Grannymar

We all love to get a letter. Nowadays they come in ones and twos and are usually bills that require payment. Recently the letterbox rattled. When I went to investigate there was one lonely item lying on the floor!

This letter was from Help the Aged and it began

Dear Friend,

It was unsolicited, a plea for money! We all get letters like these and particularly from September to Christmas. Charities are very slick nowadays at focusing their campaigns to hit the guilt spot as we begin to turn our mind to the annual spend-fest that Christmas has become. It is impossible to help everyone. Personally I decide at the beginning of the year which charity to support for the twelve months, so letters like this are torn up and thrown in the bin or fed into my paper shredder

As I opened this letter a page fell to the floor. Picking it up I saw that on one side was a picture of the reverse side of a photo frame with a sticker attached. I decided to read on…

Dear Friend,

This letter, as you’ll have gathered is about loneliness. I’ll be honest; I find it almost impossible to put into words how painfully isolated many older people feel, especially when all their friends and family have either moved elsewhere, fallen ill or passed away…..

The sticker explained why 1 is the saddest number. It is enough to make you weep!

Turning it over I found the front of the frame:

In the centre of the collage photo frame is a stereotypical image of an older lady; sitting in her high back chair staring into the distance. Around her instead of photos are little notes about the people whose pictures we would expect to find in such a frame.

1. Bobby my eldest is too busy now with his own family to worry about me.
2. My John passed away Christmas eve 2005.
3. Cousin Fred died heart attack 1998.
4. Neighbour Sue moved 200 miles away.
5. Elsie, 29 Palm Grove, Sydney, Australia.
6. David and the grandchildren moved up north.
7. Martha my sister is now in a Care Home.

It made me think! How many people are like this living alone and lonely?

I made a frame of my own:

It was not very different. A very dull sad life… You would almost feel sorry for me.

When I was young very often there were three generations in the one house. It meant that there was always someone to talk to and interact with. The younger generations asked for the advice of their elders and the elders helped with the children. Youngsters learned to deal with frailty and each generation learned from the other and relationships deepened and all felt needed.

Nowadays the older generation remains at home or goes into residential care. The young people move away to study, follow careers, and travel or start their own dynasty. The older generation become imprisoned not by other people but by aging bodies, stiff limbs and breathing difficulties.

This to me is a form of poverty.

Not cash poverty, but one of time and attention. The modern working hours leave little time to travel and check up on the older generation. OK so they probably have television, but how many times have you heard the phrase ‘There is nothing on, only rubbish!’ If you were forced to stay indoors for a week never mind for a year; how would you like to have TV as your only company?

There is a way to help the situation. To eradicate this poverty.

Encourage the seniors to use a mobile phone and a computer. Remember they will be slower than your average twenty-something to learn these skills so take things slowly. Be prepared to repeat instructions, drip feed rather than expect them to devour a manual for lunch. With patience they will see the benefit. Teach them to blog and or Podcast. It is the art of storytelling. It can become a project to record a family history for future generations. Life is constanty changing and the way of life for our parents and grandparents my sound prehistoric and unreal to us just like science fiction may seem unreal to them! With recording the stories on a blog or podcast the local phrases and saying will not be lost. With a podcast the voice does the work.

Stop and think… Do you know what you’re Great Grand Father sounded like, his accent, turn of phrase or indeed his language? Now is the time to think about collecting this ‘life history’ for your children and grandchildren, while the older generation are around. It will give the older person, particularly those living alone a feeling of being worthwhile and needed! While doing family research some years ago I discovered my Grandfather’s signature on a census form for 1910 - a year before my father was born! This grandfather died in 1922 and now I know what his handwriting was like, in fact it is exactly like my fathers! I treasure that copy of the census.

For my part blogging and the internet are a Godsend. I live alone with no relations for over 100 miles. With health complications there are times when I am unable to go out. On those days the world comes in to me through blogging and the internet. Blogging has become a conversation and an introduction to new friends who are as close as the click of a mouse. My life is far from sad, the world comes in to me with a great big smile!

Old age brings many problems, but it is also a time of great joy.

Robin gave me this idea; well I stole it from one of his Tweets! He is flying the Flag for Ireland this week as a Seedcamp Finalist with new business venture Decisions For Heroes .

11850 announces they have a new SMS service that is free while they launch it. You can text them any question and they’ll answer it (no-doubt using Google) with an SMS. (In UK use 63336)

It wasn’t until I heard that the people answering us were a team waiting for our questions in Manilla was I seriously intrigued. Had I got my business message right? Could a person in the Philippines not only find but also summarise my new business into 160 characters for me?

I got out my phone and texted 11850:

What is “Decisions For Heroes”.

It is a collaborative rescue team management tool to record and analyze rescue operations.

Now you can’t blame me for trying…. a girl needs to keep on top of things

So I sent a text:

Who is Grannymar?

Back flew the answer:

AQA: Grannymar is an internet blogger from Ireland, who was the winner of the ‘Best Personal Blog’ award at the Irish Blog Awards in 2008.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!

Now that is the first line of a poem by John Keats. It always comes to mind at this time of the year as I wipe the mist from the inside of my bedroom window in the mornings. Over the next few weeks I hopefully will enjoy the early mist lying over the river in the valley. On some occasions it streaks like a ribbon across the landscape allowing me the view of the fields and buildings below and the hills and skyline above.

The month of September is in my books, the month of order and routine. Schools are open once more; sporting activities, evening classes, clubs and a myriad of organisations unfold their new programme of events. The roads become clogged with the chaos of the morning traffic rushing to beat the clock. I notice that friends become available once more after the long break of summer, for social events and meals.

This September I plan to be busy I am going camping! Not just once but twice. Now I know I asked for a tent but hopefully I won’t need it. You see the Camping that I am talking about has nothing to do with green fields, well I hope not, it is more about comfort, drinking coffee and making new friends. There will of course be the opportunity to learn new skills from experts who willing share and part with information and it all takes place indoors.

First off I am booked to go to CreativeCamp in Belfast on Saturday 6th of September at Blick Shared Studios.

CreativeCamp will be a un-conference event focussing on any medium that creative folk drool over. Topics covered include design, photography, web and mobile. The format is just like a BarCamp, so you can sign up to speak on a topic that you fancy.

Congratulations must go to Mairin & Andy for all the hard work in preparation for the day.

My second outing later in the month will be to PodCamp Ireland in Kilkenny on Saturday 27^th September.

It will be a return visit for me both to Kilkenny and to PodCamp. To date there are 80 people registered for PodCamp so the talks, discussion panels and the people attending should make for a very interesting day. I am so looking forward to rekindling old friendships and making new friends. The only cost to you the attendee at either event is in time - the time to come to the event - time to listen and time to join in and add your voice to the mix of the day.

I guarantee that it is impossible to attend an event such as these and not go away without learning something new!

See you there!

Today as a forerunner of PodCamp Ireland in KilKenny I was honoured to be included in this weeks Podcast and you can listen to it here

Today Baino mentioned that Olive Riley reputed to be the world’s oldest internet blogger, has died at the age of 108. She was born in the town of Broken Hill on 20 October 1899. Since she began her blog in February 2007, Olive posted more than 70 entries about her life.

Rest In Peace Olive.

May your efforts give encouragement to others out there, to give it a go and join in the fun.

It made me think…. 108 years of age…

At one post a day I have at least another 17,155 posts to write

Do you think you could put up with me for that long?

So you want to know what I did.

I attended

I did, and it was fun!

Andy puts us on the list!

Apart from the Tekkie Presentations I learned….

The story of Good Coffee

How to shave by

How to improve my life

Conference Essentials: Water, Internet, Coffee, Electricity,Signs and I will add Loos.

How Mogulus.com works the system used by Richard Jolly to Live Stream the events of the day.

Phil & Davy check the light.

I had the chance to network (did I get that right?) with new people and made new friends, now I have new Blogs to follow.

In the afternoon Darragh Doyle and I led a conversation on Blogging:

What it’s about, how you should (and shouldn’t), how to enjoy it, sharing your stories, selling your brand and ideas, building your audience. Using blogs and social networking together, for your benefit

Quotes from the day:

I really enjoyed your conversation technique. I wouldn’t have said anything otherwise… ~ Phil O’Kane to Darragh.

Barcamp Belfast was great fun yesterday, the event, the presentation, but most of all almost everyone engaging at the event is what made it ~ Davy Mc

Andy, Phil and others put tremendous effort into the preparation for and all during the day. I know that we attendees appreciated their efforts. Many thanks

I came home with booty:

A new T-shirt (Elly have we swapped lives?), a laptop bag, badges and money!

Thanks Andy for the bag it will be put to good use. I found the four ‘AU’ badges and the penny inside one of the pockets, no tenners I promise! I will keep them until the next photo walk.

Darragh I will wear my ‘Hugged’ badge with pride.

P.S. Darragh suggests that all the Toyboys who received ‘A Grannymar Toyboy’ badge should have a photo taken wearing it and post it on their blog and link to me… That boy has some funny ideas I still have a few to pass on.

I look forward to the next BarCamp and hope to see you there.

BarCamp Belfast is almost upon us

Saturday 21st June, 9am - 5pm

Peter Froggatt Centre, Queen’s University Belfast.

These days don’t just happen, we have to thank the lads for beavering away in the background to bring everything together for the duration :

Andy McMillan (t) (goodonpaper.org)
David R. Newman (Queen’s University Belfast)

The programme sounds interesting and I am looking forward to meeting some old faces and new. I will have to behave because the fella Darragh Doyle will report back to Elly if I don’t! I think he is planning to ask me some questions…

The list of attendees has hit 60 but it looks like we women will be well outnumbered. Come on girls, join in the fun, you know you want to!

Anyone know what a Blog is?

The day is dull and the rain is falling but my heart is bursting with sunshine.

Mark the Postman knocked on my door, he had a parcel for me. It came from The King! Excitedly I opened it

and look what was inside:

Then Elly sent a text to say she had one of these in in her hot little hand:

It makes my little mobile phone look like a toy and it reminds me of a story.

Many years ago Jack wanted me right go wrong to have a Mink coat. We were staying in Dublin at the time and having a few hours shopping while Elly was playing shake the flour all over Nana’s Kitchen at making black pastry (well it was nearly black by the time she was finished). The coat was beautiful. A work of art, semi fitted with lustrous skins in a rich deep colour that at that time enhanced my auburn tresses. I did try it on and for the moment wrapped in luxury I felt like a Movie Star.

Then the voice of reason began to lecture, you know the way it is, we all have those nagging voices deep inside our heads. ‘Where are you going to wear this coat’? The voice asked. My lifestyle did not warrant a Mink Coat! It would spend more time in the wardrobe than on my back. So I declined Jack’s very generous offer.

Since I heard that I had won the Nokia N95 8GB through the generous Sponsorship of 02, for the Blog Post of the Month, a new venture of the Irish Blog Awards, my mind has been in turmoil, I could not with all honesty justify keeping it. I have a mobile phone for emergency purposes. Last month I used it for 2 very short calls and 7 outgoing text messages. The technology behind the N95 8GB would be wasted on me.

I made a decision. George, my son-in-law has a dying phone and I know he has lusted after an N95 8GB since it was introduced, but a love-nest took priority and all his pennies. We came to an agreement… the N95 in exchange for an upgrage of my mobile whenever I want it, plus a promise of an upgrade in whatever Nursing Home that Elly picks for me! Enjoy the phone George!

Now perhaps he won’t think of me as the Mother-in-Law from Hell

Blog Post of the Month started in April. Darragh was the worthy winner for May. We are ready to snuggle up closer on the winners bench and make room for new winners over the next 10 months.

Think about it, everyone has an equal chance of winning. Write from your heart and the rest will follow.

If you read a blog post that you feel is worthy, nominate it by blogging about it and linking to it as well as nominating it here. Remember to venture beyond your usual daily diet of blogs. There are many very worthy specialty blogs out there covering music, food, photography, politics, news, crafts, health issues, the Irish language and Technology, among others. While you visit all those blogs don’t forget to say hello and leave a comment. Comments are the Readybrek for bloggers, giving them the zest to keep going time after time.

I look forward to having you join Darragh and I on the winner’s bench. Good Luck!

My heart is pounding and I am in shock, I was literally finished dinner and sitting in the loo when the phone rang… well doesn’t it always ring at the most inappropriate time. Pulling up my pants I ran to answer it, I was waiting for a call, this is the time of day when Elly & I normally catch up on our news.

“Hi Mum” said the voice at the other end. I am not really concentrating because my trousers are at half mast and I am trying frantically to fix them!

“You won! You won!” the voice is shouting.

“What are you talking about, Elly” I say.

“The Award”! “THE FIRST EVER BLOG OF THE MONTH AWARD!”

I am totally lost for words.  I also have a prize of a fab new O2 N95 Mobile phone (are you jealous George?)

Thank you once again to King Damien for the idea behind the Blog of the Month Award, and to all those who nominated me.

I have said it before and I say it again; Commenter’s are the life blood of blogging. You are the people who inspire me on a daily basis and feed my thoughts with topics and subjects to blog about.

OK MS Elly, you proved that ‘Grannymar could Blog, Podcast and a zillion other things’, now can I go back and sit in the corner? No way! As somebody said to me today on another matter, I have taken the steps and there is no return. I really do not want to return to my pre blogging world, but I am well ready to take a back seat and let others have a chance to share in the glory of winning awards.

THANK YOU EVERYONE

Regular visitors here might have noticed that GM was having trouble. Of course you are all to well behaved to say anything incase my feelings might be hurt. My posts have behaved badly and the font size threw a wobbly!

Following consultations with my advisors at enormous expense, that problem looks like it is solved. Back posts need a little more tweaking when time permits. Windows Live Writer is not very fond of WordPress 2.5 so I am ditching it. I need to check that the catagories stay as I set them and not jump about and the line spacing and paragraphs behave. So this is really a test post.

Thank you to all my advisors who with time and patience sort out my little worries. It cannot be easy when I keep referring to problems in non-tekkie language. I would hate to lose my friends and virtual family. Knitting will never hold fascination for me again!

*+*+*+*

Now I hate advertising on the outside of my clothes.

I remember old men walking the streets of Dublin when I was young, they were wearing sandwich boards. These boards were advertisments for shops or businesses or sometimes had a religious quotation. I always felt sorry for the men who earned their daily crust this way.

Now T-shirts slogans are a horse of a different colour. I saw one I really liked recently it said:

In my next life

I’m going to have more memory installed!

Remember this?

You will remember my Post about it and the follow up Apology Huh! I know you eagerly await the outcome so let me recap.

I emailed a letter to the Editor of the Irish Independent because I took exception to the photograph of Grandad & I with Martha Rotter of Microsoft at the Irish Blog Awards 2008, appearing directly under a heading ‘WEIRD WIDE WEB’. I copied my email to my daughter Elly. What is so weird about blogging or the fact that I a sixty-one year old woman and Grandad, who is in fact, a few years younger in age and by a month in blogging time, pass our time with this hobby? Both of us for our pains are rewarded regularly with comments. The wonderful faithful readers range in age from over 80 up to 18!

Yesterday afternoon as I worked about the house I heard the ping announcing an email. It is like the phone ringing, you want to know the details right away. This is what I received minus the email addresses and phone numbers which I removed:

From Marie Boran - Siliconrepublic.com

To
date Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 3:01 PM

subject FW: eThursday

Hi Grannymar,

I have read your blog post ‘Apology huh!’ and to answer you: I didn’t email you because your daughter, who alerted me to your letter requesting an apology from the Independent in the first place, said she would pass on the email directly to you and that you might be in touch.

As I said in the email, I didn’t create the caption ‘Weird Wide Web’, it is a pre-existing section for non-business related technology headlines. In the spirit of openness feel free to publish the email which I sent your daughter on your blog because as I have already said, I am not ageist in the slightest not would I ever wish to cause offence.

To clarify, the letter requesting an apology that you sent to the Independent would never have reached me because Silicon Republic is a separate entity that provides the independent with its technology news.

Yours sincerely,

Marie Boran
Journalist
Siliconrepublic.com
Tel: +353 (0)1 XXX XXXX
Mobile: 0XX XXXXXXX
Email: xxx@xxx.com

‘I didn’t email you because your daughter, who alerted me to your letter requesting an apology from the Independent in the first place, said she would pass on the email directly to you and that you might be in touch.’

Why would I be in touch? I did not know, and from the layout of the page it is not clear that Siliconrepublic.com is responsible for the content on the page. In fact there is a thick blue line under our photo separating it from the large advert and the article ‘Why don’t we do digital dinner?’ written by Marie Boran.

‘I didn’t create the caption ‘Weird Wide Web’, it is a pre-existing section for non-business related technology headlines.’

If the offending heading with the word WEIRD was pre Ms Boran, then I was correct in the first place addressing my correspondence to the Editor of the Irish Independent.

The second e-mail was sent to Elly (coincidently on my sixty-first Birthday) and not to me, therefore it was not mine to print here on the blog without permission.

Last week I phoned the Irish Independent and asked to speak to the Editor. I was informed that he was away and asked if I would like to speak to his deputy. She was not interested in hearing what I had to say she sounded condescending and her manner was almost rude. She informed me that it could take THREE weeks for the Editor to read an email???? Yes I did say three weeks!

On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 9:58 AM, Marie Boran - Siliconrepublic.com wrote:

Hi Elly,

Sorry for any offence caused by the heading ‘Weird Wide Web’ - that’s the section where eThursday does anything different ie not business related, but I can see how this caused offence to your mother. Tell her that I apologize sincerely and that I find nothing ‘weird’ about older bloggers and I am not ageist in the slightest.

Just to reiterate again, I didn’t write the caption ‘weird wide web’ - it is a standard label that is part of the eThur layout and was there before I even worked there but in order to get the blog awards and the fact that your mother won, into eThursday, I had to work around the standards that already exist.

I did write the text ‘Senior citizen bloggers known as Grannymar and Grandad tied for the award of the best personal blog at the Irish Blog Awards 2008′ but I do not see how this is offensive.

I will let the editor of eThursday know that your mother found it offensive to have her picture and name in the ‘weird wide web’ section and wants an apology printed.

Regards,
Marie Boran.

I replied to Marie Boran’s email to me saying that my anger was not with her as a person, but with the use of the heading above our picture. I noticed there was no picture the following week under the heading and the nuns she mentioned and pictured in the main article were well away from it! But then they were using mobile phones and nothing to do with blogging!

Did I get an Apology? I’m not Elly!

On one hand we are told that 60 is the new 40 and on the other we are past it and ready for the scrap heap! It is almost worse than being an adolescent!