Do you have a Smartphone?

Life can be particularly tricky for those of us who do not have a smart phone, so why don't I have one? I see so many people, especially the younger generation, spending all of their time on their phone to the detriment of so many other aspects of their lives. However, for those of us who do not have a smart phone life is a continual struggle as we try to negotiate life without one.  

We have notice how smart phones can adversely affect peoples' behaviour. For example, whilst travelling on a bus or train we have seen young mothers with their child in a pushchair scrolling on a phone. The child too scrolls on a screen, and often not a single word passes between them for the entire journey. 

I do have a tiny mobile phone which I use to send texts and make phone calls when away from home etc. It also allows doctors, hospitals, dentists etc to contact us via a text message re: appointments, which suits us fine.

I have an instagram account, but instagram is supposed to be for smart phone users only. Somehow I have been able to manage an account from the computer. I cannot do all of the fancy things that others can do on instagram, but it keeps me in touch with my grandchildren, family and friends. 

Recently I purchased an item from Amazon which was unsuitable. They sent me an email with a QR code to scan into my smart phone so that it could be returned free of charge. I wondered if I could use my small digital camera and looked on the internet for information. It said that it had to be done on a smart phone, and that a standard digital camera would be unable to scan a QR code. For me there was no alternative, but to give my camera a try. I told the assistant at the Post Office that I only had a photo of the code on my camera, and she said let's give it a shot, and low and behold it happily worked😁

I suggest that there will come a time when we can no longer work our way around living without a smart phone. But for me and many others the progression of the A1 revolution is frightening. Criminals are making £millions by scamming and phishing innocent people all over the world. A Russian gang has recently held M&S, Harrods, and the Co-op to ransom for several weeks losing them all £millions and £millions of loss.

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Stiles - Walking through the British countryside

Stiles have been a part of British country life for a very long time, in fact the word "stile" has Anglo Saxon origins. I understand that stiles are only found in Britain, but do correct me should I be wrong. Stiles allow safe human passage through the countryside whilst protecting livestock from straying. Stiles are also used to walk through fields of crops, but only if they have a designated footpath going across.

A writer in 1564 described the difficulty of getting his dog over one and, in the 19th century, rural poet John Clare remembered their value as a momentary place of reflection:

"He lolls upon each resting stile

To see the fields so sweetly smile

To see the wheat grown green and long."

A Lake District ladder stile

Stiles have evolved in many formats over the centuries, some of which could even be classed as minor triumphs of early Victorian engineering. The remaining stiles shown below are local to us on our high Cotswold escarpment which we ourselves use on a regular basis. 

This stile is a two minute walk from home - it requires a certain amount of agility to climb over. Fortunately both of us can still manage it. 

This one is also close to home - a four minute walk in the opposite direction. Over the stile cattle can be seen safely grazing.

This is an interesting gravity balanced stile. 

A gentle push opens and closes it. 

This is a Victorian stile known as a "kissing gate".

The name "kissing gate" is thought to come from the fact that the gate "kisses" (touches) each side of the enclosure, hence the name, and it doesn't need a latch to be secured. It allows people to pass through while effectively preventing livestock from doing so.

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