Ignorance is bliss
I know some people who are not craft orientated regard me as
“quaint” as I enjoy spinning, knitting, crochet, which to them are old
fashioned pursuits, but it is these people who are surprised that I am capable
to using a computer! This entry is just
a verbal ramble with no recommendations, so if that is why you usually read
this, you have been warned and may wish to click on the X button on the top
right of your screen now.!
My sister in law suggested on Facebook that I was in the
need of an organisation like AA for my addiction to gadgets! Me? Gadgets?
You bet!! I am a sucker for
them.
Electronics hold a fascination for me. I believe in magic, and my computer, tablet,
phone, etc all are living proof to me that magic exists. And I don’t want anyone raining on my parade
and telling me they are function as a result of anything other than magic. I am
still in awe at the memory capability of my ipod touch. But
then I still find it wonderful that one can flick a switch and a light bulb
illuminates the room. Admittedly I am
not so old that the wheel hadn’t been invented when I was born, but I do
remember living a very simple life where gadgets were not an everyday part of
my life.
The first gadgets I remember are now every day items. The day my father bought home a vacuum
cleaner was a momentous occasion. The
family was gathered together to watch this appliance in all its glory clean the
floor. My father even demonstrated how
labour saving it was going to be by sitting in his chair and showing how the
vacuum head could still glide across the floor.
Obviously the gadget gene runs in the family because by 1955
we had a television. There were two
televisions in our street and one was ours.
I can still remember the feeling of wonderment when my dad turned it on and we waited with baited breath
for it to “warm up”. The picture would
be considered very grainy and inferior by todays standards, but in those days
it was the bees nether regions! I still
think it was a good idea that the broadcasters shut down between 6 and 7 p.m.
giving families time to get their meal out of the way and kids sent to
bed. It was not “good form” to eat in
front of the tv. Announcers read the
news in in clothes fit for a chic dinner party.
The tv was watched and savoured and nothing else was pursued
while it held court.
A special atmosphere seemed to prevail as the curtains often
had to be closed so that the picture could be appreciated.
Two other gadgets impacted massively on my life style as a
teenager, the first was a “gramophone” or record player. The other was portable radios. Hitherto the wireless sat in the corner of one
room and we listened to the Home Service for serious stuff and the Light
Programme for music and comedy. The
portable radio gave the listener the chance to listen anywhere so the bedroom
was where many teenagers cut their teeth on the pop music of the day, and the
crackly sounds of Radio Luxembourg or Caroline.
Do I hanker for the “old days”? No.
The internet keeps me abreast of current affairs, has provided me with
wonderful sites like Ravelry where I can share my interests with like minded
people, my ipod gives me listening of my choice in any location.
Doesn’t mean I don’t have fond memories of my childhood
though, and the one my family must be sick of hearing is how we had no
bathroom, so baths were in tin baths in front of the open fire, afterwhich my
mother would envelope me in a huge warm bath towel and give me hot cocoa to
drink. The downside of course was having
no bathroom meant trips to the bottom of the garden to the loo, and on dark
nights, wet nights, even snow, there is nothing magical about that!
I found a site that had old pictures of the street in which
I lived as a child. I hadn’t realised
how dismal the whole neighbourhood was!
So to conclude, my name is Sandra Davidson and I am addicted
to gadgets!
