A Question of Choice...

I'm sure you must have seen some old black and white footage where an over-coated crowd in hats are celebrating a tumultuous event, such as the launch of a new battleship, the King's horse winning the Derby or the like. No?, Well, at the key moment, almost without exception, the crowd, unable to restrain themselves,  throw their hats into the air in jubilation and a very fine sight it is too.

I had a bit of feedback recently from a carer, referring to this column: ‘Can't you just get on with it', she said, I think in connection with what I see as my witty and erudite introduction. ‘Not so much of the pre-amble', she might have put it. ‘Cut straight to the amble'.

Another one to chalk up to experience. I do know - and have said as much on numerous occasions - that I am inclined to ramble, even when not properly dressed for it. Still, "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely", I was once told, so I'll look again at my ‘words of wisdom'. Anyhow, I'd better get on with it.

I'm sure you'll agree we do it an awful lot. Some, you will have noticed, do it more than others. I'm doing it now. But why? What's our fascination with communication?

The old B.T. advert claimed, "It's good to talk" and as a species we conspire to find more, varied and complex ways to carry out this age old urge to communicate; talking, writing, printing, ‘phoning, emailing, texting and blogging, we're always at it. Not that we necessarily see an exponential growth in useful information or lyrical language. Have you ever actually read someone's blog? As an experiment (and this is a game you can play) I searched online for a blog in my own name, to see what other Tim Pooles are desperate to share. Here's something I found - no, really...

I'm led to believe that John Ruskin (Victorian art critic, social thinker, poet and artist) once said, "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." Well, next time you see him, be sure to tell him from me that I consider the man to be off his head. No such thing as bad weather? The past few weeks have shown us, I'm sure you would agree, a range of spectacularly awful weather.

So how did you cope? Brave the elements with a hearty, (frozen) stiff upper lip bulldog spirit? Enjoy the beauty and excitement until cabin fever set in?