Tusen Takk

Longevity is a fine thing, they say, referring usually to one of our well seasoned icons who seem or seemed to go on for ever; think John Gielgud, Jack Nicklaus or Queen Elizabeth II. But what about Petula Clark? This lively young soul was entertaining the nation through song in 1942 and there she was just recently, vivacity unimpaired, on tour seventy four years later. And that, as we marvel at the powers of endurance shown by London Marathoners, is what might be described as stamina.

And what do we think of when the name of Petula Clark flashes across our crowded mental awareness screens? We remember her encouraging us to go downtown [ yes, that is with a 'w' ]; entreating us not to sleep in the subway [ Darling ]; and above all perhaps reminding us, through primary school assemblies and similarly uplifting gatherings, of the importance of saying 'Thank you'.

So, on the threshold of my blogging career, acknowledging that this particular brand of communication is now keeping the Dead Sea Scrolls company in the accumulation of dust and recognising that my outpourings will have much in common with Thomas Hobbes's description of life as ' mean, brutish and short, it may be the right time to express a little appreciation for this and that.

Now, this is not to be an Oscar style stream of gratitude in which all friends and relations [ shades of Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh ] must be mentioned alongside the pseudo lurking onion seller who disappeared thirty years ago and Granny who called her cat Marmite because everyone else's was known as Marmaduke or Marmalade. No, this is a much more focussed nod in the direction of those who have goaded a Stone Age recidivist to the point where he can actually attempt to compose a blog with reasonable chance of success.

So who are these wizards combining technological skill with lashings of patience? First mention goes to Monica and Tom, two young people loosely connected to myself although probably not loosely enough for their liking. They have been responsible for the research into, preparation of and fine tuning of the blogging paraphernalia. Then, stepping back a little, I am mindful of Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's eponymous play expressing the wish that the men around him should be fat; a sexist and sizeist comment if ever we heard one but the population of ancient Rome and Elizabethan England were not overly concerned with political correctness. In any event I differ markedly from JC in wishing to be surrounded exclusively by people who are proficient in information technology. If they can share their expertise, these are the saints of the twenty first century.

In search of the eternal guru I have to return to my previous place of work in mother Scotland to a learned academic and administrator with more than a little astronomy on the side. TJS was nothing less than brilliant in setting things up perfectly and providing instant rescue when mere mortals went horribly astray.

There once was a man by name Tim,
In IT none stronger than him;
When faced with scenes tragic
He just worked his magic
And all felt an onset of vim.

O how in retirement I still miss the IT Services Department; now I am reduced to shouting and weeping. Sic transit Gloria mundi as they say.

Then, helping me in a different way was a polymath named Rob. He had as many skills as Usian Bolt boasted Olympic medals, simultaneously demonstrating, with rare unflappable modesty, expertise in music, teaching, the technical side of theatre, the meaning of citizenship and, above all, preparing and compiling audio visual material for me to use in assemblies. When he arrived at the school where I worked, the long suffering community had listened patiently to plain, droning, remorseless diatribe every Thursday morning at assembly for fifteen years.

Rob worked in a spirit of unquestioning comradeship to change all that by putting together a wealth of inspired presentations which served to do much more than merely keep dozy teenagers awake for ten minutes in the very early morning. As I headed for the exit at the end of my career in 2011, Rob put together a few minutes of sound and film combining my three preoccupations of Shakespeare, the Beatles and cricket. You can still see on YouTube  --  and you have the benefit of a couple of minutes of Petula Clark too at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-IjJmphEHI

And  --  I almost forgot  --  it was Rob, when others were trying to persuade me to become a practitioner of Facebook behaviour, who was firm instead in the belief that I should blog my way through retirement. So, six years later, here I am and thank you Rob.

22nd April 2017