Monday 1 March 2010

Plus ca change........

....plus c'est la meme chose! Yes - the more things change the more they are the same.

I have always had difficulty with that saying; not easy to understand I thought. But this morning it came to mind when a New Look Times arrived. (for New Look read go up 10p a day!)
Why is it that people need to change things when they are going well. Schools and education also spring to mind - you just get a system going well and whatever Government is in power will bring in a new system, or what they call a "new" teaching method (those of us who have been teaching for many years have usually seen it all before). What, of course, doesn't change is the students being educated - and the teachers educating them. They stay the same and have to adapt, often at the cost of some part of the overall care of the students. When I listen to friends who are still teaching and the amount of paperwork they have to get through, I am jolly pleased I have retired.
But, back to the Times. It is, from today, an All-in-One paper. I am quite pleased about this as frequently the second part is missing and I have to return to the shop and ask for it. This will no longer happen. But I know for certain that come tomorrow morning there will be letters of protest in the Times - and a corresponding number praising the new format (they must be seen to be impartial and show both sides of the argument...ha...ha)
When they went tabloid the readership went into overdrive. Now all the fuss has died down things are just as they were before. Irate crossword doers wrote in to say that when the cryptic crossword was on the back page they could fold the paper horizontally to do the crossword. Now it is on the inside back cover and the paper has to be folded vertically, which is not so easy!
I shall not be writing in. Inside it is just the same as it always was - the same editorials, the same attitudes, in other words I suppose a perfect example of plus ca change wouldn't you think?
Do you like change or would you prefer things to go on in the same old, sweet way?

Thank you so much for all the commiserations about my back pain. I have printed off all the replies so that I can sort through suggested treatments and remedies. You always come up trumps you lovely people. One thing is for sure - I am not alone in suffering back pain and that in itself is a great comfort. As for the heavy cold = it is only a light cold today and I am sure that by tomorrow it will have gone. But I really do appreciate your concern - thank you so much.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, the back problems..yes, we are many. I have found gentle yoga helps, a weekly visit to the chiropractor.. and not spending too much time on the computer, which is difficult, because there are so many fascinating blogs.

Loved the poem.

And I like change when it's good change, not so much the other way around. Isn't that true for most of us.

Cat said...

I like change for the most part but I find as I'm getting older that there are some areas of my life that I resist it. I love traditional church services as opposed to modern "productions". I'm constantly saying where are the hymns and why do I have to sing the chorus 20 times?
I'm sorry about your back. It seems everyone I know has a back problem of some degree. Take it easy and feel better soon.

Unknown said...

Ha! looking forward to Hubby coming home from work bearing the Times, just to see what you mean! As long as its the same correspondants and whatnot, it will be fine, I dont mind change, except of course if its an awful lot more expensive. Still we have to support our industries, journalists have to have work and be paid a decent living, the online papers and magazines that are free are putting jobs in jeperdy - so I will stick with my good old fashioned paper, and pay that little extra.
Glad your backs a bit better, I feel mine twinging now - too long sat in one position - what an old crock I feel!!

Vicky x

Tess Kincaid said...

I am such a hopeless romantic and love so many of the old ways. But, I'll have to admit, I haven't subscribed to a newspaper in years.

Eryl said...

The older I get the less change bothers me. I suppose this is because it is usually more, as you say here, of a reversion than actual change, and I've seen it all before. I was always very slow to adopt the definitely new, for example it took me fifteen years to get a microwave oven and I only recently got an electric kettle, but I look forward to the new these days.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Well, I suppose there is big change and trivial change. The trivial changes annoy me the most... like the moving of your paper's crossword puzzle. That sort of change often seems a bit ridiculous. The bigger changes in life are often unpleasant as well, but usually open new vistas one would never have dreamed up on one's own.

As for your back... my husband occasionally has that problem and I know from watching him how very painful and debilitating back pain can be. His is caused by muscle spasms. Rest and medication seem to be the only cures. When he feels better, he does seem to lie on the floor and stretch a lot.

Thinking of you!!

Unknown said...

Hello Weaver,

Well, I haven't read about your back yet but I can sympathise as I put mine out on Saturday and was in some discomfort! Fortunately, it's much better now after a few anti-inflammatory pain killers.

You are right to link "new" with "more expensive". They feel the need to justify the price hike. I don't like change just for the sake of it.

Heather said...

Glad to hear your cold is better and hope you will soon be able to say the same about your back. I agree with the saying 'if it ain't broke don't mend it' and don't like change for the sake of it. I know I'm a bit of a stick-in-the-mud but if a system has worked well for years, why alter it? So much money and time must be wasted when councils and governments decide to change things.

DJ said...

As a teacher of 25 years & counting, thanks for making your statement about education. I sometimes refer to it as a pendulum swinging from one "New Right Way Solution" to another. They just won't let it rest at center...the admin would have nothing to do & have to give up their positions.
Gentle Hugs~

Crafty Green Poet said...

Hope your back feels better soon.

I like change but not change for the sake of it. i can see a lot of things where change is more important than in the format of our newspapers...

Dinesh chandra said...

good post I m bussy with the International Litratury fest organise by Chandigarh Sahitya Acedemy,. So today I read all the post .

Regards

Dinesh Chandra

Dave King said...

Great to have you back. I thought you might be away longer than you have been. Doreen (my wife) suffers dreadfully from back pain as a result of teen-age polio, so I have some clue as to what you are going through.

I think the extra 10p sees me saying good-bye for now to The Times. I have been taking The Independent lately and think I will stick with it. Education sprang immediately to my mind when you mentioned changes which are often not real changes at all. If it aint broke, don't mend it is my philosophy. But then there's politics...

Dave King said...

Hi again"

Meant to wish you all the best (back-wise!) for the future.

Golden West said...

Hope you're feeling better soon, Weaver.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I suppose change makes us grow. Although, I'd rather dictate the change than have it hit me in the face.

I can appreciate the teaching changes. Having kids spanning several different "new" plans, I've often had to pick up the pieces for what the child didn't learn in the new process.

We cancelled our local newspaper. Considering I've begun my morning reading each word for over 20 years, quite the change. They went tabloid, as you say. Missed the news.
I'm sorry about your back. One never remembers how awful it is until feeling it. Get better soon.

BT said...

I like change except when it's a backward step, as with education in particular. My poor son was one of the children of the 70s when they gave up teaching the alphabet, it was all 'free expression' and he had a tin with words in. How we hated that tin. He's fine now, but I know his education suffered from all the 'new ideas'.

Granny Sue said...

Perhaps we learn what is truly important and what is not--although protesting the bomb and censorship would still bring you to the streets, I think, banner in hand.

Hoping your back is healing a bit so you can enjoy the spring.