It brings back happy memories when the kids were kids and the extended family lined up in someone's house having corralled all the offspring together on Christmas day to await Santa. The presents were piled high and I mean "high"!!
Somehow we had become victims of a competition which believed that our kids mustn't feel inferior, out bid, in the present stakes. It was a case of swamping the child in an excess of giving. Of course receiving so many gifts the children hardly had time to tear off the wrapping before having another gift thrust in their tiny hands, they had no idea what they had received, or a sense of its value, in the non monitory sense.
Years ago when individual consumption was limited, the giving focused within the actual family. A few simple gifts were highly valued and I can remember, even today, the excitement of opening the Rupert Annual or digging down into the pillow case for a toy I had mentioned to my Mum and Dad who cleverly had informed Santa. Mummy, Daddy look what he brought me !!
Well today Santa was nowhere to be seen so I had to do the job myself. At least gifts were carefully weighed. What would she like, what size does she take, will the colour suit ? Now they are sitting in the wrapping paper waiting for the day, no peeking !!
We have "Spotify" on my Lap-Top, linked by the amplifier to a pair of humungus speakers.
Spotify is marvellous, it provides a catalogue of thousands of records covering a multitude of different types of music from countries across the globe. The ease with which one can dip into a musical experience simply by typing the artist, a description covering the type or perhaps the country of origin and you are there at the tap of the enter key.
Today it was Christmas music from Perry Como, complex rhythmic sitar music by Ravi Shankar, the music of Cuba,Spain,Angola, The Jazz Quartet, Bert Kaempfert and more. Classical, Folk, Jazz, Country & Western you name it, its there for a fiver per month.
Andrew is missing, living in Mackay but the ease with which the internet links one up to a store in Perth to ship something to Queensland is the phenomena of global shopping. Christmas cards that sing to you from the computer screen add an unique feature to giving and remembering.
I remember the old days, having to set aside 4 to 6 weeks to be sure the mail man delivered. A phone call was routed through an overseas operator who dialled the number and made the initial contact, "I have a call for you from ***. I remember making a call from the streets of New York.
First I had to find a bank that traded with the public to obtain coinage for the phone box. I then found a phone box and made the link to the international operator. "Please insert the coins". Three quarters through the coin feeding the coin box filled up without full amount being paid, what shall I do. Find another phone sir and continue to deposit the money. I walked to another street, found phone and rang international. Remarkably they knew I would call and ask me to resume inserting the money. Mum who was waiting for the connection, was on edge, would he or wouldn't he get through.
A pound a minute phone call was a significant sum in the 1960s.
In the 60s the flight from Paris to Mozambique cost £60.
A 5 week sea trip, all found, from Australia to Europe cost £120 !!
Today you chat on Skype for hours, free.
Happy Christmas
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