from you to me journals ... Journal of a Lifetime

What are the greatest changes you have seen in your life so far?

One of the questions in the journals asks about these changes . . . and the answers are providing some fascinating reading. So interesting, that we would like to hear about the responses you have received to this question.

Email yours to us at change@fromyoutome.com and we will publish them here as long as they are not too rude!

Here to start are some interesting things that have happended on this day in history . . . followed by some of the greatest changes that people who have completed a from you to me journal have experienced.

February 2006 from Cliff Coxon for his son Neil

"When I was a child in school we use to write on slates with chalk, we didn't even have pencils and paper. If I was naughty, the teacher used to make me stay behind to clean them, or 'wipe the slates clean'! I have spent my life in education teaching children and adults to read and write. With the development of technology people do not now need to write or spell - computers and voice recognition software can do this all for them."

December 2006 from Mary Fletcher for her daughter Jane

"The world has become a smaller place with the changes in communications. I used to have to book a phone call if I wanted to speak to someone who didn't live near me, and now people walk down the street talking to each other on mobile phones or even sit at their computers with the ability to see and 'talk' to people on the other side of the globe . . ."

March 2007 from Annabelle Crichton written for her daughters Mary and Sophie

"We were lucky to have an outside toilet and I do remember having a zinc bath, almost luxury, although all the family did have to all share the same water to bathe - not all together, but one by one - so it must have been the short straw for the person who went last in the dirty and cold water . . . oh and we had baths by gas light. No switch on elctricity in those days!"

July 2007 from James for his son Paul Westwell

"I used to go to football matches when I was young with my dad, and I took a little stool to stand on to make sure I could see. The crowds were always friendly and it cost very little to get in - and the players used to go to their 'real' jobs during the week to earn some money. I compare this to today and I am not sure how people can afford to go to the games. The levels of fitness are higher today for the full-time players, mind you, so are their salaries!"

August 2007 from Gordon for his daughter Kaye Hammond

"The black and white television was invented then colour. The wireless was made with a battery and adapted to use with electricity.
It was lovely to sit on a toilet and pull the chain, instead of using a bucket in a shed at the bottom of the garden."

February 2008 from Nigel Edwards for his grand-son Harry

"My change from 1935. The last century was incredible when you think it started with no cars, no aeroplanes, no rockets, no telephones, no computers. In my early childhood, and mainly during the second World War, there were very few cars and to know somebody who with one - and even RIDE in one was an honour. Not until 1949 was there 'proper' television - black and white with a very small screen (green) and very grainy picture. The radio (or wireless as we knew it) was very difficult to listen to, so distorted, and I had a 'crystal set' no such thing as FM! I have seen some truly amazing inventions, like the first calculator, big, heavy and with awful bright red digits, the first jet propelled fighter aircraft, the first jet propelled airliner - the Comet. Computers, what you and I have on our desktop today would have needed an air conditioned room the size of our lounge to produce the same processing power!
When I was a child everything was simple - a slower pace but all the REAL neccessities of life happened (and were better appreciated). Today the technological revolution has meant the simple pleasures of life have gone - forever. But, I am SO glad I was around to see it all happen . . . "

January 2008 from Diana Walsh for her daughter

"My changes . . . the fact that when I was a child (born in 1945) children could run around outside all day and feel safe. My family lived on a RAF station around 1953/4. We used to play in old war planes, which had been stripped of operational machinery but left open to play in. How exciting it was for an eight year old to actually sit in a Coptic and pretend one was flying the plane. I remember climbing all over the plane itself, both inside and outside! Wea also used to play in large fields close to the camp, making dens out of anything we could get hold of. We used to spend hours playinmg there with no sign of any adults around. We also used to hang around a railway line - sounds horrifying to imagine and I wouldn't advocate anyone going to such a place now!

My father was probably one of the last people to buy a TV as we did not have one until years later. We spent a lot of time and arguments during winter evenings playing all kinds of games together - ludo and card games were favourites. We were also taught to do all kinds of 'useful' things such as sew our own clothes, knit, crochet, darn and embroider at a young age. I knitted my first jumper at about eleven. Unfortunately though, when we reached our teenage years, we were desperate for 'bought' clothes!

The biggest change is the introduction and now constant use of computers in all their forms. Car journies were made more interesting with the playing of games such as I Spy, Count the, Who sees etc. We also had no technical games to entertain us then!"

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May 2008 from Jimmy Wright for his grandson Thomas and grandaughter Harriet

"The greatest change in my life compared to my father and grandfather is the availabilty for foreign travel. Both of them travelled to Europe and to the Middle-East. Both wore army uniforms and carried rifles. I have been able to travel to Europe, North America and even Australia as a peaceful civilian. I was born in 1942 and by 1945 large areas of Europe had been wrecked by war. Thanks to Nato and the European Union, Europe has been rebuilt in peace and prosperity. Long may it last."

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August 2008 from Isabel Black for her daughter Vicky

"I think the greatest change I've seen is the growth and influence of ICT in everyday life. In the 1950s telephones were big and heavy and few homes had one of their own. Most people relied on public telephone boxes and calls were connected by an operator. Many people now own mobile phones which can do far more than just make and receive calls. Yours, for example, is also a camera and can connect to the internet and send messages.
Computers have gone from being huge structures which could filla room in a workplace to laptops which are small in sixe but enormous in terms of memory and their ability to run programs of increasing complexity.
Similarly, the world seems to have become a smaller place with increased opportunities for travel.
There have been huge advances in the field of medicine due to research and the application of ICT to aid diagnosis.