Reflections on being away

 

As I do mention I go away from time to time for a meet up and have only just arrived back a little lacking in spoons on Tuesday afternoon from South Shropshire.

It may well of been showery when this picture was taken, but that wasn't the internal meteorological forecast because actually it was sunny inside for doing what I feel is the more important thing when you're away like exploring and visiting places and things.

 Not only did I behave myself, I found reserves of fitness as impacted as I am by my disabilities to do the things that until recently I'd of thought twice about like actually walking there and back to the castle in the background, enjoying the Whitcliffe Common Nature reserve along the way surrounded by trees.

It certainly wasn't easy for me with hilly terrain with some mud from the overnight rain difficult to walk through but I actually did it.

I like the things you can do indoors such as quizzes, colouring, arts and crafts and even the odd spot of cookery that connect to littles life in various sometimes not so direct ways but perhaps for me something more like a Brownies camp  in feel and activities is what is more needed?

Remaking the past

There can be little denying that the quality of classical cds not least from analogue tape masters has improved from those early days when I first started buying them and so I have been replacing a few over the years not least when it is the case the recording may not be available on Super Audio cd.

Take this for instance, a classic performance originally issued in 1987 on cd which was reissued briefly in the late 1990's in 2 cd series newly remastered but currently unavailable which I wanted to replace.

That's where that box set that's just came out comes in because it takes in this recording with the Beethoven violin concerto from that 1990's issue and adds some solo Bach and various composer recital disc also issued on a 2 cd set all using those better remastered versions.

The discs are in card inners which for once are wide so little chance of scuffing and comes with booklet.

It is a pity the original front album art was not used on each disc but for the modest price asked this is ideal for not only replacing that 1987 cd but adding more recordings by this highly talents violinist to my collection.

When is it you become "of age"?

 The style of dress was and is a thing but is relative to the standards of the day but the one constant in that was the older, the more 'mature' you were the more sophisticated they tend to be until the point where conventional society sees you as a young adult at which point you would be old enough to work for a wage aka be employed.

Until 1969, in law Adulthood was not said to be fully reached until the age of 21 which corresponds with when you would finish a university degree course and before you both vote and stand for political office.

In 1969 the age of becoming an adult was lowered to 18 years which was reflected in the voting age but it wasn't within recent years that the age to stand for a local authority or as a Member of Parliament was dropped in line with that.

You could leave for work at 14+ until 1972, raised to 15 after then and more recently can only leave before 18 if you have education, training or employment arranged but that would be as a young worker - a older child and paid less.

Thus when we look back at past standards for dress you can easily see why until the late 1960's boys stayed in shorts and girls in pinafore dresses in school because they were seen as very much that and not young adults and they had no need to conform to the same dress and behavioural standards of their parent because society didn't see him as an adult.

Today some boys and girls are pushed into thinking they are older than their years assuming roles that developmentally many are not fully capable of understanding because the brain doesn't stop growing until his early twenties.

In some ways I feel that old standard of adult at twenty one was right although an argument could be made for being able to vote at eighteen as you'd have at least an awareness of the issues and given elections are every four years, the outcome of that would effect you as someone who would become "of age" three years later.

Winter in the Wood

While it was a little cold this week I took a bit of time out to look at what else is around me.

Fortunately here, even in the built up envelope you do have woodland pockets and about a week ago woodland management trimmed some dead wood off to let a bit of light in for new growth.
These trees have been here for over twenty-five years that I can recall.

Even though part of last week was relatively cool, the general temperature trend has been above the seasonal norm so these berries are out all ready.

Surprisingly so are these blossoms in an adjacent hedgerow approaching the built up core that I spotted yesterday while out dodging the ice.
Getting out of the discourse is so much healthier.