Grown-up-edness arrived at a cricket match when I was in my mid-twenties.

My father-in-law had been diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer. The cricket team we were with, was formed of young medical people. The talk was about how hopeless his case was.  It dawned on me that this was us being propelled into true adulthood. His diagnosis was the end of youthful free will. We were both only children, and the buck, at that moment, very clearly stopped with my husband. 16 years later 3 parents had endured terminal illness and death. But we had two gorgeous young children whose arrival had kept us sane in rather difficult times. Sometimes in life, you just have to play the ball that is bowled to you, not the one you imagined.

A cricket quote to end.

My life without a computer. No blogging, more reference books. An analog life, which I have lived before. A different way of being in every way.

Today had been a non computer day, a bit of domestic sorting out and the joy of finding an old book.

2nd of October, just two entries. An exploding barge in 1874, loaded with gunpowder, must have made a massive bang on the Regents Canal. None of the crew survived and were blown up to such a point that there was no evidence they had ever existed.

On 1915 there was a blackout in London, I didn’t know such a thing had happened in the first world war.

Without a computer that would be the end of my knowledge. That would sadden me but I would still have a fulfilled life. But if I had some time on my hands I would be off to the library for a rifle through their reference library. But I have a computer, here is a link to the exploding barge.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/library-archive/macclesfield-bridge-disaster

And Google tells me that London started Blackouts in 1915 to deter Zeppelin raids. The first of which occured in September  1915 so it was probably a good idea.

In my analogue world, a tidy book corner plus wrapping paper.