Growing up and moving into adulthood in working class UK suburbia, birthdays were mostly fun with only one or two exceptions. Parties, treats, a gift or two etc. Clearly, not everyone is that privileged, and I certainly appreciate that. When considering “landmark birthdays” however, it is both subjective and dependent upon where you live regarding what might be labelled as such.
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Memory is a funny thing isn’t it? I have an ability to recall things and recount their details (an enjoyable movie scene or who said what in a conversation for example), that a friend of mine referred to as semi-eidetic memory. However, my wife and I can pull up outside our local grocery store, she’ll ask me to go inside and grab a few things, and I’ll forget one or more of them! Similarly, nostalgia. Recalling things from times gone by very fondly…yet I don’t recall liking them at the time! Case in point – music.
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George Floyd’s 25th May 2020 death was an abhorrent example of racism towards African Americans in the USA. Although it already existed, it helped the #blacklivesmatter movement spread, with protests against racism across the world. I don’t condone the rioting and looting that has accompanied a lot of that in the USA, although I understand the anger that has motivated it and empathise with the genuine causes. Racism has no place in a modern civilised society.
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“Je ne regrette rien…”, Edith Piaf famously sang. What it must be to be without regret! We’ve all, at some stage of our lives, regretted actions we’ve taken, wondered “what if..?” about the alternative to a decision we made, or perhaps looked longingly over our shoulders at something that once was. Hindsight is frequently beneficial.
The few (!) changes on my CV over the years have occasionally made me feel a little self-conscious, especially when it’s examined by recruiters or interviewers. The same concern on my behalf has also come from older family members, a generation more often blessed with job longevity. The case for the defence is as follows, your honour:
I’ve posted before on this blog about my wife’s gardening efforts, and with spring strolling on and summer approaching in 2019, she’s been at it again (with some assistance from yours truly)…
I recently started considering childhood memories and / or memories of my own children when they were younger for blog subject inspiration. I used one of my own schoolboy memories for my last post, recalling writing a piece in response to extracts from Milton poetry during my English Literature A Level. The whole process got me thinking about “writing in response to…” as a means of kick-starting the creative muse. A worthwhile exercise, given that this blog is random in its subject matter as driven by said muse!
I was making notes for potential blog posts based on childhood memories and memories of my own children when they were younger, and my memory threw this one back at me…
My previous post spoke of motivation and used the example of my participation in the local Pantomime group. Voluntary things can of course easily be put aside if they become an issue, but if they’ve brought so much joy it would seem a waste to do so!
Why we do what we do and expend time and effort in doing it is different, depending on what “it” is. We go to work to pay the bills, kids go to school to learn, people diet to lose weight and improve fitness, and we indulge in hobbies and pastimes because we enjoy them. The motivation varies.
Debates and arguments see people all loudly shouting over one another to champion their own point of view. These often calm down amidst a sea of reasoned argument, presentation of facts and compromise to varying degrees, with even the most aggrieved parties shelving their resentment (or certainly being less vocal about them). With regards to the UK debate on ‘Brexit’ and leaving the EU, the utter refusal of many people to even listen to anything that contradicts their own opinions, both opposing argument or cold hard facts, has seen the debate become a hideously toxic mess.
I recently joined a number of blogging groups on Facebook. My own blog isn’t commercial or filled with affiliate links, so joining those groups wasn’t flagrant self-promotion (!) but was simply a desire to get better at blogging. To see the efforts of others, to share, to advise. To receive advice and feedback, and invite opinion on topics covered in blog articles if I choose to share them with this now wider audience. One thing that leapt out at me however, as part of an exercise on one group when we all invited to share a link to a post and comment on / share links shared by others: Spelling, grammar and punctuation!
“Blogging forces you to teach yourself what you don’t know and to articulate what you do…you are forced to organise your thoughts…”
Michael B Fishbein, The Huffington Post 2014
For some time now, I’ve had it in my mind to write a blog post about why one could or should write a blog. That’s not because I feel some sort of urge to magnanimously share information, nor is it to impose my opinion on that subject on others. It’s not even because I’ve been asked by several people, each for their own reasons (and with varying degrees of hostility!), why I do it. Blogs are all so different; general news blogs, tech reviews, fans of a movie / TV show, cooks sharing recipes, even attempts to influence government policy and campaign on particular issues. The list is endless! Equally so, there are a variety of reasons one could cite for writing them, and the benefits for both writer and reader.
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, life is indeed like a box of chocolates – we don’t know what we’re going to get. It is full of variety, the human factor being the ultimate randomiser. In theory therefore, we should be prepared for this variety, good or bad. That doesn’t alter the fact that things happening which are unexpected, or that do not fit into some form of perceived “norm”, feel downright odd or just plain upsetting!