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 The simplicity of my day to day. |
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This is where I write my thoughts, feelings and my daily trials, tribulations and happy things
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| On this day in 1997, Netflix was founded by American entrepreneurs Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. Originally a DVD-rental company, it later moved into streaming, content creation, and live programming. It's available in 190 countries. Do you watch Netflix in your home? If so, do you think they offer a good selection of programming? If you don't use Netflix, what streaming service do you use? We facilitate between streaming services. We might use Netflix for a few months until we find we’re not watching it, then I swap it for something else. At the moment we have BritBox, this is predominantly British programming but ones that are several years old. We also have Prime which I mainly have because of free mail postage from Amazon. I’ve recently joined Paramount plus which is part of Prime. I signed up for a year on Binge but rarely use it. I think I had it purely for Great British Bake Off. We rarely watch free to air TV except for catch up. SBS on demand have good programming and our nationwide television service ABC has a catch up called IView. The free to air commercial channels we avoid like the plague because of the endless commercials. |
| On this day in 1963, some 200,000 people marched on Washington, D.C., an event that became a high point of the civil rights movement, especially remembered for the famous “I Have a Dream” speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. If you were to write your own speech beginning with--- I have a dream.... what would you write. I have a dream that one day there’ll be no wars, that people can learn to be tolerant of each other. That bullying in schools and the workplace is outlawed and the perpetrators are brought to justice. I have a dream that dementia and Alzheimers doesn’t exist, that cancer is just a disease of long ago. I have a dream that starvation isn’t allowed to happen, that there is enough food for all. I have a dream that weapons are not needed, whether they be weapons of mass destruction or simply the personal ownership of guns. I have a dream no child grows up in fear, listening to the sounds of loud voices and violence in their home. I have a dream that one day we treat all sentient beings kindly and acknowledge they feel pain as much as humans. |
Prompt: What surprises have you discovered about your ancestors? John Samual Reynolds, was my grandfather. At aged 99 and six months, his 100th birthday fast approaching, he decided that he’d had enough of this life and left. That epitomises the man. Decisive, pig-headed, opinionated, he lived life as he wanted to live it and died when he decided to. John Sam, as he was known, Mayor of the town, always out at council meetings or entertaining one of his many female admirers in the local area. The first in the town to own a car, his bad driving was legendary. As he sped around the Derbyshire countryside, people would get out of his way for fear of being bowled over. A Mr Toad of Toad Hall, from ‘Wind of the Willows’ comes to mind. As his granddaughter I lived in trepidation of being selected as the grandchild to be taken for a Sunday spin in the countryside. To his disgust, and my shame, I would invariably be sick in the car as he flew around hairpin bends along the narrow country roads. Back to the night of his death. By this time he was infirm, although still driving. He lived on the beautiful South Coast, but this was Winter 1968. The weather was cold, wet and windy when he left a note to say he was tired and had decided it was time. He drove down to the beach, parked his car and walked into the North Sea. He kept walking until the waves submerged him. People saw him but were unable to save him. Maybe the freezing cold water would have stopped his old heart before he drowned, that was what I wished for anyway. He was his own man, a compatriot of George Bernard Shaw, the famous Irish poet and author. They exchanged letters throughout their lives. George Bernard Shaw and John Sam thought along the same lines, being amongst the first to expound the evils of smoking. Standing well over six feet, J.S. was as imposing in stature as in personality. He raised money for the first hospital in the town and before my mother died she showed me seven foundation bricks built into the hospital walls; each were imprinted with his children’s initials. A sweet gesture, incongruous with John Sam’s stern persona. He died as he lived, larger than life. |
| Prompt: "A generation which ignores history has no past and no future." Robert Heinlein Write about what you think of this quote and/or about what historical event had the most impact on your life. The death of Queen Elizabeth affected me more than I thought it would. I suppose it’s because she’d been this figure in my life who’d always been there. First in her role of Princess. Her and her sister Margaret were so beautiful and growing up they seemed so glamorous to me. At school we used to sing God Save Our Gracious King for her father King George the sixth and I remember when Elizabeth became Queen at aged 27 in 1953 and we had to change the anthem to Queen. I was nine years old. All school children received a coronation mug. She seemed so sad, young and beautiful on that day. So when she died in 2022 it seemed she’d been there forever. Of course another Royal death which all the world remembers is the tragic death of Princess Diana. Who could forget the outpouring of grief at her funeral and the weeks leading up to it.  |
| Prompt: Perspective "The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective." Al Neuharth How has your perspective on life changed as you’ve grown older? How age changes one’s perspective! I believe age certainly helps to see things how things, such as problems, really are. Nothing is worth worrying about so much you make yourself ill. I have always been a worrier. Even when there was nothing to worry about I’d worry that something bad would happen soon when I was young. Nowadays I listen to my families worries and concerns and can see them for what they really are— usually minor inconveniences or when faced up to easily fixed. Problems are there to be solved. Worry just gets in the way of making wise choices. Now I’m the age I am, I realise nothing is worth losing sleep over. I think when you’re young life is so serious. But of course we now know life really is too short to spend it stressing over problems because in the end nothing really matters that much. |
| It is said, the English language is very difficult to learn because of all the commonly spelled words there are. Do you agree or disagree? How many words can you think of that you think are easily confusing? And words that you think are commonly misspelled? Do you find yourself checking to be sure when you're writing or let spell check find them? I feel sorry for anyone trying to learn written English. There are so many rules which are confusing. As for spell check, especially when I’m writing on WdC, the British spelling, the way I spell, is changed to the US way of spelling. The hardest word which I find goes against the grain is when I want to centralise text and need to write centre as center! There are many words which are spelled the same but mean something different such as: Desert, as in a hot Sandy place and desert, something nice to eat. Lie down and to tell a lie. Lead, a metal and lead, to take control. Refuse, will not do something. Refuse, rubbish. Project, to plan, to throw, or cast an image. Fine, thin or slim or high quality. Entrance, bewitch, or a point of access. Row, fight or disagree, or propel a boat. Which/witch To/too/two The list is endless. And then there’s the grammar. It’s/it’s. they’re/there. Apostrophes, commas, semi colons, colons. OMG how did I ever learn to read and write? |
| Prompt: "I haven't lived a perfect life. I have regrets. But that's from a lifetime of taking chances, making decisions, and trying not to be frozen. The only thing that I can do with my regrets is understand them." Kevin Costner Do you often regret things and what do you do about your feelings of regret, if you have any? If someone who has lived as long as I have says they have no regrets, then I wouldn’t believe them. I have many regrets, but who knows how my life would have turned out if I’d not done, said, or behaved in the manner in which I did. It’s all those sliding door moments of “what if?” We also have no idea of all the tragedies we’ve avoided by taking a certain path. I do regret not fulfilling my potential at school. This was because I was needed to be at home to look after an ailing mother. I often wonder how my life might have been different if I didn’t emigrate to Australia from England? Would I have stayed in my marriage? I don’t think I would have done as we weren’t getting on well at that time. Coming to a country where we knew no one made us pull together as one cohesive unit . Wishing things had turned out differently is a waste of energy. They might have been better but they could have been much worse. |
| On this day in 1977, American singer Elvis Presley, known as the “King of Rock and Roll,” died of a heart attack brought on largely by drug abuse. Were you an Elvis Fan? If so favorite song? How about a few trivia questions about Rock and Roll? Who was the first rock-and-roll superstar? What singer was inducted three times in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame What was the first rock song to become famous around the world? Which single was the last number one given by Elvis Presley in 1969? Whenever I think of Elvis, it reminds me of when I was 16. I wasn’t a particularly big fan of Elvis, the Beatles were my favourite. My boyfriend at the time had a cleaning job at a club. He was saving to buy a motorbike, he was 16 too. I think he was being paid an English pound to clean the floors. Anyway, I decided to go and keep him company and saw to my delight that there was a microphone already plugged in and ready to go, so while he was busy scrubbing the floors, I entertained him with several Elvis songs. I remember I knew the words to Wooden Heart and Love Me Tender. I’m sure I thought I sounded amazing! I must have found a way to my boyfriends heart, as we will soon be celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary! |
| What is the most viewed movie of all time? Look no further than the groundbreaking 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, one of cinema's most famous efforts. Legendary for its famous scenes, memorable characters, oft-repeated quotes. The movie was actually a commercial bomb when it first came out - making less than a million dollars over its budget. Have you watched The Wizard of OZ? More than once? Who's your favorite character and why? I’m surprised to hear the Wizard of Oz wasn’t the box office success I thought it must have been. Judy Garland was everyone’s favourite at the time. Her personal life, despite her fame, wasn’t a happy one. She was married five times and her famous daughter followed in her mother’s footsteps by becoming dependent on prescription medication. Judy died much too early at age 47. Of course today the story of the Wizard of Oz is best known by most people because of the stage adaptation of the story into the highly successful stage and film musical Wicked. I have only seen the original movie once, but I’ve seen Wicked the musical three times on stage and part one of the movie once. |
| Prompt: "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper." Robert Frost Is what Robert Frost says true for you? What makes you lose your temper? I rarely lose my temper, being angry takes too much energy I don’t have. I despise confrontation. The only person who can make me angry is someone close to me and I’ve made a conscious decision to remove myself from them. It’s been a difficult decision as my family are everything to me but it’s been having a detrimental effect on my health. Generally I try to see other’s point of view, after all they think they’re right as much as I think I’m see the truth of the matter. But the way the world is headed these days and observing so called intellectual discourse between world leaders if they can’t agree to agree, or even disagree amicably, what chance do the rest of us have? It seems that religion is always behind these conflicts, whose beliefs are right? I’m non religious but if I chose to follow a way of life it would be Buddhism. It seems that followers believe that nothing is all bad or all good and hold a “let’s wait and see” attitude. |
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