Modern Alternatives to "Old Fashioned" albums and Stickum

Modern Alternatives to "Old Fashioned" albums and "Stickum."

I am not against modern technology, but I wonder what will happen if one day systems go down, or are corrupted, and the back-ups fail as well?

I feel very strongly that if we don't keep records like pictures (all mine are captioned!), letters and cards, etc. - then where will the historians of tomorrow find their primary source material? From E-mails? From digital photos stored on the cloud? Property deeds that have all been digitised, and the old paper ones destroyed?

Old books can be a treasure trove of information. Sometimes there are notes in the margin, made by an earlier reader, that can offer an insight into that person's understanding of the story. And what a thrill and excitement there is to find a battered suitcase or cardboard box, long forgotten in a loft, crammed with letters and mementoes from generations ago. Paper, perhaps a bit yellowed and musty, that has been well-thumbed over the years by other readers, inspires the imagination and can be an open door - or at least an open window - into the past.

I am so delighted to read in recent articles in the press that bookshops are actually doing better, and increasing their business, and vinyl records are staging a come-back. Maybe there is hope for a continuing resurgence of the tactile delight of real books!

I love looking through original documents, or letters and cards that have been written by hand, touched by real people at the time, and then sent to be read and handled by the recipient. They might be classed as ephemera, but surely they are worth holding on to.

After Mum broke her ankle in 2011, she could never live on her own again; apart from there being too many stairs, with the dementia becoming more severe, she would not have been able to look after herself, anyway. She came to live with us in 2012, and we had to clear out her old home. I had no idea what a huge task this would be. After my Grandma died in 1985, and Mum returned to live in England, we discovered she had kept everything - letters, magazines, ancient bills, etc., and brought it all back with her.  There were even piles of papers dating from the time we first went out to East Africa in 1948!

There was so much "stuff," we had to rent a couple of large Big Yellow Storage rooms to contain it. Looking after Mum at the same time, meant it took two years before we got it reduced to a more manageable level, and could bring the rest of it back to the house. Because Mum had "filed" personal letters, etc., in magazines and newspapers, we couldn't just chuck everything into black or orange bags; although there were times when we felt it would a great idea just to put a match to the lot, we went through every page, to be satisfied we hadn't accidentally thrown something precious away.

It was daunting; but there was one positive aspect to it, when I found hundreds of letters I had written to my Mum and Grandma, dating from 1970, when I left Durban to live in England. Mum had kept all those as well, and memories came flooding back. Every time Mum and Grandma came to England for a holiday, Grandma would say, "I love all your letters! How do you find the time to write so much?!"

I said, "I love writing to you! If you're not here to share things with us, I try to keep you and Mum up to date with what we've been doing, and how Wendy is getting on at school."

For me, writing letters with all our news, and about our day-to-day lives, was - and is - as natural as breathing; now I know that Mum and Grandma had kept them all, it just confirms what a worthwhile exercise it was. If they hadn't kept all my letters for me to find nearly 50 years later, I might never have known exactly how much pleasure these missives brought them.

Although e-mails and modern methods of communication have their place, they don't really convey the character or style of the individual who has written them, and speed is sometimes counter-productive. I know so many people who have fired off an e-mail in haste, and regretted it a split-second later, immediately after pressing the "send" button. A little time to pause for reflection, and re-read what you have written, is often the best way. It's wonderful to receive a thoughtful, hand-written letter - seeing familiar handwriting on the envelope, sometimes with a cryptic postal acronym inscribed on the back: "SWALK" (Sealed With A Loving Kiss), or "HOLLAND" (Hope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies) - or even the saucy "BURMA" -  (I'll leave that one for anyone reading this blog to look it up) - adds to the pleasure of anticipation to read it. I know I've slept with a love letter tucked under my pillow!

As for computer-generated and electronically dispatched greetings...  Well, the 14th February is coming up in a couple of weeks, so here is a poem I wrote some years ago, about Valentine's Day:

A VALENTINE VERSE

We may all be ultra-modern
With mobiles, voice and text;
But with all of these devices
We can be sorely vexed.

We need a touch of mystery
And of one thing I am sure:
Nothing beats the gentle "plop"
Of post, landing on the floor.

I'm waiting for that special card
Picked with love and care,
From that one darling other
Whose life I want to share.

So, to the Royal Mail, this plea
Is made with all my heart:
On St. Valentine's, can you please
Play your major part?

It might be called "Snail Mail" by some,
But for romance, it's best:
You cannot tuck an e-mail
Up close against your chest.