Chatting to daughter No1 the other evening about how things used to be in the good old days, when she posed the question "what in your opinion what was the greatest, most life changing advancement so far in your time?" Well, we've witnessed airliners losing their propellers to the jet engine, men going into space & ever deeper into the oceans, yet the thing which has made the largest impact on the world & the way we go about our daily lives has to be the internet, I recall a very dear friend (now sadly late) being somewhat of an American car enthusiast, as a result, when ever he required any spare parts it involved staying up all night & telephoning the United States, on a rather inferior line I might add, then having to post US dollars over, wrapped in carbon paper, hoping that the vendor was honest or the notes wouldn't be pilfered on the way over. Of course these days with the likes of online auction houses & internet shopping in general, not only can you find an overwhelming choice, but you can shop with minimal effort for the best deal, so you no longer have to settle for what you can get, you get what you want. As a consequence the world has shrunk, information can be exchanged instantly, friends can be made in far away lands without actually ever meeting them, it makes a world war scenario almost ridiculous, when you could very well end up shooting at your Facebook friends while messaging them on a mobile telephone.

An interesting fact presented to me by Daughter No1, is that there are so many people, of driving age, who cannot remember a time without the world wide web, so in effect their world is so much smaller than mine was from the off, but maybe an unfortunate side effect is that they are exposed to negative influences as well, so there are draw backs as well.

The 60's were great though,we had a lot of fun, the music was a bit radical for my parents & my record collection was impressive.

Sorry to ramble on, it's getting late, but the clocks go back, so the extra hour will be welcome.

Melbury.