Are we are the luckiest generation of all?
Christmas is over. How many Charles Dickens versions of 'A Christmas Carol' did you count over the holiday period? This is a short essay on the ghosts of Past, Present and Future.
I read in a newspaper article that people born in 1948 are considered to be the luckiest generation of all.
Their generation saw free schooling; free healthcare and an end to National Service. They missed World War II; rationing never affected them too much as children and they were the first generation that climbed onto the property ladder. They were even the first people to experience 'The Pill' - free love, flower power, peace on you and all that jazz.
They can also look forward to a comfortable retirement. The current pensions crisis is set to make people work longer for less reward. But the 1948 crowd will enjoy a retirement funded by a final salary scheme. And there aren't too many of those schemes about anymore!
So, are you one of them? And do you feel lucky?
It got me to thinking.Oil has now been predicted to last for another 80/90 years. When it eventually runs out it will only have covered roughly a 200-year period. Will that mean the end of travel as we know it? And, presumably, it will get more expensive the nearer that time gets. Indeed, it's at an all-time high in this country right now.
So I think those of us living now are the luckiest generation of all, especially those interested in Wildlife.
Wildlife watching (and travelling) for earlier generations was a pastime only the 'idle rich' could indulge in. Most of our parents and grandparents were either too poor; too busy at work or caught up in the horrors of the Wars. Or raising us! There was no infrastructure to take them to the 'wildlife' places anyway. Air travel was too expensive and there were very few 'Nature Reserves'. A week in Bognor was about the most ambitious holiday many had. That was usually where, as a child, I ended up.
But these days, more people have more spare time and more spare cash, albeit within the middle of a recession. Countries around the world are more accessible, wildlife conservation 'tourism' is becoming more and more popular. People can visit both Poles; the Titanic and even take a trip into space!
But then, spare a thought for tomorrow's generation. A couple of weeks ago I was at another reserve, sitting in a Hide. A family came in and the two small children were totally enthralled with watching the Tits and Finches on the Feeders. I smiled to myself and thought how they would be even more excited at what they would see when they grew up.
But what wildlife will be left for them to experience? What with alleged global warming and habitat degradation some 'experts' are predicting a 50% loss of all other species by the end of this century. Indeed, 500 animal and plant species have become extinct in England – practically all within the last two centuries. It's been said that we are mortgaging our children's future. Are we also dooming them to experiencing wildlife only through our photos and films?
Last year was the International Year of Biodiversity. Helping to save species for future generations. And dare I use the 'S' word: Sustainability.
So the message for today's generation, always look on the bright side of life.We are indeed one of the luckiest generations to have lived.
And, as a post script, I got home today and a (nameless) bird left his deposit on me....Wildlife 1 GrahamC 0.
Hopefully, none of these will disappear in my lifetime.
Comments?
Best wishes, Graham
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some fascinating answers.
but we are building a world where machines are the brains.
Factories are run on conputers
People are lost without a calculator.
Ask a counter worker how much change without the automatic till.
yet the old £ s p was a lot harder than decimalisation. 240 pennies to the pound. 3penny bit. sixpence. shilling. 2 shillings. half crown. ten bob note.pound note etc. Remember we didn't have calulators.
Ray
a good laugh is better than a tonic
Hi Ray
Yes the old money system brings it all back
3 penny bit with lots of sides - in chunky gold metal, sixpenny piece, old penny etc... brings it all back. Had Half a crown 2/6 as my weekly pocket money and it went a long way each Saturday.
Bought the Mandy, Bunty, and Cor comics and lots of sweets like the solid sherbet lollies with the two tone colouration - great for the additional fillings!
In school, we where not allowed to use calculators at all, and told we used our brains, and not anything that made our lives too easy. We where slapped or given the belt if we dared tried to cheat.
Thank goodness the scarey belt is no more and I am glad I never experienced one eeekk!!!
Yes, modern living has improved in some ways
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Unknown said: some fascinating answers. but we are building a world where machines are the brains. Factories are run on conputers People are lost without a calculator. Ask a counter worker how much change without the automatic till. yet the old £ s p was a lot harder than decimalisation. 240 pennies to the pound. 3penny bit. sixpence. shilling. 2 shillings. half crown. ten bob note.pound note etc. Remember we didn't have calulators. Ray
Just a little bit of old money trivia ....
The threepenny bit is still with us ..... at the end of use all the old coins were returned to the royal mint and placed into storage for re-cycling.
The threepenny bits were not used as they were the wrong density for modern coinage.
When it was decided to add the two pound coin it was designed in two parts with the centre gold coloured section designed to reuse the metal from all the threepenny bits
therefore every two pound coin contains a little bit of nostalga
Best regardsNigel
| My Images | Newport Wetlands on Flickr @barman58
Hi Nigel
Interesting to know how the original coins where recycled and reused as other coinage
I do remember the threepenny piece being very chucky and thick to hold - it was one of the heaviest coins of its time. I often wondered why this was the case? It made holes in school blazer pockets LOL.
Now it is good that the threepenny piece has been reused as the colour makes a change and adds dimension to the gold colouration of the 2 pound coin.
Anyone collect old coins here and still you have the same collection?
barman58 said: Just a little bit of old money trivia .... The threepenny bit is still with us ..... at the end of use all the old coins were returned to the royal mint and placed into storage for re-cycling. The threepenny bits were not used as they were the wrong density for modern coinage. When it was decided to add the two pound coin it was designed in two parts with the centre gold coloured section designed to reuse the metal from all the threepenny bits therefore every two pound coin contains a little bit of nostalga
Hi barman
I've learned something there mate. The 2pound coin is silver in the middle and bronze on the outer.
Poor pictures but see how they turn out Ray
Nicki C said: Hi Nigel Interesting to know how the original coins where recycled and reused as other coinage I do remember the threepenny piece being very chucky and thick to hold - it was one of the heaviest coins of its time. I often wondered why this was the case? It made holes in school blazer pockets LOL. Now it is good that the threepenny piece has been reused as the colour makes a change and adds dimension to the gold colouration of the 2 pound coin. Anyone collect old coins here and still you have the same collection? Regards Kathy and Dave
hi Blackbird
I've most of the old coins as you will see in the picture .
I have a lighter made from two threepenny bits and a container for saving sixpences for radio licence.
If your interested will send photos.
Would love a peek at the old coinage please if that is alright with you
A lighter made with coins sounds interesting!
Bring all the memories back from all that time ago.
Unknown said: Hi Nigel Interesting to know how the original coins where recycled and reused as other coinage I do remember the threepenny piece being very chucky and thick to hold - it was one of the heaviest coins of its time. I often wondered why this was the case? It made holes in school blazer pockets LOL. Now it is good that the threepenny piece has been reused as the colour makes a change and adds dimension to the gold colouration of the 2 pound coin. Anyone collect old coins here and still you have the same collection? Regards Kathy and Dave
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Thanks for that bit of trivia, barman58 - I shall think nostagically of the old threepenny bits now, every time I handle one of the 2 pound coins!
I have a few of the old coins in a box. My father said "these may be worth something, one day" when they went out of circulation, & kept a few.
Thank yoi for the photos {thumbs up}
Wow it brings a lot of memories back from the good old days
ok here goes
How many can remember the little tanks we made from bobbins
2 shilling coin also na florin Also silver threepenny bit.
A shilling was a bob and sixpence a tanner. Ray