Moving into autumn

‘Come and join us after your Saturday shopping. Our autumn concert is at the civilised hour of 3.30pm.’

That is a good idea, I thought, because although I would not be shopping on Saturday, mid-afternoon is a good time for a concert for me. All too often shows are late evening and these days of darker nights I do not want to turn out on a cold evening, so I give it a miss.

Luckily, we arrived near the door just in time but there was a long queue and we shuffled along, hoping to get out of the wind. But once at the pay desk our luck ran out. Payment was by cash only. I usually pay with my mobile and neither of us had cash. We were not alone and Mr T joined several others making a dash for the town’s cashpoints.

These days you usually advertise ‘cash only’. I have seen some shops do it, but not so long ago cash was the usual way to pay. Now cards and mobiles have taken over. And the mobile is not just used for paying, I noticed one or two people reading their screens when the choir was singing. They paid for a concert and maybe did not see or hear the performance. It reminded me of my visit to the Royal Opera House in London. We paid a small fortune for the tickets and even then, the person next to me fell asleep for the whole of the performance and missed everything.

I missed an important event recently. My long-standing friend was eighty this week. She lives on the south coast, so we were not able to go to the party, but it started me thinking about our lives. We first met 75 years ago when we went to school.

We both lived on isolated farms down long lanes, so we did not know any of the children in the class. We sat together and have been friends ever since. As we grew, we talked of boyfriends, husbands, children, health and holidays for all those years. In the early days we used a pony and trap to travel our lanes and at school we used slate tablets and chalk to write with. Now we use electronic tablets, talk on mobiles and travel in modern cars.

Modern cars often have a feature that I have only just discovered. It is called ‘LIM’. These days it is sometimes difficult to keep track of our speed especially where in many towns you come across 20mph restrictions. My newly found button can be pressed and it limits your speed and keeps you safe even on scary Halloween nights.

(Taken from my column in the Shropshire Star)