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Describe your life in an alternate universe.
When I saw this prompt, I immediately thought of a number of Sliding Doors moments which would have completely changed the course of my life. So, here they are in chronological order.
When I was 5 or 6, my Dad was offered a job over in Australia but had to turn it down. I won’t go into details, but I would have ended up living Down Under and I know I would have loved it.
When I was 11, I went to a Grammar School instead of continuing with private education. If the other choice had been made I would have got far less bullying, far better results and I would have gone to University at 18 and no doubt got a really good job on the basis of my school name.
When I was 19 I joined the RAF but I was injured during basic training. I would definitely have done at least 9 years in the forces, maybe more and would almost certainly never gone to University. This was the pivotal Sliding Doors moment, because it set me on a path where I met my wife.
Actually, there was one more moment when my alternative universe self and my wife to be never met. When I was 21 I was unemployed and my Dad had a proper go at me during a Boxing Day party. He pointed out that I hadn’t made an effort to get a job during December. Just to prove him wrong I went to the Job Centre the following day, found a job, applied for it and got it. Sitting opposite me on that first day was my wife to be.
Fast forward to my late 20s. Once again looking for a job, although I was at least employed by Kidderminster Town Hall which was actually one of my favourite jobs, and I had given up on finding anything in teaching. I put the job section of The Times on the recycling pile. My wife decided to have a look and found the advert for the JET Programme. That one decision set the course for the rest of my career and my life. 30 years later I am still teaching English to non native speakers!
Finally, in my late 30s history repeated itself when I was offered a job in Australia but I had to turn it down, exactly as my Dad had done over 30 years earlier.
So there you have it. Scenario 1, I lived my life in my favourite country. Scenario 2, I had a really long stint in the forces and never got into teaching. That said, I know I would have been an instructor because that is where my skill set is. Scenario 3, I never applied for that job and never met my wife. That is the Sliding Doors moment that really makes me feel like I was meant to meet her. Scenario 4, I never went to Japan and never started teaching English. Scenario 5, I went to Japan and Hong Kong, but I settled in Australia where I made a career and a life for us.
So there are 5 multiverses setting off in 5 different directions. Would I have been happier in any of those? Possibly, but we’ll never know unless our multiverses meet in the future and I catch up with my alternate selves.
What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?
As a family, when our children were growing up, we often had very little in the way of disposable income. In those days we took our own sandwiches and if we couldn’t get back in time we would go to McDonald’s or somewhere similar. Now, with somewhat more disposable income we take our own sandwiches and if we can’t get back in time we go to McDonald’s or somewhere similar! On really special occasions we can push the boat out, but my wife and I always think the same thing. We could cook something just as good or better at home for a fraction of the cost.
Earlier this year I had a landmark birthday and I marked the occasion, as I so often do, by cooking turkey and preparing a whole range of salads for the day the family came round. Every year, my birthday cake is a second Christmas cake my wife bakes and stores for three months. There isn’t a restaurant in the world that could provide a meal I would enjoy even half as much. I am an excellent cook particularly with basic ingredients and my wife bakes cakes, buns and pies that are incredible and use half the sugar and none of the additives found in meals outside the house. Our children eat restaurant meals more than we do, much like we did at their age, but they are also very good cooks in their own right. By teaching them to cook we have provided them with tools to be able to make a choice of restaurant or home.
When we are on holiday and not self catering big expensive meals are largely avoided and simple cheaper meals are prioritised. I would rather have the money to pay for a concert or a day out as great live music and stately homes or lovely countryside are things we cannot reproduce at home.
Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.
The story I have chosen is
I saw the story yesterday and thought what a pointless item of ‘news’ it was. Man eats ice cream with his family having starred in a series of films 20 years ago! What have we come to if this is news? Then I thought about it and realised how much certain actors and musicians and sports stars have become part of my life over the years. If I had been there I wouldn’t have got a selfie but I would definitely have taken a picture and it got me thinking about one of my all consuming hobbies.
When I was a kid I used to write off for signed photos. I restarted the hobby when I became a house husband for a few years and before I knew it, I had a large collection of signed photos from TV, film, sports and music. Every time a new photo arrived in the post I was absolutely over the moon. The photos were left in bags and envelopes for ages until I got a couple of scrapbooks for Christmas a few years ago. Now, most of them are in the book, and it has encouraged me to start again when my current full time job comes to an end.
Who are my favourites? Well, the personalised signed photos from a few stars stick in my head. In no particular order of importance I have Jack Nicklaus, Dick Van Dyke, Alan Alda, David Tennant and my first ever celebrity signed photo from 1970s and 80s TV presenter and singer Isla St Clair. I have many more and apart from restarting the hobby soon I will be blogging about it. So watch this space!
It’s quite amazing that a small photograph with a signature can bring so much pleasure but it does. The story isn’t as uninteresting as I first thought as it has encouraged me to revisit a hobby that has given me huge pleasure over the years.
List 30 things that make you happy.
When I first saw this prompt I thought I might skip it because I think of lists as good when you are going shopping or planning for Christmas, but otherwise far too superficial for something like this.
Then I realised that the answer was to point you towards this blog and the many posts contained within it. So, here are links to 30 of my favourite posts. Also, at the top of the page is a link to another 11 so that makes 41 in total! If you have read this far, please choose at least one and give it a go. My aim is for at least one person to read each of these posts. Nothing would make me happier today!
Posts to Read
10 Songs That Changed Me Song 1
Back in the Land of the Hearing
The A to Z of My Singles Collection Part 1
Revisiting Christmas 1974 Re-Play
Reflections of an ageing gig goer! 2
The Sound of Being Human by Jude Rogers
The Wonder Years Season 1 Re-View
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Re-view
Re-Play Melody Original Soundtrack
The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
What Are You Doing Here? by Baroness Floella Benjamin
Re-Play 24 Original Hits by The Drifters
Four decades on … my (brief) RAF career
The Nutcracker from the English National Ballet Coliseum, London January 2, 2024 Review
Some Like It Cold by Elle McNicoll
The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk
The ‘A Girl’ trilogy by Jessica Taylor-Bearman Book Reviews
Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov (Translation by Angela Rodel)
Describe one habit that brings you joy.
I am going to perhaps surprise a few people on here with my reflection on the central premise of this prompt. It is in its own small way emblematic of the way that our language has been steadily reduced in effectiveness and meaning over the last couple of decades. George Orwell saw this in 1948 when he reversed the digits of the year and created the dystopia of 1984. If you control the language you control the people.
Joy is derived from the Latin word rejoice, and in current parlance means a feeling of great happiness or pleasure. How can something you do every day be a source of joy if either of the previous two definitions are our starting point? A habit can bring, contentment, it can bring a feeling of security, it can bring quiet pleasure, but it cannot bring a feeling of joy. Our language has become a diet of extremes. We are told that everything is the best, the worst, the most important, the most amazing, unlike anything else. It’s exhausting! We need to get back to the days where simplicity and subtlety were valued, where people carried on quiet contented lives that fulfilled their needs. Instead, we are told to seek emotional highs at all times and not be satisfied with a level headed approach to life. I am just as susceptible to this emotional arms race as everyone else, pouring over social media, news, apps etc looking for my next hit of dopamine. By constantly chasing those extremes we are far more controllable by those in power who can manipulate us with joy, anger, fear and hope, all of the cheapened emotions to which we are prey.
So, take comfort in your habits, take pleasure in them, but do not try to take joy. Be happy with moderation and ignore those trying to tell you to reach for the extremes.
David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 