My dad, Eric George Garratt, died 19 years ago next January – and today would have been his 80th Birthday. It only seems like yesterday when I raced an ambulance down the Nottingham ring road. Unfortunately he didn’t survive his second heart attack. He was 61 – and perhaps had life cut short by a stressful job and, perhaps, years of smoking – although he had given up years earlier.
My dads grandchildren....
His view on life was that quality was more important than quantity – but I can’t help but wonder if in those few seconds before the lights go out whether he would have changed his mind…
As I thought about him today – I was musing on how the world has changed in those 19 years.
Firstly, he never met our son Jack – who was born in 1993. Jade and Adam were 3 and 15 months respectively. My sisters kids (Georgia, Isabel & Finlay) weren’t born either.
and the other three grandchildren
Then the technology – this blog thing for starters. The internet had technically been around for some time – but probably didn’t get off the ground until around 1994. Google was founded in 1998! Facebook in 2004 and Twitter in 2006.
Mobile phones did exist in 1991, but the first person to person text was not sent until 1993! I had a ‘brick phone‘ in 1992! It was brilliant! It fitted in my Rover 216 efi between the seat and the handbrake in a really cool way!
In 1991, Kodak released the first professional digital camera system (DCS), aimed at photojournalists. It was a Nikon F-3 camera equipped by Kodak with a 1.3 megapixel sensor. To think we now have cameras in phones with better resolution!
So the world really has changed; I am not sure what my dad would have thought about the technology – his life at the office was reliant on the Telex machine. What seems odd to me is that my firm shared a fax machine with Freeth Cartwright Solicitors in 1991 – and fax is more or less obsolete now! He would have been impressed with HDTV – Sky TV merged with BSB two months before he died!
It really is amazing to think of all of these changes in less than 20 years. I wonder what the next 20 will bring?
I still miss my Dad – I think he would be really proud of us all – especially the six grandchildren (only two of who he met). And part of me thinks he would have quite liked some of this new fangled technology – as he would have said! But I am not sure he would have been a blogger…
Happy Birthday Dad!
December 22nd, 2009 at 21:09
Some nice thoughts there Tim. A good time of year to remember, and reflect, for us all. Makes you think…
PS – my Dad has bought in to the Web 2.0 era in a big way – I’d be very proud, except I’ve become said Web2 / Apple round-the-clock-support helpline!
December 22nd, 2009 at 22:07
Thanks John – yes a time to reflect. And I know what you mean about the helpline thing – but I wonder how long it will before our kids have to start helping us…Eek that’s worrying! But probably as likely as night follows day?
December 24th, 2009 at 14:37
Hi Tim,
A friend directed me to your blog. All interesting stuff. Hope you and the family are well – scary how the kids are not kids anymore !
Speak soon – Merry Christmas
Cheers
Tim
December 24th, 2009 at 14:56
Hi Tim, it seems a long time since I bumped into you on Park Row – great to hear from you! Are you still sunning yourself in the Bahamas? Yes frightening how the kids have grown – Jade is 22… Anyway, if you are in Nottingham – give me a shout! Lunch will be on me… Happy Christmas! Tim
December 26th, 2009 at 06:20
Kinda – it took us about 3 mths to realise we had left a great opportunity in Cayman, and we never looked back. We’ve been here ever since and are well settled – get back to Blighty every 2 yrs or so, but otherwise well n truly set in the Caribbean way. Still got Dec 25 qtr day though, a la GFS !!
Cheers !