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Posts Tagged ‘Personal Journey’

I had to smile at an article by Paul Valley in the Independent on sleep and sleep deprivation in modern life, it is worth a read: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/paul-vallely-modern-life-is-slowing-us-down-2179639.html

As is often the case, in writing a comment to it, it set off a train of other thoughts concerning the way people seem to be living their lives today. Inevitably me being an old fart these days, there is the tendency to write stuff along the lines of: “In my day…” but in all truth, there may be some value in that too so, here goes…

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An interesting and quite amusing article the other day in the Telegraph called “Tablets and Mobile Phones” led me to contemplate the potential: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/ces/8240216/CES-2011-tablets-and-mobile-phones.html

This was of course, bought about by the opening of the CES Show in California. I think CES stands for ‘Consumer Electronics Show’ but in reality, it is a boy’s toys Gizmo event rather than the latest “domestic white goods”. But all that said, it did start a train of thought for me based upon the “latest toys for over grown boys” and the following is the result…

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In simple terms and as usual, I just don’t have any because frankly I cannot see just why that a particular hour on a particular day will make you ‘do something’ you clearly have no desire to do like giving up smoking, losing weight, going to the gym 4 times a week and so on and so forth. When it comes to such “Giving Up/Doing Better Stakes” and even with the most ‘benign alignment of planets’, midnight on the 31^st December really just isn’t motivational in any way.

The key to any ‘lifestyle change’ (what a toss pot phrase that is), lies in a personal motivation: “I want to lose weight because I hate what I look like in a mirror” or, “I know it’s unhealthy but also, smoking is really just too expensive, I’m spending £70 a week on it !”

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Although not an earth shattering event, I awoke today to my 65th birthday, I am now official an Old Age Pensioner as well as just being an ‘Old Git’. I cannot report that I felt any different, there were no string quartets and choirs of Angels to herald the dawn, in fact it was a pretty ordinary day.

With one exception: Having a birthday immediately after Christmas means that it is often forgotten or ‘over looked’ by most and yet this year, at least by my low standards, there were quite a number of phone calls, e-mails and a flurry of birthday cards and even, one or two presents so, yes it was an unusual birthday in this regard. There were no great events of celebration,  I had my ride by the River Brue, my friend John came round to help me reassemble a bed and my afternoon treat was a visit to the Blood Pressure Clinic but never the less, that is how some birthdays go !

This week saw another “Student Protest over Fees”, yet again hi-jacked by the usual ‘undesirables’ and also the ‘Final of the X-Factor’ which saw Cher Lloyd voted out by the public phone poll with the lowest votes which was both predictable if not, rather pathetic.

However, at the end of this week, there are two clear winners and I guess, multiple losers. Simon Cowell for one of the most “brilliant vehicles/concept” of recent times with the “X-Factor” show and Cher Lloyd, without doubt an amazing and original talent who was voted off the show. The total losers this week goes to the so called students who turned out to protest (about being unshaggable ?), and in the process, even alienated their own parents.

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Really this just follows on from my previous blog post “Coming Home” and is part of that process which started on my recent trip to London which led to the laying of some ghosts for me plus my reassessing previous assumptions and trying to plot my way forward from where I am today.

However, it is rather more than just this because our view of any ‘journey’ is predicated by where we start our travels from and in this regard, past memories and our reactions or, how we handled things at that time, can provide helpful clues to decisions we have to make today. Although ‘history’ does not repeat itself in exactly the same way, as people we can often have the unfortunate habit of repeating our past mistakes if we are not careful.

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I was born in Hackney Hospital but bought up in South London and although I have lived away from London, the City of my birth, I have always returned to it frequently indeed, for many years and no matter where I was then living, I always insisted on meeting up with friends and having my birthday celebrations there which fall just after Christmas.

I suppose that either you are a “city person” or you are not, I have always been a “city boy” and consequently have always felt at ease in cities both here and abroad. Apart from one fleeting visit, I have not been to ‘my London’ for the six and a half years I have spent in Somerset, nursing my Parents through the final stages of their lives. However, this week I took the time to do so…

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For sheer arrogance and nonsense, it would be hard to beat this editorial in the Independent last Monday morning: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-a-few-words-that-could-prove-a-revolutionary-moment-2140330.html

It had to have a response and it is sad I’m away for a few days because I’m sure that there will be lots of flack from other readers. However, N.B. Having returned from my travels, there was only one respondent and that of little comprehension, I couldn’t work out quite what they were trying to communicate in response to my comments but thought that in the end, they had ‘personal issues’ which seemingly are as yet, unresolved.

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Whilst I have no doubt that the usual “Moaning Minnies” will come out of the woodwork or from whatever rocks they live under, the idea of a Royal Wedding next year is wonderful and for the vast majority of us, even if we get sick of the saccharin, creepy media coverage between now and then, something to look forward to in austere times.

There will be moans about the “cost to the taxpayer” from some miserable sods but frankly, let us blow the buggers off right now. We do this type of occasion with full Pomp & Circumstance, bloody well so, let’s blow a bit of the budget on having a great big, joyous party to celebrate a great event. These seem like a ‘real couple’ who know each other very well so, little chance of that “Fairy Tale Crap” that so dogged William’s Parents ill fated marriage.

Good Luck to them Both !

As we are now in mid November, I have reached the point where I as usual, just stop shopping until the New Year and that includes the Internet which is my favourite form of shopping. This may just be an age and stage thing, but still…

When I moved down to Somerset to look after my Parents, my children, their grandchildren would often ask me what Nan and Granddad wanted for Christmas/Birthday and my replies were just never that helpful because when you reach a certain age and stage, the simple answer is “nothing” or at least, nothing you could expect someone else to buy you.

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