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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Fri 11 Sep 15:22
It is so easy to get bogged down, even overwhelmed, by the sheer volume of bad news that is getting thrown at us these days. TV news, once a subject of casual curiosity, has become a punishment to endure not just once or twice a day, but constantly, 24/7.
Like an assault rifle, it lets off shots in our direction. Unrelentingly.
My first memories of watching the TV news as a child are of the major events like Gagarin going into space, Kennedy being assassinated, a man on the moon. These were interspersed with short snippets on the ongoing wars in Biafra, in the Congo, in Vietnam, the latest industrial strikes and items showing scarfed lady shoppers - always ladies, and usually wearing “Dame Edna” spectacles - complaining about those “bally price increases” on eggs and butter. In those days, we had price controls on essential food items and a tuppence increase on a loaf of bread was headline news!
The 6 o’clock news was followed by a “current affairs” programme called Tonight, which was hosted by Cliff Michelmore and had a group of wonderful correspondents including Fyffe Robertson, Christopher Brasher and Julian Pettifer who would travel around the world reporting on topics of genuine interest.
Apart from Panorama on the BBC and World in Action on ITV, that pretty much was it. That was all the news we needed. And in the main, we were pretty satisfied with that.
My grandparents lived on the Island of Barra. Until the late 1960s, there was no electricity on the island. Their little croft house was lit by tilly lamps, they used firewood to heat their Rayburn stove and dried peat was often the fuel of choice in the sitting room fire. My father bought them a battery-operated transistor radio, but they rarely listened to it. They got their newspapers two or three days late, depending on when the MacBrayne’s ferry, the Claymore, made it into Castlebay. In truth, what was happening in the outside world didn’t matter a whole lot to them; all the news that mattered they gathered at village ceilidhs, which were frequent.
I mention this just to contrast with where we are today. Within a couple of generations, we have gone from there to here. The question is, looking forward a couple of generations, we will have gone from here to where?
Just 30 years ago, mobile phones were a rarity. Initially they were barely mobile. They were like bricks to carry and only had enough battery power to make calls lasting 20 minutes in total. Now they are slim, flat screen and fit in your pocket. Fast forward 30 years, will they be implanted beneath our skin?
I worry about where we are going and the accelerating pace at which we are doing it. I look at my grandsons and wonder what sort of lives they will be free to lead as increasingly every move we make is monitored.
More worrying still is the diminishing quality of our political leaders.
Once we had leaders who could inspire their people to stand together and fight on the beaches to the last man to defend our country. And when that fight was over, they modestly stood down and blended into the background.
In contrast, we now have leaders who seek to divide, are driven by envy and avarice, care little for their citizens, interested only in their own self-aggrandisement.
I am beginning to think that the Covid-19 pandemic is nature’s way of sending us a message; a means to force us all to slow down for a while and consider very carefully if there could be more meaningful and constructive ways to lead our lives in the future.
I hope so. I really do.
Post Edited (Mon 14 Sep 05:28)
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Topic Originator: Buspasspar
Date: Fri 11 Sep 16:13
Great Post Oz and I can relate to nearly all of it except my grandparent were in Kincardine with no electricity, outside toilet and an accumulator wireless that I loved to listen to as a boy
Barra was a hard life
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Topic Originator: Grant
Date: Fri 11 Sep 17:44
I struggle to see any negativity in having a fuller knowledge of the worlds events tbh. It's not like bad things weren't happening in the 60s,they absolutely were.
I enjoy being connected, I've moved around with my work and I've managed to keep in contact with my friends throughout, I like it.
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Fri 11 Sep 19:17
By its very nature much of what we regard as news is composed of disasters, conflicts and the baser elements of human behaviour. So the more news, the grimmer it looks! I don’t think the world has changed much, it’s just that we have more exposure to it. In the past you might sit in a bar and browse a newspaper which contained yesterday’s events: now you will probably have 24 hour rolling news coming at you from giant screens. So yes, it’s harder to avoid and seems more immediate.
I’m not convinced we are better informed than in the days of Fyffe Robertson and John Pilger since investigative journalism seems to have gone the way of protest songs. At present we have Assange being prosecuted in a UK court for doing the work that investigative journalists used to do, and being given little news coverage for his pains. We are being saturated with visual images and breathless reports from a reporter at the scene but quite often the drama, rather than the fuller story, is the focus.
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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Fri 11 Sep 20:31
Having news 24/7 on various platforms and media outlets certainly gives the opportunity to keep people better-informed but it also gives the opportunity for news to be managed and distorted for political purposes. I'm not sure we are better off overall.
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Topic Originator: red-star-par
Date: Fri 11 Sep 21:39
Quote:
Grant, Fri 11 Sep 17:44
I struggle to see any negativity in having a fuller knowledge of the worlds events tbh. It's not like bad things weren't happening in the 60s,they absolutely were.
I enjoy being connected, I've moved around with my work and I've managed to keep in contact with my friends throughout, I like it.
I always feel so sorry for Grant. I've no idea how old he is, or where he has been, or what he has done, but it always feels like he thinks what he is seeing right now, are the best things that have ever happened
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Fri 11 Sep 22:08
Surely it's better than longing for yesteryear in the mistaken belief it was better back then. It wasn't it's just that you yourself were better back then.
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: donj
Date: Fri 11 Sep 22:33
It was a simpler world but most of the kids now would not believe how we lived.I am shocked myself in how much the world has changed in the time I've been here.
Bet none of them have ever made pics on the ice in their bedroom windows or nipped outside to the toilet.
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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Fri 11 Sep 23:00
TOWK, I don't think I was expressing a yearning for yesteryear in my original post. By today's standards, my grandparents were dirt poor, but they were more than content with what little they had.
It was more a case of me rueing the change to an around-the-clock supply of news, to a point where our brains are being programmed to want ever more. Yet, any decent analysis of the news that we receive will tell you that 90% of it we have either heard before, it's importance is exaggerated and overblown, or it is not actually news but the opinion of the reporter.
That's where things are markedly different from the past.
In so many ways we are collectively being fooled and manipulated by the news media into believing that we are better off now with endless news. Much of it is utter tosh.
I frequently read on here posts about the goings on at Westminster and Holyrood, Brussels and Washington. I see people getting worked up and arguing over stuff that, when viewed from 12,000 miles away, looks and smells like effluent spoonfed into their mouths by the BBC or ITV or News Corp or MSNBC or even QAnon via its multiple nefarious outlets.
I think wee eck's comments are the most astute. The more news we view, the more we are subject to dangerous manipulation.
Post Edited (Fri 11 Sep 23:05)
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Topic Originator: Buspasspar
Date: Fri 11 Sep 23:07
Life Seemed Simple Back Then
Ma mind still finds a place tae go, listening tae Marv as he picks his rose
Or watching Flash Gordon, the Gaumont’s red seats set out in neat rows
The tranquility of a Sunday walk tae the Dam or climb trees an build a den
Feed the coal mans horse store sliced plain, life seemed simple back then
We ran hame fae school, stervin, and forgot tae wipe oor feet oan the rug
Heard an smelt the Devons spate, an made peashooters fae scabby dug
And yer Mam wis wondering, why her pearl barley, seemed to disappear
Bri-Nylon shirts, wi collars curled up, an yer auld bike only had one gear
The que for the steak pie’s stretched past Connachers, but no any mair
Rain stoatin off the bus shelter roof an nae conductress tae take yer fare
Watched the Cooper’s wife buy a companion set fae the ironmonger store
Men wearin bunnets, waiting fur the evening news, tae find oot the score
Saw men think they were in the movies, empty streets, shops shut down
Loose change jingling in their pockets, and cauld grey faces, wi a frown
Calloused hands fae digging coal an stacking bricks, slowly turning soft
Following the road that leads tae the broo, nae chequered hen in the loft
Their dreams like castles built on Burntisland beach, once fresh and strong
Have aw dried and crumbled, turned back tae sand, where they started from
Like water running under the Mary Brig, the same will never be seen again
Wishing they could feed the coal mans horse, life seemed simple back then
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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Fri 11 Sep 23:34
That is just wonderful, Busspasspar.
:)
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Topic Originator: Grant
Date: Sat 12 Sep 00:20
Quote:
red-star-par, Fri 11 Sep 21:39
Quote:
Grant, Fri 11 Sep 17:44
I struggle to see any negativity in having a fuller knowledge of the worlds events tbh. It's not like bad things weren't happening in the 60s,they absolutely were.
I enjoy being connected, I've moved around with my work and I've managed to keep in contact with my friends throughout, I like it.
I always feel so sorry for Grant. I've no idea how old he is, or where he has been, or what he has done, but it always feels like he thinks what he is seeing right now, are the best things that have ever happened
I feel absolutely nothing for you tbh.
Some things are better now than what were, communication is one, hence why I said it.
Football is another, hence why I've said that in the past, hth.
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Topic Originator: GG Riva
Date: Sat 12 Sep 05:47
I certainly don't yearn for the 1950s of my early childhood. In a southern Italian village, electricity consisted of a single light bulb in a one roomed house and no running water. We didn't even have an outside toilet, but I'll spare you the details. My dad was forced to emigrate to earn a low but guaranteed regular wage on a West Fife farm. He returned to bring his wife and three children over, at the behest of his employer, after more than two years on his own. The one positive aspect I vividly remember, is the togetherness of the villagers. Everyone helped out everyone else, in times of need. Folk in the immediate neighbourhood, would gather at my grandparents house during the long, dark winter evenings, eating bread and nuts, washed down with copious glasses of home made wine, each recounting some amusing tale that had been handed down to them or some personal experience.
Today, we don't know we're born. We have all the mod cons, but are probably generally less happy as a population. Folk see much less of their neighbours during the winter months, happy to substitute social intercourse, with passive gazing at a large, flat screen until bedtime. Not a criticism, just an observation. My only regret is the news programmes. We are constantly fed a diet of bad news because apparently, that's what we want to hear. Do we really? I'd much rather not hear about yet another mass shooting in the USA, or see graphic pictures of another earthquake or tsunami, or hear in ever more breathless and strident tones about how Covid-19 cases are spiking again, amid dire warnings of a "second wave" and imminent lockdown.
Not your average Sunday League player.
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Sat 12 Sep 09:25
Nice Post and I'm just being nosy GG but did your father's employer want him to bring you guys over out of concern for him or was the employer needing more labour? Hoping it's the former as that would be a heart warming matter.
While we do hear more and more bad news we also probably get more good news stories as well simply down to the fact
that in we have multiple 24 hour news channels and websites are needing more and more content. Also the world has changed somewhat politically. In the past we would never have heard of Russia poisoning an critic inside its own borders or China setting up concentration camps for religious minorities or every twist and turn of a depressing American political scene. Just yesterday on the BBC website I read a sad story of a Brazilian government official who had championed the rights of indigenous Amazon tribes being murdered by some tribesmen during a standoff. Thirty years ago that would never have made international news, perhaps a small article in a broadsheet at most. Similarly it also ran a story about a recently passed man from St Monans who had collected over 3000 cameras during his lifetime. An interesting little tale that would only have been seen by readers of the local gazette in the past but can now be read nationwide.
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: GG Riva
Date: Sat 12 Sep 10:52
''Nice Post and I'm just being nosy GG but did your father's employer want him to bring you guys over out of concern for him or was the employer needing more labour? Hoping it's the former as that would be a heart warming matter.
While we do hear more and more bad news we also probably get more good news stories as well simply down to the fact that in we have multiple 24 hour news channels and websites are needing more and more content...''
My father's employer was quite open about it, TOWK. He wanted him to bring his family over because dad had told him he was only staying long enough to save up enough money to buy a bigger house. Given the exchange rate and cheap houses in the village, that would have taken him around 3 years. His boss knew that if we came over and went to school here, roots would be put down.... In the event, he gave my mum a part time job in the dairy, 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, which suited her perfectly and was far less than she put in, in Italy.
As for the good news, it seems to me they're confined to the occasional, sometimes slightly amusing piece, at the end of a particularly harrowing list.
Not your average Sunday League player.
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Topic Originator: Grant
Date: Sat 12 Sep 11:12
Quote:
GG Riva, Sat 12 Sep 05:47
. The one positive aspect I vividly remember, is the togetherness of the villagers. Everyone helped out everyone else, in times of need. Folk in the immediate neighbourhood, would gather at my grandparents house during the long, dark winter evenings, eating bread and nuts, washed down with copious glasses of home made wine, each recounting some amusing tale that had been handed down to them or some personal experience.
Today, we don't know we're born. We have all the mod cons, but are probably generally less happy as a population. Folk see much less of their neighbours during the winter months, happy to substitute social intercourse, with passive gazing at a large, flat screen until bedtime. Not a criticism, just an observation. quote]
Compared with stories of old I'd agree with this, my current location is probably the closest I've ever seen to a community spirit, and even then that's only down to the fact the estate is comprised of people who all work together, it is nice though, especially during the recent lockdown.
"happy to substitute social intercourse, with passive gazing at a large, flat screen until bedtime"
Is bang on the money.
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Topic Originator: twin par
Date: Sat 12 Sep 22:49
Lovely post.Remember,frosty inside windows,balloon man,Milk horse, guy sweeping the streets,(scaffie),cannae say that noo. Playing fitba, in the street,playing 15 a side at pitcorthie, and getting chased by the polis,phoned by mrs mellis,who's son was playing with us.😃.Galloway's van,and chippie van at weekends ah,60s memories, and am still here.And I forgot,a great cup win in 68,that was the cream on the pie.!😅 Good old wedderburn crescent, a great childhood.
Post Edited (Sat 12 Sep 22:54)
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Topic Originator: Angus_W
Date: Sun 13 Sep 06:56
My job & interests have revolved heavily round technology. New bits of kit, process & advancement. It’s always moving. Work - pressure - stress it’s a heavy burden for modern life.
During lockdown I spent long hours in the garden. We live on the flight path to Edinburgh. Suddenly it was silent only the sound of the trees & the birds. I witnessed first hand the advent of spring. It was magical - the trees blossoming the garden coming back to life. I’d never noticed it before.
I’m now back at work but I still think about the springtime & reflect on values that we place in life.
Since we are on a nostalgia trip don’t leave out the Saturday morning lemonade lorry turning up - Had to have your empty’s waiting & washed!
“.........it ain’t over till the Pars score!”
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Topic Originator: veteraneastender
Date: Sun 13 Sep 10:07
How many folk know their neighbours these days - really know them I mean ?
My maternal grandparents lived in the same council house forever (as I mind things) and granny knew the families upstairs and on both sides, plus a few across the street as well.
I don't think that level of community exists nowadays - just an observation.
The best part of the "good old days" was the absence of teenagers and young adults walking around with their faces stuck up against an iPhone or tablet screen in public - generally focused on the inconsequential.
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Topic Originator: Thaipar
Date: Sun 13 Sep 10:46
Woodmill Crescent used to have a tennents association and yearly during the summer all the scheme were invited to a day out, whether it be down to Burntisland or Aberdour buses laid on. In the late 70 early 80'severybody knew each other in the crescent and the top road. I think its one of very few schemes where if someone dies from the community they have a door to door collection.
Seen last week that Best the travelling shop has just retired.
Alpine juice delivered to your door Saturday mornings, thon bottles were heavy.
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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Sun 13 Sep 10:47
A funny thing happened to me the other day. A friend who I have known for nearly 60 years sent me a video on WhatsApp of him walking down the street that I used to live in when we first met. I haven't seen that street for 30 years, and haven't lived in it since 1970 but as he went past each house, I could remember who was living in each of them and what they did for a living.
I think to where I am now; I've lived here 13 years. Go beyond three houses either way on either side of the street and I don't really know who is who beyond a friendly wave from a passing car.
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Topic Originator: veteraneastender
Date: Sun 13 Sep 11:30
"Woodmill Crescent used to have a tennents association................"
Supplied from Wellpark brewery ? :-)
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Sun 13 Sep 11:57
People move so often nowadays that roots aren't really put down. It's rare to see whole families living in the same areas, especially in Dunfermline with all the villages around it. Some of it is to do with wanting to live somewhere more exciting (town centre Vs quiet village) and the other is lack of housing supply.
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Topic Originator: sammer
Date: Sun 13 Sep 19:23
twin par,
Your reference to Mrs Mellis, a staunch socialist of the old school, reminded me of Dunfermline’s own ‘Democracy Wall’ which lay at the bottom of the New Row. As the Alexanders buses passed under the railway bridge and ground their way up the hill, over on the right was a high, grey wall where graffiti was scratched (this being before the spray can was available.)
One long standing piece of graffiti was a CND symbol with a slogan like ‘No to Polaris’ scraped alongside. One of Roy's relatives claimed responsibility for the graffiti that became something of a landmark in the town.
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Topic Originator: GG741
Date: Mon 14 Sep 07:03
I'm enjoying this "quiet time" (near Melbourne, locked down to 2 hours/day outside, and 5km radius for travel).
I'm lucky that our offspring are safe, and we are in regular (online) conversations with them. Similarly, other family and friends are only a call away.
I am able to work full-time from home, with no commute and other hassles related to a workplace.
And I appreciate that I am one of the lucky ones.
Meanwhile, I have met and engaged in conversation with many nearby residents that I would not normally see or get to know.
Many neighbours are sharing fruit, plants, jigsaws, books, etc.
Many of us are shopping more locally than ever before.
I know a few people who are sharing their music online; one local has been doing "6 songs at 6pm" every day via FB video, since March. He has over 700 followers, and that community has shared celebrations for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, births, etc.
Walking the dog yesterday (Sunday) was like a Sunday of old; almost no traffic, and so quiet and peaceful.
I do worry about some aspects of how things will recover. Even down to our local clubs that need members to survive, but are struggling just now to get memberships when no-one knows what the future holds.
But there are certainly plenty of positives.
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Topic Originator: buffy
Date: Mon 14 Sep 21:04
Mither has lived in this cul de sac for 47 years and kens awbuddy 😂 (curtain twitcher extraordinaire). I was just the same up the road in Rose Street (withoot the extra skill). I miss the communal garden chats.
It’s strangely comforting to be back “home’ not least to hear the stories of life in my mum’s days in Kelty before moving to the big toon. She recalls WW2 life with blacked out windows, food rationing books and home made meals; her older brothers and her all took diphtheria and whilst in Milesmark hospital they watched the German planes fly up the Forth and the land lights beaming up from the dockyard.
Tonight she was telling me about our first telly - black and white, rented, with programmes only at certain times of the day before listening to the radio before bedtime; and that having yer woolly socks placed on your feet, in a cold bed, after they’d been hung in front of the fire.
She’s quite happy without all of today’s technology (no mobile / pc) and even the thought of a dishwasher (me and my tea towel will just have to do) is a step too far.
”Buffy’s Buns are the finest in Fife”, J. Spence 2019”
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Topic Originator: Grant
Date: Tue 15 Sep 18:53
Quote:
veteraneastender, Sun 13 Sep 10:07
How many folk know their neighbours these days - really know them I mean ?
Aye I know mine really well, good friends.
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Topic Originator: Buspasspar
Date: Tue 15 Sep 20:48
Lovely post buffy .... Hard times but we all looked out for one another
Vee correct we know the closest 4 but no one apart from them
Back in the day I could tell you who lived in every house in Clacks
Most were Pals or members of the Bowls Club or worked beside relatives but we knew them all
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