Defragmenting Love

A Cambridgeshire widower in UK has spent 15 years piecing back together thousands of fragments of romantic notes that he sent to his late wife. Ted Howard, 82, wrote 98 letters to Mollie during seven years courting as he travelled Europe as a farm worker.
But Mrs Howard tore them into pieces and stuffed them in a cushion after she caught someone reading them in 1953. Mr Howard, of Ramsey, wrote the amorous letters on hotel writing paper as he travelled the UK, Ireland, France and Holland in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
But Mrs Howard, who died three years ago, tore each one into more than 20 pieces creating more than 2,000 fragments, some smaller than a thumbnail. Mr Howard said: "I still miss Mollie terribly but having the memories helps me through. The letters brought back so many good times."
Mr Howard has now written a book based on the letters, which will be dedicated to his wife and called A Week At Stanton. The retired farm worker and machinery demonstrator, said: "It was love at first sight. No two ways about it. I was at a village feast (fair) and this girl jumped off the carousel and came careering into me. "It turned out to be Mollie. That was 19 July 1948." Mollie was 18 at the time and Ted was 23. They married in 1955 and went on to have three children and six grandchildren.