Tag: life

Thoughts 27/5/24

Do you remember life before the internet?

Do I remember life before the Internet?

Oh yes I remember it very well. I came from a generation that was around just before computer technology started to appear. When I was at school I was probably in my fifth year as a senior at around the age of 16 and it was only just then, that computer technology was starting to appear on the school curriculum, as I was preparing to leave education.

When I left school and started my first job I remember my first months wages were spent purchasing a Sinclair ZX 81 microcomputer, wow this was amazing. I was a bit confused at first though because I opened the box and I plugged it in and I just expected it to work, it was a bit of a shock that you actually had to learn how to program the device before you got anything out of it, however I soon mastered the programming of the basic computer language and I was soon able to program some good little games. Next I moved onto the Commodore 20 a lovely little computer but all my friends were buying the better quality Commodore 64. From the Vic 20 I went down the route of trying the Amstrad Computers, i think it was called the 364 or 464 depending on whether you had Green screen or a colour VDU.

To be honest i still look today at buying an old Sinclair ZX 81 or spectrum, little collectors pieces now but I did enjoy it before the Internet kicked in.

I was just a standard youngster of the day who would go out with his friends and be playing football, cricket, marbles or conkers dependent on what season it was. We used to have great life climbing trees, making bows and arrows, catapults you name it. I feel sorry for the kids nowadays because they don’t have that freedom.

I went out for a meal with my wife a few weeks ago and there was a family of five, mum dad and three kids and I should imagine the kids were only About 12 years old ranging down to a youngster that was probably two years old sitting in a high chair. Every single one of them was on a computer device of some kind or a mobile phone or iPad and I just said to my wife at that point,”look at that, the art of conversation has totally disappeared”. There’s an entire family sitting there and not one of them was speaking to each other. They were all too engrossed in what was going on in other peoples worlds, rather than discussing their own families funny moments, concerns, or achievements.

Yes I do miss the time pre Internet. I think everyone was a better conversationalist back then, to say something to someone you had to walk around to their house, knock on the door, see if they were in and then tell them what you wanted to say face to face.

That dosen’t happen now, we have now produced a generation of people who just don’t do conflict unless they are hidden behind a screen and a keyboard, and that is where I believe most of the anger and hatred spouts from nowadays.

There’s no going back and I’m not saying we should, there was a lot of bad back in those days that is probably the reason children especially, don’t enjoy the freedoms today that we had back then.

So it’s horses for courses, we must move forward with the times, yes we probably had wonderful childhoods but we must not get stuck in the past and genuinely have to evolve, however much we dislike it.

I remember my parents fretting about the future back in the 70s, we are just clones of them and the never ending circle of life just trundles on.

Peace to you all.

Thoughts 2/5/24

What gives you direction in life?

Most mornings I discuss these questions with my wife as I use this blog like a journal that I used to keep beside my bed. In that journal I used to write my feelings and fears and left it there for her to read so she never had to worry about me hiding anything from her, being a blokey bloke sometimes you just can’t talk, this was my way of dealing with it.

Anyway I’m drifting here. The reason I discuss these things with the wife is that she sometimes knows me better than I know myself. She jokingly said to me that “I give you directions” however I corrected her and said yes, that’s right for directions, but this is direction in the singular sense.

Targets

What gives me Direction?

For me I have to have goals or targets in everything I do. I give myself a timescale on all my projects, I set myself small targets in pretty much everything. Even holidays are booked to have that something to aim for and the next holiday is usually already booked before we depart on the first one, ensuring continuity in timescales.

It all sounds very anal I know, but it keeps me in line and I’m happy if I’ve got something to aim for.

That’s direction for me. Look forward and don’t spend too much time dwelling in the past.

Have a wonderful day everyone

The best laid plans and all that…

It’s just gone four in the morning, the birds are awakening and I’m stuck in an office in Leicestershire awaiting my next call out of this long night shift.

Despite weather reports being favourable it has been heaving down with rain for the past few hours , and it doesn’t look as if it’s going to let off at any time today.

It’s a rainy night in Leicestershire

This is pretty much a post about gardening, another activity I like to get involved in, and at the moment I have a project underway that was pretty much weather dependent.

I have begun the digging out of a small part of the garden in preparation for laying a small patio area. Our garden is pretty much clay based under the grass and to be honest as a result of that drainage is not brilliant. We never used to have issues with drainage due to there being 12 trees in situ that the previous owner had planted, he never looked after them and they became diseased. These sucked every bit of moisture from the garden and never gave us any issues with pooling water.

Turf removal
Digging out

Fast forward a couple of years and those trees had to be removed due to the aforementioned disease, right down to the roots. Now during the normal British rain season ( most of the year ) we have pools developing around the garden. We are replanting a number of smaller trees but it’s going to be some time before they are drinking the quantities of rain water we usually get here in the East Midlands.

I chose this week to do my digging as it was forecast to be the driest week in a while and there was a sufficient chance of me getting all the digging done and getting the sub base in place before any inclement weather arrived.

I sit here this morning cursing so called weather forecasts.

I have been doing work between night shifts spreading it out and was so pleased with progress thus far. I removed all turf yesterday and today started digging out to about 15 c/m and started to level the area out. All excess soil was being spread around the flower beds of the front and rear garden so nothing was going to waste at all.

I stopped work on the garden at about 4 pm yesterday, well happy with progress telling the wife I had about another 2 days of work to do on levelling before we could start to get the sub base in place and compacted prior to paving, hopefully the job would be completed by next Sunday.

That’s not going to happen.

Looking at my security camera in the garden I can see that the patio area has now taken on the look of a pond and later today I half expect to see a couple of ducks taking residence.

The moral of this story is , weather forecasts don’t work. It’s not yet an art despite all the technological advances over the years.

Check progress here: The best laid plans and all that…Pt2

And don’t tell the wife when the job will be finished as she’s now got me tied to that timescale and I know now that is not going to be achieved.

I am a fool

Stay happy people. You are so special.

Thoughts 3/3/24

What are three objects you couldn’t live without?

I live with my wife and dog. I do not wish to objectify or itemise them as they do not deserve that, they deserve an immense amount of love and respect, I’m just putting it out there that they are all I need in my life and have been for many years.

However as I dutifully have to make a choice or three here we go.

  • Medication 💊 without the two that I currently take (I won’t go in to detail) I guess it would be game over so to be honest this is probably the most relevant
  • Books 📕 my constant thirst for knowledge and learning means that this object slots comfortably into second place. As I’m a child of the sixties it’s books over Internet all day long, as the internet didn’t exist then, fast forward 3 decades and my choice if I’d been born in a different era might be slightly different.
  • Camera 📷 what better way to remember all those wonderful places, people and memories you have created along the way. Whether using the old film cameras of my generation or the new fandango units and phones of today, how else are you going to peek into time gone by and put a smile back on your face.

Yep, I’m happy with that, had to think a bit but these are the three items I could not live without.

Be happy my friends, peace to you all.

Thoughts 2/3/24

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

My father was a demon. Consumed with jealousy towards my mother she couldn’t speak to anyone without being questioned about her motives. Most of my formative years were spent as a youngster protecting her and my younger sister from his rage. Going to bed at night as a young teenager with a metal bar under the covers to be ready to go at him should he fly into another of his rage’s leaves a scar on my memory to this day, almost 40 years later.

I always stated that I would never be like him, and all these years later I think I’ve done ok. My life is better than his, I have achieved more than him and I have never raised my hand to anyone especially a female in my entire life, so in theory I think I have won.

He still haunts me in my dreams though and it is as if I am still being challenged by him even though he is no longer here.

I’ve grown from this experience, no child should ever have to suffer this amount of emotional abuse, no female should ever have to live through that constant fear of an abusive partner. No man should ever be capable of such coercion.

But it happens.

Just not in my life anymore… I’ve grown.

Stay smiling, you are a beautiful person who deserves happiness.

Thoughts 25/3/23

Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

Not just teacher but probably the most influential person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in my life was Mr.Michael Twelftree my Junior school tutor in the two years prior to moving up to secondary school.

I was at Little Reddings Junior school in Bushey Hertfordshire circa 1976/7 our class was in free fall as previous teachers had lost control of us, Mr.Twelftree stepped in for our final two years and boy was he strict. Strict but fair, he had a stack of canes in the corner that he gave you the choice of when it was your turn to receive a wack for some reason. Very rarely administered however just the thought of it made you stay in line.

He taught me and others to sail, something I still try to do to this day, we learnt so much from him, he taught the lot English, Maths, Geography, Science and all sports and made us competitors and despite his strict ethic he taught us respect and he brought out the best in everyone he taught.

We learnt all about different knots as part of our sailing training, this resulted in us having a noose hanging from the classroom ceiling as a demonstration of a knot, you wouldn’t find that in a modern day classroom.

He taught me to be a better person, shaped me up well for my future and prepared me and my fellow students well for the next move in our academic advancement.

I respected this man better than my own father, I know this sounds terrible but he shaped my life and I like to think I didn’t turn out too bad as a result. My own father unfortunately didn’t step up to his role in my life but the less said about that the better.

I would have loved to meet Mr.Twelftree again and shake his hand and say just two small words

Thank you 🙏

A night at the opera

Life’s to do list has always been quite extensive for me. Within that list was the wish to attend an opera for the first time. That wish came true at the grand old age of 57, on Friday 24th March 2023 at the Demontfort hall in Leicester.

The Ukrainian Opera and Ballet company from Kyiv were here performing Puccini’s La Boheme.

La Boheme – Puccini (Picture from brochure supplier, not my own)

I had a read up of what to expect the night prior to attending. I must say I was not at all disappointed, it was a beautiful experience, wonderful singing and you cannot beat a live orchestra. Those stringed instruments sounded heavenly and it was a few hours of entertainment that I must admit just took you away from the pressures of modern life and transported you back to a time when the world was running at a slower pace.

Did i enjoy it? You bet ya, however I’ll have to attend the next one with someone who appreciates this entertainment as the wife does not fit that category.

I feel as if a void in my life has now been filled, I have found an appreciation for this type of entertainment that I thought I did not have. My journey into the world of opera has begun.

Long May it last.

Thoughts 23/3/23

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

We were in Iceland about 5 weeks ago. A fantastic holiday full of spontaneity, I just wish I could lead that life 24hrs a day. Anyway I’m drifting now, the point of this post is that spontaneous action resulted in me getting a Tattoo there and then in Reykjavik at a local tattoo studio.

Helm of Awe and Icelandic runes

It’s a Nordic protection in battle symbol called a “Helm of awe” used to strike fear into people in the early years of the islands forming, I’ve used it as a protection in life of sorts. The Icelandic runes are the letters D & E that relate to the wife and my names.

So that’s what I’ve had done, I’m now looking at having another couple done relating to my home county. I think tattoos are great and that there are some stunning ones out there if done properly.

Mind you, you don’t half see some right rotten ones. Must admit they’re not for everyone but at the end of the day what you do to your own skin is your decision and yours only.

Enjoy and be happy 👍

Thoughts 17/2/24

What activities do you lose yourself in?

I’m rather fortunate in having a number of interests to get involved in, however more often than not work gets in the way.

How many times have you made that resolution that this year “ I’m going to work to live not live to work” and each year you reneged on that resolution. I have for god knows how many years, but this year there has been a change.

My health is getting no better and I’m now looking at this as being a warning to me to get things in an order of priority. Work, it’s given me PTSD what with all the traumatic issues I’ve experienced and nothing else, so I’m giving it less time and attention by cutting out all overtime, turning that damned phone off and spending quality time with my wife and dog. I’m treating those rare days off as family days and so far so good.

It might be only me and the wife getting away to some away football games, but we love these days out and win lose or draw (mainly lose at the moment) we love these days out. Cutting out the work ensures this can happen.

I love art, I’m useless at it but I love it, I love fixing and repairing old cameras, I love repairing electronics, i love a beer and I like to socialise with family and friends.

I’m realising my enemy here, though an essential for achieving stability is work.

I’m on a countdown to retirement now and I class my current actions as a trial for retirement and I’m really enjoying it I’m 58 going on 80 at the moment.

The message i’m trying to get across here is not to put things off. If you pledge to do something follow it through, there comes a time when it is all just too late and you don’t want to be laying there prior to taking your last breath having regrets. Do it all, do it today. Live, love ❤️ and be happy. Always.