up to become pen pals.

People are advised to fill out a form online with information of personal interests, letter preferences and address, then Williams and Jennings will recommend the pairing.