This isn’t the world I want to live in.

Goodness, I was feeling pretty good about life until I started reading through this thread! However, swimming against the tide, I am not going to let the gloom and doom which is practically vibrating off the screen get to me. We have the Spring to look forward to, such a wonderful season, and we are living in what is still a pretty decent country. There are loads worse, North Korea springs to mind, any country with totalitarian regimes, the impoverished African countries, no bankruptcies if you can’t afford medical treatment - just try living in any of these even for a short time. You have all been granted the wonderful gift of life, use it to the best of your ability. Stop worrying about things you can’t change - as an earlier wise poster said “it’s above your pay grade”. If you live a comfortable life, you will get much joy out of helping others less fortunate, revel in your family, help them as much as you can & don’t let them think of you as a grumpy old woman. It’s so easy to dwell on the miseries of this world. Keep yourself informed by all means, but YOU cannot put an end to them, just brighten and lighten your part of it. End of homily - now get up and just smile, it’s quite catching, you’ll find people smiling back at you and things won’t seem so grim …..

MadeInYorkshire
It must be a very frightening place inside your brain 😱

I’ve been thinking about this thread, and rather than the misquote that started it, I’m more of the mind of Dylan Thomas.

‘Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’

I’m not giving way to melancholy or succumbing to the golden glow of the past, we have to live for now, and enjoy what we have - and burning and raving suits me better.

There are pros and cons of this age.
I will admit I don’t fancy living in an age of AI when turning to the computer age was bad enough

As I said when the personal and societal collide, things can seem bleak.

With you all the way Casdon - and I love a bit of Dylan Thomas.

Life is like a bus journey ,enjoy the stops along the way.

yes we should rage - but I totally get what the OP means. All the kindness we were taught as we grew up "boys never hit girls" " gentlemanly behaviour". & "I'm alright Jack" was for spivs & ridiculed; "it's not the winning but the taking part" "virtue is it's own reward" "waste not want not".

Who would bring their kids up to these traditional precepts these days? A recipe for failure in today's "who's elbows are sharpest" personal & political landscape.And then you have the internet.... despaired of even by it's originator. And then, not so culpable cos till a short time ago we weren't aware but - we're wrecking the planet. For me the last is the biggy.

I don't see myself as pollyanna, as someone seemed to suggest upthread. I can get as worried as the next woman; but I am blowed if I am going to let numpties like Putin and Trump spoil what I have left of my life.

I was a toddler in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and my mum was terrified for me and my baby sister. The Cold War continued throughout my childhood, the IRA was trying to blow people up in my teens (and often succeeding), and I was newly married when we got a leaflet through the door called Protect and Survive - advice about sellotaping windows and using tea towels as masks to avoid breathing in contaminated air in the event of a nuclear blast.

My first baby was born during the Gulf War, when people were citing Nostradamus' predictions of 'birds from the East' ending the world. I was terrified for him, and wondered what I was thinking, bringing a baby into such a world.

Soon after, BSE was supposedly going to kill us all and leave my babies orphans, and that was after a decade of being told that AIDS would carry us all off too. Then there was Swine Flu, Covid and so on.

I'm still here, though, merrily (or grumpily) posting on GN and dancing in my kitchen to the Ramones when my breathing allows.

I don't deny that things are grim. We don't know the half, as I said upthread. But letting bad news spoil the rest of our lives isn't going to make a difference. We will just have spoilt what's left of our lives. Usually, when people say there is nothing they can do, my reaction is to ask what they've tried that hasn't worked, and that often shows up that there is plenty that can be done, but they just don't want to be the one to do it. In this case, we are all powerless. If things get worse, who knows - there may turn out to be something we can do, and I'll do my best to do it. If not, well, the very best thing we can do is keep our spirits up and plod on.

We should try to stay positive for the sake of our families if possible . My very wise father in law said each generation learns to cope with the world in their own way .Things often don’t turn to be as bad or the same as what we worry about in the end . 😀X

There are so many uncountable challenges that we all face at the moment regardless of which countray we reside in ..

We are both worried about our 3 grandchildren and our twin daughters and their husbands.

We are less worried about our younger twin daughter and her husband and little girl as they live in Zürich, Switzerland.

We cringe at the afternoon news broadcasts.

We are totally against bullying and phishing Trump.

My husband was born and raised in The Madrid Capital and we are together, married almost 33 years and live in a few metres from (walkable) the urban centre of Madrid.

Me too!

valdavi

yes we should rage - but I totally get what the OP means. All the kindness we were taught as we grew up "boys never hit girls" " gentlemanly behaviour". & "I'm alright Jack" was for spivs & ridiculed; "it's not the winning but the taking part" "virtue is it's own reward" "waste not want not".

Who would bring their kids up to these traditional precepts these days? A recipe for failure in today's "who's elbows are sharpest" personal & political landscape.And then you have the internet.... despaired of even by it's originator. And then, not so culpable cos till a short time ago we weren't aware but - we're wrecking the planet. For me the last is the biggy.

Well, that resonated with me because there was a feature in the local news this evening about how young women in Cheltenham are concerned about going out in town when the Cheltenham Festival is due and when it is on.

They are subjected, by a minority I should stress, to a barrage of unpleasant innuendo, sexual comments, not just from young men but, as one student said, men in their late 70s. Presumably they are drunk (although this can happen in the mornings too) but I hope there'll be extra police on duty - if they were arrested and locked up for the duration of the races, perhaps they might think twice about their behaviour. Even schoolgirls on their way to school have been harassed.

Have they ever been taught respect for women and girls?

A great man once said, "And there shall be signs ... distress of nations, with perplexity ...Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth...
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads ...when you see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near.

Add to it from another great man "The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men."

And the first great man clinches it for today's living as "Love God and your neighbour as yourself"

So it all comes back to daffodils - we put the bulbs in the ground but it isn't us who makes them grow. It is us who rejoice in them...

Let's live, laugh, love. That's what I do.

It will all be fine as it always is.

Handwringing and despair only feed the idea that Putin and Xi share that the West is pusillanimous and weak.

Show courage, resilience and optimism. Think things will be well and they will be.

Casdon

I’ve been thinking about this thread, and rather than the misquote that started it, I’m more of the mind of Dylan Thomas.

‘Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’

I’m not giving way to melancholy or succumbing to the golden glow of the past, we have to live for now, and enjoy what we have - and burning and raving suits me better.

Me too 😄

Allira

valdavi

yes we should rage - but I totally get what the OP means. All the kindness we were taught as we grew up "boys never hit girls" " gentlemanly behaviour". & "I'm alright Jack" was for spivs & ridiculed; "it's not the winning but the taking part" "virtue is it's own reward" "waste not want not".

Who would bring their kids up to these traditional precepts these days? A recipe for failure in today's "who's elbows are sharpest" personal & political landscape.And then you have the internet.... despaired of even by it's originator. And then, not so culpable cos till a short time ago we weren't aware but - we're wrecking the planet. For me the last is the biggy.

Well, that resonated with me because there was a feature in the local news this evening about how young women in Cheltenham are concerned about going out in town when the Cheltenham Festival is due and when it is on.

They are subjected, by a minority I should stress, to a barrage of unpleasant innuendo, sexual comments, not just from young men but, as one student said, men in their late 70s. Presumably they are drunk (although this can happen in the mornings too) but I hope there'll be extra police on duty - if they were arrested and locked up for the duration of the races, perhaps they might think twice about their behaviour. Even schoolgirls on their way to school have been harassed.

Have they ever been taught respect for women and girls?

In Cheltenham! Heavens to Betsy😖

Barleyfields

You seem to be a conspiracy theorist MadeinYorkshire. What a load of nonsense.

Isn’t it just 😆

Oreo

Allira

valdavi

yes we should rage - but I totally get what the OP means. All the kindness we were taught as we grew up "boys never hit girls" " gentlemanly behaviour". & "I'm alright Jack" was for spivs & ridiculed; "it's not the winning but the taking part" "virtue is it's own reward" "waste not want not".

Who would bring their kids up to these traditional precepts these days? A recipe for failure in today's "who's elbows are sharpest" personal & political landscape.And then you have the internet.... despaired of even by it's originator. And then, not so culpable cos till a short time ago we weren't aware but - we're wrecking the planet. For me the last is the biggy.

Well, that resonated with me because there was a feature in the local news this evening about how young women in Cheltenham are concerned about going out in town when the Cheltenham Festival is due and when it is on.

They are subjected, by a minority I should stress, to a barrage of unpleasant innuendo, sexual comments, not just from young men but, as one student said, men in their late 70s. Presumably they are drunk (although this can happen in the mornings too) but I hope there'll be extra police on duty - if they were arrested and locked up for the duration of the races, perhaps they might think twice about their behaviour. Even schoolgirls on their way to school have been harassed.

Have they ever been taught respect for women and girls?

In Cheltenham! Heavens to Betsy😖

It's the visitors to the Cheltenham Festival apparently, big event in the racing calendar.

Yes, I usually watch the racing when I have time, wonder where the oiks all come from?

I didn’t know this was a comedy thread MadeInYorkshire. You’re behaving a laugh, aren’t you ?

Well, it’s certainly not Gloucester Oreo as some Cheltonians would have you believe. And nanna8, I really do think this thread needs lightening up a little, don’t you agree? We just can’t go around looking in the gutter all the time, we have to look up and see the stars. I was born just days before the outbreak of the Second World War. The most frightening time for me was the Cuban missile crisis. I was just married and remember thinking “I shan’t get to have my own family now” - then Russia pulled back and here I am today, blessed with great grand children. For us here in the UK and for me personally, we are nowhere near that moment and for that reason alone I refuse to be downhearted.

Some people are exactly that, down hearted. Maybe they come on here looking for a kind word, reassurance, just to get it out there.
Maybe they are lonely and worried.

Have a good day everyone wherever possible.

Oreo

Yes, I usually watch the racing when I have time, wonder where the oiks all come from?

At Cheltenham, mostly Irish its their big week an opportunity to drink a gallon of Guinness every day. No fashion on show it’s too cold but at least no snow likely this year.

Oh, and there is a few horse races too

Yes, lots of Irish at Cheltenham, it’s a great day out. There is now a gender inclusive day called Style Wednesday, which used to be Ladies Day, and there is plenty of fashion on show then, hats and all, I’ve been, years ago, and it was good fun, everybody in high spirits.