After a couple of years' silence, I've decided to resume my blog ... it must be the accustomed summer heat or some such unlikely trigger. Anyway, I hope what follows will be worth reading. It's a bit ironic, really, because I have been feeling quite overwhelmed by the sheer deluge of 'communication' that now faces most of us and makes such demands of us. We used to look forward to an envelope or two arriving through the letter-box in the morning (as long as they weren't bills). Then the fashion for telephone answering machines came along, and then the mobile phone, eventually complete with voicemail. Then electronic mail, both solicited and unsolicited. The amount of time which we now spend every day either sending or receiving messages is quite staggering, which probably explains why most of the conversations taking place on our high streets are with invisible contacts at the end of a phone line. I hate using my mobile phone in public, and get annoyed when I am forced to listen to private conversations conducted in a fairly loud voice on a train or bus. But all I am now demonstrating, I suppose, is that I am a grumpy old man. Anyway, I've been lured back to looking at, and sending e-mail more regularly. My original and best e-mail address (r.b.hill@lineone.net) remains in use, thanks to the technological genius of my first-born son, who saved me from thousands of unwanted messages, and ensured that my welcome e-mail now gets delivered direct (and without spam!) to a googlemail address.
But am I right in thinking that for all this modern communication, we haven't exactly made a great deal of progress in making the world a happier and more peaceful place? It's really the same as the old argument about labour-saving devices that have made our lives more hectic than ever.
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