Thursday 4 December 2014

Communicating.

I have just sent my niece an e mail to make sure she will be in when a parcel arrives by post.   Yes, I could have phoned, but I rather like rambling on in an e mail - and she would probably have been out anyway.

And it struck me as I wrote it just how much the elderly miss out on if they refuse to embrace modern technology.   So many folk I know say they are too old to bother with computers.   Other friends, particularly those I meet with for coffee each Friday morning, have mobile phones, i-pads, laptops, and get such a lot of fun out of them.   They all feel their lives are fuller with all this modern 'stuff'.

There really is no need to learn  more than how to send (and receive) an e mail, although I would guess that once that 'skill' has been learned most folk would wish to venture further.

If the weather is cold, wet, windy, snowing (or any combination of these) and I don't have to go out, I can switch on the laptop, go to my blog, read everyone on my side bar, put on a post of my own and before I know it, it is tea time.  The farmer is unlikely to be in however severe the weather - he has a very large shed and there is always plenty to do, particularly sawing up logs for the wood burner.

And, speaking of the wood burner, a large holly tree, which has been dead for some time, fell over in the field yesterday.   I must say I love holly, and the thought of burning it at Christmas is a good one.   It has been dead for so long that it is well-seasoned - and nothing burns better than holly wood.   So the farmer now has plenty to do getting that lot sawn up.   Good job he has a chain saw certificate!
 





20 comments:

Gwil W said...

I never knew about chainsaw certificates. Those tools could be dangerous in the wrong hands. I wonder what else we never think of needs that needs a certificate?

Gwil W said...

Bit jumbled up there. I must renew my carelessness certificate :)

Twiggy said...

I really wish my Mum would embrace computers and emails, but she won't entertain it
Twiggy

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Hi Pat!
Holly wood burns best. Alas, another bit of wisdom we townies have never learned.
:) m & jb

Elizabeth said...

Yes, people without email do miss out!
so easy to zap off a note to someone far away.
I'm beginning to hate the telephone unless I have scheduled a long chat with someone!

In New York you can get a "Master Composter" certificate!

MorningAJ said...

Doesn't holly make a nice decorative wood for carving and such as well? They rarely get to a size big enough to do it though. Maybe your tree would be worth something to a wood merchant!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

I've never heard of a chain saw certificate - that might be a good idea over here - but so many people own chain saws I think it would be a massive jam if they all had to get certificates. My cousin has a wine pouring certificate - I think that one is simply for snobbery and not for the reason of needing to know how to pour wine without slopping it all over. Makes me laugh every time she talks about it - seems so silly.

I agree about learning to use internet/iphones, etc. It surely broadens ones horizons and makes like so enjoyable to be able to reach out any time you feel like it. But I think that those who won't embrace the new technologies are also those that have stayed in one spot (I don't mean physically) and not changed with the times from the start. Old ways are often good ways and many need to be preserved and passed on - but getting stuck in the past is often not healthy. And think of all the wonderful old ways - cooking, canning, sewing, quilting, knitting, gardening, etc. that have been passed on through the internet.

Mac n' Janet said...

Love emailing, hate the phone, have a smart phone, but almost never use it.

Heather said...

You are so right Pat. I resisted having a laptop for ages but in the end took my daughters' advice and am so pleased that I did. I get enormous pleasure from blogging, joining online groups and courses, etc.
Hope your Yule log keeps you cosy this winter.

Barbara said...

I can't understand why there are folks who refuse to learn how to use the computer. (they even offer free lessons at the library!) Emailing allows us to do business in the winter and keep in touch with far-flung friends and relatives. Personally, I cannot imagine life without it. I think many of my older friends (who are anti-technology) are certainly missing out!
I think you're a great role model.

angryparsnip said...


Holly Tree wood sounds sounds lovely for the fireplace.

cheers, parsnip

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

So many people I know say that they are too old to learn about "This new technology stuff". dare I say they seem to take a pride in this ? Since following your post and thus knowing your age(!) I am able to tell them about you.
You are legend in blogland
Gill

John Going Gently said...

Just been offered some holly wood
On your recommendation I will accept for the log burner

Virginia said...

Does holly wood have a distinctive smell? Here we burn mainly macrocapa and pine - pine burns fast and is good for getting the fire established, but macrocapa burns more slowly and with a hotter flame.

Cro Magnon said...

My mother died about 25 years too early for computers. Such a shame as she would have loved using one.

Hildred said...

Chain saw certificates?? Whatever next! Glad that someone hasn't decided to issue certificates for computer use. I have been using computers since early in the nineteen eighties, - my first was a Tandy! I would surely be lost without the chance to communicate with loved ones and so many interesting and kind new cyber friends.

thelma said...

Could not do without the internet, been on it for years, probably from the beginning because of a computer literate son! It is just a hive of information, fascinating blogs, a place to store memories in the form of photos, and instant access through emails to one's families and friends.
Long may it live ;)

Gerry Snape said...

Well I'm back on blogger having been seduced for many months by all the technologies I could muster!!...I love it when a young person says...gosh do you do Tumblr or Instagram...as if I wouldn't...but it has occupied me with all the instant delights!!

The Weaver of Grass said...

My father in law always used to say that larch was the best wood to burn because it warmed you four times - once when you chopped down the tree, once when you sawed it into logs, once when you burned it on the fire and the fourth time when you dashed about the room stamping on the sparks that flew out from it!
Thanks for popping in.

thousandflower said...

My sister refuses to learn how to use a computer and she is missing out on so much. All the family make a real effort to write her letters and cards but the rest of us are sharing so much more through the internet that she is missing out on. Her choice, for sure, but I miss her and wish I could just email her or send her a link I know she'd enjoy.