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The Pressure of Impatience
There is one simple killer for anyone who believes they wish to take photographs, the difference between a wonderful image, and a snapshot: Impatience. In a world where everything is done quickly, from fast food to internet connections, Patience is far more than simply a virtue, it is one of the lost virtues no longer practiced. We need to hurry from one place to another, always one step ahead of time, always experiencing the best of life as quickly as possible, so that we do not miss the next experience. With so many short films on various social media web sites, it is important that we weigh our own lives…
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Glancing Back at a Vanishing World.
It was reputedly Socrates who complained that the youth of his day were rude, uneducated and had no respect for their elders, although he was probably not the first to do so. The so-called youth of his times wanted change, more for themselves but without the responsibility, less stress and pressure to perform or succeed, and recognition of themselves as individuals. There is little difference today, with the up and coming generations moving for change to suit their own values and, as they see it, to fit better into a changing world. And they are not wrong, many of us were the same when we were young. The difference now…
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Striding Out of the Comfort Zone
What exactly is the Comfort Zone? Where does it begin, and where does it end? During my long working life I have rarely had to consider what I am happy doing and what would be too much of a change or challenge for me. We all sign up for a specific type of work, are told what it entails, and follow it, hopefully to the best of our abilities. Now and then someone might come along with something for us just outside of our normal routine, our normal experience, but is that exiting the Comfort Zone? I cannot say that I have ever given it any thought. My work has…
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Retirement: The Fast Approaching Last Day
There was a time when I would never have considered retiring and retirement, it wasn’t in the scheme of things, an unthinkable event far, far in the future. And now, here we are, with my retirement date officially set and a considerable amount of paperwork still to be completed, officialdom approached and convinced, plans set and followed through on. Yet, in the back of my mind is that thought, set in stone one sunny day back in 1969, sitting at a desk in a bleak primary school classroom in London, when I patiently worked out how old I would be in the year two thousand, and what I might be…
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The Reverse Dangers of Restaurant Reviews
Although a great lover of travelling and eating out, I rarely write reviews of the places I visit, the restaurants where I eat, the hotels I overnight in. It is enough for me that the food was enjoyable, that the room was comfortable, that the city or town had places of interest. Aside from which, there are so many reviews floating around the virtual world, boosting internet web sites and search engines more than the businesses being reviewed, it seems to be an overload. That is, unless I come across a brand new business, one which has not yet broken through into the public gaze, or been recognised by those…
