Monday 19 March 2018

Monday

Suddenly, in the space of an hour this afternoon, the snow began to go.   I went to ukuleles at a quarter to two and my front lawn was deep in snow.   When I returned at a quarter past three there was no vestige left and all was green.  Let us all hope that we have seen the end of it for this year. (please don't let me be tempting fate here).

I was thinking this afternoon just how very far communication has come in the space of my lifetime.   When I was a child in a village on the 
edge of the Fens in Lincolnshire, only three or four folk in the village had a telephone - the doctor, the rector, the judge who happened to live in the big house in the village and the Lord of the Manor.   Maybe a couple of the farmers too.

The likes of us had to trudge the mile to the red phone box, put in our twopence and press button A speak to anyone - the house could have burnt down in that time.

Now during the past week I have had e mails from America, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany and France.  And joy of joys, at a quarter past one last Saturday afternoon I had a telephone call from my grandson who lives and works in China.   My parents, both of whom died in 1972 , would scarcely credit it.


18 comments:

Gwil W said...

Long may it continue. With this pad I can talk to people a thousand miles away, for example in the UK and on the screen I can see them and feel as if I am there. I can watch tv programmers from many countries. I love watching Italian tv. I like the sound of the language. Sometimes I watch programmes I've missed! and I can listen to radio stations. Read foreign newspapers. Do some of the thousands of free online courses. The list of things to do is endless. I can research any subject. I can look at university websites. I can do instant translations, although these need perfection. My grandparents would be truly amazed. If they came back today they would think they were on the wrong planet.

Mac n' Janet said...

It is amazing. When I was a child we had a phone, but it was a party line. Sunday we Skyped with our daughter in Japan and it was like we were in the same room with her.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I remember when I was ill as a child. My mother had to leave me to run next door to my grandmother's. Granny then went to my aunt's; they had a phone. She would ring the doctor and, if he was out on a call, his wife would inform him when he got home. It's a wonder we survived!

justjill said...

Nor would we be able to read the delightful blogs everyone who does blog shares with us. I have to Skype my children as I no longer am able to travel far or climb the steps they all have in their homes! My grandchildren think I am a t.v. star as they see me on a screen. But they do visit me.

Rachel Phillips said...

Communication has come on a long way in the last 25 years. The progress really started as late as the early 1990s and then went into overdrive. I got my first mobile phone in 1995 and communication other than the phone and fax in an office was just beginning to change. Prior to that in the 1980s I had been expected to use a phone and a Telex machine.

Bonnie said...

All of our advancements have truly made the world a smaller place. Information is sent world wide instantly now. The ability to communicate so easily with others in other countries through blogs and emails is the most amazing to me. It is one thing to see the "instant" news on TV but to reach out had have the more personal contact with others like ourselves in this world is simply amazing!

Chris said...

I still don't have a cell phone, ipad or any other device other than my laptop. I am a real Luddite! And I only answer my land line if I recognize the name, otherwise they can leave me a message. Thank goodness for "Call Display"!

the veg artist said...

In the 1960s my great aunt had a stroke in the middle of the night. She and my gran had lived together for decades, and my gran, the elder, had to walk a few miles in the middle of the night to a neighbour with a phone. Too late. Technology to them had meant electricity and radios. To me, it means contact with the outside world, reading news and blogs, studying and researching, being able to see works of art and educational videos at the touch of a few buttons, shopping for seeds or clothes, books and presents. Like most users, there are times when I could happily throw my computer out of the window, but I would not like to live without the interconnectivity it has brought to my life.

Joanne Noragon said...

Our winter is melting, too. So pleased it seems to be on to its job.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Your header is totally stunning. As for this aspect of total contact in our lives, I sometimes curse it, but somehow I think I have become so used to it I could hardly live without it now.

Cro Magnon said...

My late mother just missed out on all our wonderful new technology; she would have loved it.

Virginia said...

Oh My, you are so right! The world has certainly changed Weaver.

Our first sabbatical was in Oxford in 1979, and we spent most evenings writing aerogrammes to various family, most of whom had not been overseas themselves (other than the War.... which was why my father didn't want to go back to Europe). The letters had to be carefully numbered because the postal service was far from reliable. Within ten years many of the children I taught had been to Disneyland. The '80s brought huge changes in this part of the world, previously so cut off.

And do you remember how expensive phone calls were - you only made a toll call in the most extreme situations, and then didn't waste a word. Listen for the pips!!

Librarian said...

A beautiful sunny morning here, but still very cold. The snow that fell on Sunday is still here, but it is supposed to warm up a bit towards the weekend, and then I hope I won't see any snow until December!
Communication has broadened the horizons of so many people, like some of the others here have said, it allows them to talk to people all over the world. Sadly, our politicians who have the same means (even more) as the average person, seem to still be stuck in their narrow-mindedness. Not all of them, of course, but definitely the most dangerous ones.

Heather said...

I didn't dare set foot outside yesterday morning - I had been warned the footpaths and pavements were very slippery. This morning there is warmth from the sun streaming in the windows and no sign of snow or ice anywhere nearby. Did we perhaps imagine it?!
My parents lived through many changes during their lives. As a boy, my father could remember the first car driving through the town he lived in, with a man holding a red flag walking in front of it! I think they would be totally bemused by the latest technology.

Minigranny said...

Amazing changes to how we communicate! When we lived in Saudi in the 1970's I used to tape a message to my parents and post it and they taped their message over it and sent it back to me as phone calls were so expensive!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks every one for your comments and thank you to David Gascoigne for your comment about my header. I tried to get on to your blog but couldn't - found the photographs most interesting and saw that you lived in Canada.

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

My father wold have loved todays technology. We were the first people to get a phone in our street (and the first television) and the neighbours would often ak to use it to call the doctor.
Have just read that we might have a white Easter!!

Rachel Phillips said...

It wouldn't be the first!