Good old England! Things to reflect on from times gone by.

I was conversing with Lyn Greenaway, on this new fangled Electronic mail, about steam trains, disused railways etc, then blow me down if I didn't see a picture of Whitchurch, Hampshire from Paul Hilton. It reminded me of the Sundays spent travelling through Whitchurch, and sometimes Wherwell, to Andover, where my aunts and uncles lived, from Portsmouth, where I lived with my two sisters and my Mum and Dad. We would go out early morning for the 40 or so mile trip in the old Ford Consul (yes, that one, not the streamlined one!!) and hardly see any traffic at all. On the way back, in the evening we would listen to 'Sing something simple'', I presume on the car radio, but memory doesn't serve that well. If we were really lucky, in the Summer, we would stop and have a 'ploughmans lunch' as a treat whilst out and about.

My, how life has changed. That 40 mile trip took ages...the trip to Stow on the Wold to see my brother (stationed at Little Rissington, Gloucs) took for ever, but the trip to see my nan in Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, as it was in those days, seemed to take a lifetime. Everything has changed, it's as if nowadays someone has hit the 'fast forward' button. A day seems to last about 10 hours, instread of 24, a week isn't 7 days anymore is it, surely, and a year (which used to be 365 days, 366 in a leap year doesn't seem to get past 100 days now.

I realise it's all part of getting older, I'm continually reminded of the fact that 'the time goes quicker the older you get'...but surely it has a lot to do with the pace of life these days, as much as anything.

So, I suppose what I'm saying is, what do you remember, and miss, most about days gone by?

A few things spring to mind--outings to Epping Forest in our new, secondhand Morris 10, after my dad got rid of the Triumph motorcycle combo--that was fun too!  Mum taking me to Buckingham Palace to watch him at the changing of the guard---dad was in the Welsh Guards. In Cricklewood, London standing on bridges watching the steam trains pass underneath, or standing outside Cricklewood bus garage watching all the AEC RT double-deckers comming and going. Then, off to Soho to see a new-fangled filming technique called Cinerama, then also going to the Wimpey Bar for my first ever hamburger and milkshake. 

I agree Andy - life seems to be so much faster these days - my eldest son is just finishing his first year at senior school and it's only been 5 minutes since he was going on his induction day last year! Which is why I appreciate all my time with Terry and my boys especially weekends and holidays when we go on lots of trips! I very much do things my parents did when they were my age. We always went lots of trips too - we also went to Birdland (which incidentally hasn't changed - it's still a good day out and you can get right by those penguins still!). We used to go to Slimbridge too, the Cotswolds and for some weekends at my Aunties caravan at Berrow near Brean. We went to Saundersfoot and Cornwall for most holidays - but it never seemed to take ages to me- but my Dad always drove fast in his Corsair and later Escorts and Volvos!!  

As for things I miss - spare time to lie on the floor and look at the clouds, good summer weather to do that, proper size creme eggs (all the choc bars are small these days but seem to be more fattening) and of course precious times with my Dad flying kites on the cliffs (before he was disabled). Saying that I wouldn't go back even one day as I have a great life!