Terry Lloyd's Blog, page 25

Voyage of Discovery.

The great thing about the passing years, and yes I did say great, is the fun to be had at recalling those truly personal and pivotal one off experiences. The angst and troubles of youth can often make way for those meaningful moments, whereby times of maturity came with monumental life skills.

For me, inventiveness was a passion. I would start by rearranging the chairs in the living room, by laying them down so the backs would form a framework for a blanket draped over them, and in no time my lair for adventure had taken shape. Next, came a trip to the kitchen and armed with a very large saucepan lid for a shield and a vegetable colander on my head for a helmet, I only needed a long ruler for a sword. There were two more items to collect. Not always available, but a torch under the blanket transformed my unique lair into a cave of wonder. Finish touches were a must and an empty washing up, squeeze bottle full of water completed my armament. Motivational inventiveness stood me in good stead, because if you never lose that ability to envision your aims, then the charm in many aspects of growing up can never be lost.

One very hot summer evening, I had persuaded my parents to let me sleep outside the house in the
garden. We had a camp bed and over it there was a very large tarpaulin stretched from the top of
the garden fence and down to the ground. On the other side of the fence was an extensive set of allotments, that at that time were not occupied. Time for bed came and my adventure began. Wow, little did I imagine what a hell awaited for me. My mother checked on me before going back inside the house. I tossed and turned trying to get to sleep. There was a constant buzzing of flying insects that found my ears so attractive, and then I noticed my arms becoming covered in gnat bites. Through the unexpected horror I persevered for as long as I could and until it became obvious there was nothing for it, I had to quietly return to my insect free bed, inside the house. Unknown to me that night my parents had invited a visitor and it was upon their leaving that they wanted to show him how brave I was sleeping outside. I don't know how they hadn't noticed the vacant bed, but fortunately they must have been very cautious not to disturb me. Later that night my mother found me sleeping indoors and hence came the rather drastic but true explanation of what had happened.

Nostalgia can come with a heavy dose of learning, acceptance and appreciation. You can grow older but not necessarily wiser and how you do any ageing is always about what you do to take with you and of course, what you do not. Your own voyage of discovery is about experiences, knowledge and what you decide to do with it all.

Extraordinary Activity.

I think back to my school days, when on one day during a particularly boring afternoon, there had been a very hot few hours. Why doesn't something interesting happen? I thought to myself. At that time, I did not know that something incredible was actually occurring, extraordinary activity was taking place but the only thing was that I could not see it.

Did you know that it is estimated, each day two hundred and seventy five million stars are either being born or dying throughout the visible universe. Our own sun started life approximately four and a half billion years ago. In another four and a half billion years it is predicted that our Milky Way galaxy will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy, that could cause much variation to the gravitational structure of both galaxies. Just to add a little more detail, our solar system is also predicted that in approximately five billion years time from now the Sun will become a red giant and engulf near by planets.

Is this something to worry about? Definitely not, as all life goes through major periods of extinction. Homo sapiens are integrated into the process, the same as all life of evolving form, and like the saying goes it has happened in the past and can happen in the future.

I find science fiction very intriguing, as I love the extraordinary twists and turns that can come about from the motivating missions of discovery in books, to the fantasy and thrills of a challenge in space on screen. Sometimes though, while I appreciate science fiction, truth can be more fantastical than fiction and to give some scale to the future life possibilities of homo sapiens, their ancestors go back about one hundred and ninety five thousand years. Before that species are not classified as modern man. Dinosaurs without counting the ancestors of birds, lasted in total about one hundred and seventy seven million years.

There is often a lot going on, no matter how peaceful things may appear. Seemingly boring times, could be the opportunity to an awareness of what miracles and otherwise thought of as fanciful notions, are going on in life.

False Accusations.

Blaming others for your misdeeds can be argued is a common practice, especially when the stakes are high. One of the historic and notable characters who is claimed employed this tactic was of course Nero who so story has it, fiddled while he saw seventy per cent of Rome burnt to the ground. The fiddle at that time had not been invented, but you get the idea. Who got the blame for this act of vandalism? Well, a small group of Christians that were mercilessly later persecuted to death.

The end justifies the means, as Machiavelli put it, and many ambitious long term tyrants have with gusto employed misrepresenting the truth to suit their own needs. One such occasion involved the young boy destined to become the King of England. He was surrounded by several so called protectors. On seeing the young Prince accompanied by his guarding bodyguards, the opportunist drew his sword and rushing forward shouted traitor! He despatched his enemy with a single lunge. It was from that time onwards, he assumed the roll of the protector of England.

In England during the time of the Civil War it was not uncommon to falsely accuse rivals or enemies of possessing abnormal and maligned powers. The subsequent investigations into these speculative allegations were all too often flawed, as there was a financial reward for finding accursed people guilty of the claims made against them.

Sometimes what unites people is finding a common enemy and if that entails distorting the truth, that is what can happen. It is a mistake that has been made repetitiously throughout history, and be the psychological instigations of fear, greed, rumours or a combination of them, the results have far too often been sad and shameful.

Historically there is a never ending supply of false slurs and wrongly tried situations. In today’s society a highly respected or relied upon botanist or herbalist, if living in earlier historical times could have met with a far different reception.

History has proven that when it comes to accusations based on false statements, it is not only using truth as a defence, that can set you free. People can be happy to repeat the false allegation if it supports what they they wish to believe or in certain instances if it perpetuates a monopoly of self interest. Legal systems matter, the condition of society is important and while politics will always have a part to play in how these arenas are managed, a proportionately winning determination of integrity is crucial as to how many scenarios conclude.

It may be better to direct attention to how the accuser is benefiting from the accusation rather than simply denying its validity. In conflict, it can be claimed that always the first casualty is the truth, but it is up to standards, education and to some extent decency, that allows a sense of justice to prosper and prevail.

Fairies.

The greatest pleasure can come from small and seemingly insignificant events, those little but lovely experiences which upon later recall, can make you smile.

Fairies are not your everyday topic of conversation but it is with some amusement I recall a pleasant activity while at school. It was at that time I had my probably first encounter with the topic of fairies. It was during my very early days at school that the teacher would play Tchaikovsky dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and we would spin and move, not exactly in time with the music but until out of breath. Often our efforts were rewarded by a short nap and a bottle of milk.

Fictional fairies are supposed to grant wishes and do good deeds and should not be confused with the real tooth fairy that on personal acquaintance leaves money under the pillow in exchange for a lost tooth. While we are talking about the confusion of recognising real fairies. The Cottingley fairy incident takes pride of place, an incident when wishes become mixed with the cold facts of reality. Two teenage girl cousins were photographed in several different poses surrounded by fairies, this at first would appear to be a simple hoax except for the interest shown by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. For many years this case of alleged fairies remained a mystery

Once a year the Christmas Fairy makes an appearance perched often in a precarious position on top of the Christmas tree. I admire her forbearance not only for being ignored most of the year but enduring prickly Christmas spines in unmentionable places. The tree may be adorned with fairy lights and once again that name and associated term of fairy in our history and tradition of culture gets a mention.

Nothing is more entertaining than the battle between Walt Disney's Fairy Godmothers over the right colour for Sleeping Beauty’s ball dress. Ultimately when thinking about fairies, fantasies might be brought to mind but then again in our heart of hearts, do we not at some time in our lives question if we all have a fairy Godmother looking after us? Wouldn’t it be nice if the answer to that was yes.

Resolutions.

It is with mixed feelings that I contemplate the start of this brand new year. It is foremost with hope that an end to the current Covid pandemic will prevail, and to that end when thinking about possible New Year’s Resolutions, the first is focused on how best to rigorously employ medical advice about not spreading the virus. We live in a multicultural society but when it comes to survival each of us as an individual can play a vital part at protecting the future of the population.

It is interesting to note that it was 4000 years ago when it is thought that celebrating the start of the new year took place. It is believed that the Babylonians started this timely trend, only their new year was not held on the 1st of January, but the middle of March, as this was when new crops were being planted. It was felt to be a good time to make a personal promise that might improve themselves or how they interacted with other people, and from this point of self reflection and proactive change that a form of New Years Resolution tradition began.

Often is not just thinking of what to choose for a New Year’s Resolution, but how much resolve one has to actually achieve the goal. Do not be put off by statistics, as although fifty percent of many people at the beginning of making a resolution believe they will succeed, the actual success rate is very low. However some resolutions are easier to implement than others and ultimately how applicable, practical and beneficial the process is can be totally up to you.

Making a New Year’s Resolution can be a specific opportunity, triggered at a time of the year whereby there is the most scope for a fresh perspective and possibility. One can take stock of how life is being lived, so taking time to think about the past in a constructive way can only be a spur to doing something about it.

My Toys of Christmas.

That longed for time of the year is fast approaching. Children everywhere are anticipating that special, magical moment when to their delight, often vividly adorned packets conceal a hoped for gift.

My first recollection about the toys of Christmas, were that of large spinning tops that could be made to spin on their own. These spinning marvels, mesmerised and baffled, a very young version of me. In practical terms they spun into action once a knob on the top, and in the middle of the toy, was vigorously pumped up and down. Another delight was a small wind up, pink mouse that flew across the floor. In later years I fondly played with a strap on holster, complete with a silver coloured cap, firing six shooter gun. I also had a clip on silver star to impress any baddies, that in my imagination, I might encounter. At that time, the entertainment industry was in full swing with Cowboy and Western films.

The Meccano set was a must for most children and maybe a real little steam engine appeared on a few most wanted and longed for gift lists. For me, I had enormous fun with spent engine spark plugs and I borrowed my father’s motor cycle goggles, gauntlets and his leather buckle up hat, at the time it was all that was needed in terms of health and safety, to ride a motorcycle. Fully attired I would enter the twilight zone of space adventure, with the spark plugs acting as amazing space ships.

Before Lego, the plastic building bricks and characters which became so popular, my father made small cement bricks cast in empty match box trays. They were extremely fun. Next on my father’s list of handmade toys was a log cabin with removable roof. Of a more practical nature, one Christmas my father had made a wooden lined and varnished carrying case for my recorder. Lead soldiers and a set of Stirling Moss era, formula one racing cars were once my prized possessions. Along with other interesting items that regularly featured as fantastic for me was a spinning giro, microscope and chemistry set.

Transport is very often the key to a child's heart, but for me roller skates did not do the job. So my first successful wheeled form of motion was a trike, and then a peddle four wheeled dark green car. My progression to the bicycle was an episode of great joy on that Christmas day and to see the modern red, multi geared mode of transport was a magical moment of its very own making.

I end this nostalgic and historical take on the toys of Christmas with wishing everybody a greatly enjoyable, healthy Christmas and New Year. I shall be returning after a short break, on the 4th of January 2021.

Making Sense of it all.

Making sense of it all! This may well be an intriguing sentence but where does one start? Have you like me, wondered where you have come from? I do not mean this in terms of the birds and the bees, but more in that of the question, where has everything come from?

The following is my attempt from public information to address that very question. To keep things simple, the universe exists by natural selection and has survived the initial process of being. That is through surviving a battle between matter and antimatter. From that point evolution took centre stage and is continuous in the form of dark matter, energy and a tiny amount of visible objects. Everything that exists is related to something else that existed. That means there is no natural specific point of affairs. Life in different forms such as animal, vegetable, bacteria and viruses, all share a common form of DNA, although the cell structure may vary. Even the atoms that contribute towards how that life is made up, had to form by evolution of the stars.

Things happen all the time by natural laws, and if an action should change, then the law would be altered to reflect that change. In that respect life is a part of evolution and may end for many species, as it has already shown to have happened in the past. However if the earth ceased to exist, evolution is a process that could at any time, be anywhere.

Life may be understood as a result of a process but that does not mean it has not got a huge number of alternative purposes for an individual. Of course there are deeper questions, such as where, and why, there is a universe, a platform whereby life can evolve? Answers on a postcard please would somehow not ever cover this query but that is okay because life, some might argue is all about the questions that one asks and how one interprets or responds to those important answers.

Book of Rules.

How the world is viewed, is an important step to later conclusion, on how we perceive things as the way they are.

As a little boy I puzzled over why treating other people in the right way had to conform to a set of rules, usually ones backed by a teacher, authority or particular code of ethics. It posed a dilemma of sorts for me, as I thought to myself if you see somebody who needs your help, do you respond or check first if your doing the right thing as laid down by a book of rules?

Involved in deciding whether to act or not or to behave based on empathy when observing suffering or harm to others can be instinctive or more rationalised.

In a much wider point, many various animals display empathy and maternal care for not just their own species but other types of life. Particular examples of animals have shown grief and mourned those that have passed away. Certain animals appear to clearly remember acts of kindness. Without over stating the obvious, no books were involved in behaving in a humane way even though they are not Homo sapiens.

Having distinct views of the world is all well and good, but sometimes straight forward emotional responses to coming to the assistance of those in trouble, can raise intriguing philosophical and even moral questions.

Most definitely as people we do not usually poses a king Solomon's ability to always come to the right conclusion, but we have a fantastic tool with which to reason, query and even philosophise about what defines our responses to epic and less significant but potentially life enhancing moments. Is there a definitive book of rules for this kind of individual means of moral depiction, or do we in a sense utilise many different chapters from differing books which all subsequently apply to what we do and how we think or feel about it.

Bullying.

Most people would agree that being sworn and shouted at constitutes bullying, but there are of course less overt but powerful demonstrations of this kind of behaviour which exist in many areas of society and community.

Presenting a perplexing social and philosophical dilemma, bullying is an act that requires ethical questioning in all sorts of professional domains and if noticed needs to be responded to quickly. It is one of the most demoralising and demeaning forms of influence over a person’s emotional and physical wellbeing. It is a complex issue because in multiple arenas of business, regulations on bullying and codes of practice can vary. If the perpetrator says they are sorry or were not aware of the pain caused, does this constitute enough for them to keep their job? Should there be a better means of allowing people to rectify or even learn from their mistakes or do company leaders have more of a heightened responsibility towards maintaining a common sense of decency? If sufficient training or assurance of a fair policy conduct is not enforced, clearly this could indicate that this is the way of example for all bullies to behave.

Elsewhere, it could be argued that bullying has taken a more sinister form in the sacking of people for doing their job properly. In business, a tough and competitive edge can sometimes be accepted or even misunderstood as an open path to taking advantage of others or belittling them in favour of getting a desired result. Often however, bullying is only a route to discouraging getting the best out of others in a working environment and healthy competition should always be based on a fair starting block.

Bullying can be experienced by an in individual or on a larger scale but the main and damaging influence usually can be felt by more than one person. Anxiety and depression can lead to real trauma and influence how many people go on to thrive or simply survive.

Bullying in all its forms must not ever be tolerated. Those that appease and make excuses are covering over the cracks. Having an approach that promotes justice and fairness can only ever bring about a stronger and better future for individuals and families, who can all be involved in an experience of bullying.

My Sci Fi Memories.

Like a lot of people, I enjoy a good science fiction story. My first encounter with mind blowing escapades of time and space started around the age of eight. I would expectantly watch the clock as I tuned into the radio, in anticipation of the next instalment of Journey to the Moon, which was entirely fictional but oh so vivid to my imagination. With my head a few inches from the speaker and my heart pounding in total unsure wonder, I listened to every mention of the heroic character’s name as a frantic repeated call came of where are you Lenny? Then an aptly dramatically timed pause punctuated both the occasion and my memories of it, before the climax was built yet again with further shouts of Lenny, talk to me Lenny!

Of course since then there have been countless forages into the Twilight Zone with weekly episodes
of the Invaders in about 1967 on TV. Plants got in on the act with The Day of the Triffids that foretold a world where most humans were blinded and mobile plants which had a particularly aggressive attitude to humans roamed the world. The world was not ready for the Orson Welles production on radio of the War of the Worlds that took place on the 30th of October 1938. Mass panic ensued amongst the listening public, causing people to abandon their homes in a hysteria of impending doom. I saw the later version in bright colour, although enjoyable it is remarkable how influential broadcasts can be and astounding how effectively the previous sound only version sparked the imagination of a large range of the public to accept the suggestion as being real.

Village of the Damned in 1960 is an unnerving and thought provoking film. When a quiet village suffer a strange phenomenon, during a mass sleep all the women of child bearing age become pregnant. Subsequently fast forward slightly and the children are born, but grow up with penetrating eyes and a collective mind control ability.

The classic first Star Trek series has a special place in my heart, as technology has improved it can not change that initial willingness to accept the story in its original and crude technical form.

If I have not mentioned one of your favourites it may simply be that there is such a vast scope of material. However I will end by mentioning it is imagination that is the trigger for enjoyment and science fiction is only one genre, but using your imagination is a tool of worth beyond any known price.