Sunday 12 January 2014

What is your opinion?

I was castigated by my son last night for always putting on posts which went on about the past.  It began when I put on a post about our writers' meeting, where we all wrote about going up into the loft, and all of us - without exception - wrote about finding things up there which brought back past memories.   In reply (you can read it in the comments a few posts back if you haven't already done so) he wrote a short (very short) story about finding a skeleton in his loft.

Now he says I write about childhood and the "suffering" of no central heating, water freezing in bedrooms etc. far too much.   Do you think this is true?   Do folk want to read about what life was like in 'the old days' or do we all want to look only forward and forget?

I feel it is important for these memories to be passed down the generations, but perhaps I am completely wrong.   Perhaps 'the past is the past' is the right way to go.

Certainly young folk today have so much more opportunity than we did (apart from the area of getting a job) - the world is their oyster.  I know of so many young folk who have gone off backpacking for a year - what a marvellous experience - or gone off to be an au-pair for a year before University as friend M's grand-daughter has just done.

I suppose each age is content with what it has - we can't possibly imagine what the next generation will have can we?   But please tell me - should I stop going on about the past and get 'modern'?

Have a good Sunday.    It was thick fog here but it is gradually clearing and I suspect the weak, watery sun may well get out for a while at least before the expected rain arrives.

You will see I did get my photographs on from yesterday - hope you enjoy them.

35 comments:

Arija said...

Pat, take no notice of young 'uns who do not know what life may yet offer. When the hard times come, and come they will, they need to have at least heard anecdotally, how to cope with them. You certainly are not harping on the hardships of the times but rather sharing the memories of the being able to cope. Keep it up!

Love yesterday's photos. It is so good to see the countryside and what is around you through your eyes.
Loved the wealth of wild apples. The parrots have ripped all mine off the trees even though they had two layers of netting over them.

Barbara said...

Oh, Pat , don't get "modern" and please keep sharing about "the old days"!
I am in total agreement with you that these things need to be passed down from generation to generation. If, for no other reason, than to show the younger generation that they do indeed have much for which to be grateful. It's always amazing to me just how much things have changed in a relatively short period of time.
The commenter Arija said it better than I, but please keep sharing your memories!
Lovely photos from your walk. I hope you have more pleasant un-wintry days this winter.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE to hear stories from others past. I have learned to appreciate how others have dealt with good times and bad. So keep writing (and you do write very well). This is your blog, let him get his own.
Sandy O'

Rachel Phillips said...

Yes, Dominic is right. Turn up the central heating, get the t-shirts and shorts on, join FB, take a selfie, chuck out the jig-saw and get an X-Box..

Cro Magnon said...

When your son gets towards retirement age, he too will start to reminisce. Younger people look forward; older people look back.

Elizabeth said...

I really enjoy all your posts A&M as the hymnal would have it.
There is a place for all sorts of things on your blog.
As I have repeatedly and boringly suggested before, I think you should collect your recollections in a short -or long -book. Other commenters please join me in encouraging Weaver!

Linda Metcalf said...

I love "the good old days" posts...takes me back to my childhood. My grandchildren marvel at the stories...I believe remembering the past sets a learning stage for the future. Keep them coming!

Dartford Warbler said...

It won`t be many years before your son is looking back and reminiscing!

Pat, please keep going just as you are. Your blog is a good mixture of daily journal keeping, records of your treasured memories and a chance to "put the world to rights". Balanced and always interesting.

ladyfarrier said...

I enjoy reading your blog daily about things past and present. Please, don't change a thing.

littlemancat said...

I love your blog as it is because it is so many things. There is a nice balance, good photographs, and a sharing of experiences. I remember being somewhat impatient with so called reminiscing as a young person, but now I wish I had paid more attention to the remembrances of my family members.
Your writings are interesting and thoughtful, keep on, please.
Mary

Crafty Green Poet said...

I like your posts about your personal stories from the past, it's important to blog about the past, otherwise we'll forget how things used to be.

Tom Stephenson said...

I'm with you on this one, Weave. The past is the only way that we can get to grips efficiently with the future.

I found a skeleton in my cupboard last night - almost literally, but it was a letter, not a skeleton.

We don't want to rest on our laurels, but your son will one day find out that the past is the only thing left to look forward to.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I think your readers are all (with perhaps the exception of your son!) people who are interested in hearing about the past. Your past is different than my past. It is unique. And I find it, especially in the way you write about it, quite fascinating. Also, most of you posts are not about the past, but what you are doing right now, the little trips you take, the people you meet, the changes in your landscape as the seasons move on. I like what people have said in their comments. They all have excellent points.

Mary said...

Please don't change a thing in your posts Pat - some current and teaching us so much about life on a farm, some your reminiscences of life in England as it used to be - in the 'good old days'.
Perhaps I'm greedy but I want more of those days - those posts remind me/shower me with memories of my own childhood. Although I was south of you, Devon countryside was similar and I spent a lot of childhood time around farms, villages and moorland (Dartmoor) as well as at the beach!
Keep on keeping on Pat - some day your son will be so thankful that you shared your life experiences here on your blog - and of course there's still time for the book too dear!

Hugs - Mary

Pondside said...

I'm having trouble commenting - keeps on timing out......
Please don't change a thing, Pat. I come by for the variety of your posts. Your feet may be in the present, and your attitude is truly 21st century, but I love it when you let your writing 'free range'. The past is part of us and I really enjoy it when you reminisce.

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Good afternoon, Pat! While studying to be an acupuncturist, I was fairly steeped in Eastern thought in school. We were regularly reminded there that each word we speak and each action we take should "Serve the Children and Honor the Ancestors." I do believe your blog does just that!

Mac n' Janet said...

Please don't ever stop writing about the past, I love your posts.

Heather said...

Please don't get modern Pat - I love reading your reminiscences and posts about the past. It brings back my own memories and I was fortunate to have a very happy childhood and youth. Tell your son he'll understand when he's older!

MorningAJ said...

Here's a clue. You have 17 or 18 comments on this post. You rarely have single figures. People are reading your blog and interacting with it. I'd say your son is talking nonsense!

the veg artist said...

I love your posts, and think there is a place for both old and new. New, because without innovators we would still be living without the wheel, and old because I do think it's important for younger people to know that it was possible to survive, even thrive, without fitted this and that, up-to-date fashion, food that has travelled further than we ever will and more money than they know what to do with!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

If we forget the past we have nothing to base our future on. I love reading about 'the old days'. It has a way of making us feel at home in what is sometimes a harsh and confusing world. And just wait - one day your son shall be remembering his "good old days", just like you do.

Not commenting on the past takes away a lot of good information and energy that today's world needs. I think some young people need the examples and information - and instructions, that the past has to offer.

I even wrote a whole book about the past - it is the story of our family when we first moved to Alaska in the 1950s - a land that was much more primitive than the part of California that we came from. I've had many many comments on the book about how it cheered people to recall actual events in the book, people they remembered, or for those who are not familiar with the locations and people in the book - comments about how the enjoyed reading about Alaska before it became a state. The book is "Are We Walking To Alaska?"

I hope you continue writing about the past - and the present - I enjoy all your posts.

mrsnesbitt said...

You write from the heart Pat - you cant alter anything. Dxxx

jinxxxygirl said...

Don't you dare stop talking about the past! I come here to read about your reminiscing. Honestly you just talk about anything you like and i'll read it okay?! Hugs! deb

Unknown said...

Your blog is one of the most interesting as well as educational ones I like to read. "The old days" are remembered differently in the States as many here did not live in rural areas nor have homes without central heat, etc. Even the Christmas holidays are observed in a different manner as for decorations, gifts, meals, and the exchange of cards. Cards are becoming almost a thing of the past due to email. I always learn something when I visit your blog so keep it up!!!

Robin Mac said...

Morning AJ says it all - you always have lots of comments on your posts, obviously we all love reading them, please don't stop. So glad you could post the photos for the previous blog, they are lovely. Cheers

angryparsnip said...

I enjoy your posts about what is going on "today" at the farm and your
"past" stories. That is why I read your blog.
In fact it is usually yours or John's blog that read first, depending on what time I read my dashboard and who has their post up.
Please don't change a thing.

cheers, parsnip

it's me said...

Don't change a thing--I love your blog!

Virginia said...

Oh, for goodness sake! Please keep sharing your stories with us! They spark such wonderful memories of stories my family has told over the generations and I, for one, thoroughly enjoy them.

Love your photos too.

By the way, I recently unearthed a book from my childhood called "Milly-Molly-Mandy" about a little girl living with parents and an extended family in the early 1900s. Does anyone else remember reading it? Very dated, but charming.

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

I enjoy your blog just as you have been creating it. I hope you don't change it. Arija said it all perfectly.

Anonymous said...

Loved Rachel's comment - 'get the t-shirt and shorts on, join FB, take a selfie etc...get an X-Box.
I wouldn't know what an X-Box looked like if I fell over it.
What I can tell you is that my direct line of vision is not what it used to be and I did just that with the scales this morning, after weighing myself a half-hour earlier. Quite the big trip.
It's nice to know that others can relate, which is one of the joys of your blog.
In dear Dominic's favor, he is at least interested that you are writing here, even if he didn't realize how much your followers disagree with his sentiments.
Our collective pasts cover such a wide and interesting area and yes, as Cro Magnon states - young people look forward; older people look back. Has it ever been otherwise?
It is good to have a son interested enough to pass an opinion and hopefully take the responses on board. I think you well and truly have the answer to your question here.

ArtPropelled said...

I've always enjoyed hearing stories or details from the past though I used to get a bit tired of hearing the same old story over and over again. The older I get the more tolerant I've become. In Dominic's favour (as Pam commented) at least he reads your blog. I don't think my daughter reads mine.

Frances said...

Your posts are marvelous, no matter from which perspective you write. You're giving me an invaluable way to know more about a part of the world that I know a bit about...but want to know more.

Many thanks for your fine writing. Please do carry on. Best wishes.

Rachel Phillips said...

And so, if I may say so, we move on.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

I think if your son wants to read about what he wants, he should write his own blog -smile-. Keep the old ways alive, who knows how soon we might have to fall upon knowing how to take care of ourselves.
I read your comment on Edward's blog and wanted to visit. Your words encouraged me; Dave, my husband, died very suddenly and quite unexpectedly, in Nov 2011. It devastated me and I'm only now "returning to the land of the living". For so long, I thought I lacked the strength to do other than follow him.
I live on a farm and do those things that most people haven't a clue about...keep sheep, alpacas, horses, spin yarn, churn butter, bake bread and so on. I love my life, empty though it is, without Dave.
Your blog is greatly enjoyable; I'm having a fine old time reading back through it. Please don't change.

Turn The Page said...

You just keep on writing to your own heart's desire. Remember, we are now what our past has allowed us to become! And we must remember to live for this moment. For this moment is really all we have...so LIVE IT UP! Aloha