A Kind of Anniversary

The fifteenth of February is not normally a day I think about, but it is an anniversary. On the fifteenth of February 1971 the UK converted from using pounds shillings and pence to using our current decimal currency. On the same day I left home and set off for what would now be called a "Gap Year" adventure.
It was quite an adventure, taking in

• France
• Germany
• Austria
• Yugoslavia
• Greece
• Turkey
• Iran
• Afghanistan
• Pakistan
• India
• Nepal
• and eventually most of those countries in reverse order.

Of course as one's past becomes historical so people begin to think they know it because they have read about it. I guess  my own memories could be coaxed and distorted by the reflections of others. One thing that is perhaps hard to get across is the air of optimism, the idea that "the old order is rapidly changing", the sense that (predominantly) young people had a lever on the world that might make it progressively a better place.
Young people then were, as far as I can work out, no more stupid or naive than they are now. We were however hopeful and I think for the few who went to Universities this hope was partly fuelled by the possibility of getting appropriate jobs (not that life was without struggles) when we eventually came down to earth.
My link of the day is to Muther Grumble the Alternative Newspaper that in some ways summed up being a young person in the North East of England at the beginning of the 70s. 

Still here

The view from Shady Cottage has changed dramatically courtesy of a major house builder or as they call themselves builder of Homes. A herd of "anywhere houses".
There is a tendency for people to try to make their online persona less of a boring crochety old loser than they are in real life. Of course the true bcol may shine through. Some say that it is wrong to present ourselves as thinner faster more interesting sexy and successful than we are. The thought being that this will demoralise others. My excuse for presenting myself as more interesting than I am in reality is that you are here to be inspired and entertained not to conduct some kind of virtual social work.
Despite three years of retirement I am still ridiculously busy so much so that I neglect my faithful online audience - Where have you been these last 20 months? I hear you (yes that's you) say. Well real life still intrudes and tiresome as it might seem that is what I keep escaping into.