good thing

What a time to be in right now. I often wonder how the history books will write up the last year and the days to come; whose feet will they choose to lay the Brexit blame and how will they compare President 44 to 45? Cartoonists and Exam Board Question Makers must be sharpening pencils as the political roller-coaster ride twists and turns.

As Trump's inauguration looms I've been reading about how Obama's lack of achievement and how any accomplishments will be erased by his successor anyway. Haters gonna hate and theorists are always gonna miss the lay person's view. Here's mine.

In 2016 the country where I was born and bred, educated and worked, raised my daughters and probably will end my days, has turned the other cheek and is making a hateful noise. Not everywhere, mind. I'm a Londoner, most of the time people here can handle a range of face colours, divergent accents or an assortment of religions. But still the mood has definitely changed. And then we witnessed an eruption of overt hate spewing out of our tellies during the US Presidential Campaign. I am amazed that so many people can invest so much time to so much hostility; they seem to live and breathe a continuous rage against people who don't mirror themselves.

We have been invaded by an influx of slogans saying which lives matter, people filming death on their doorsteps and which 'race' is at fault for the demise of the others happiness. All raising relevant and necessary debates because all views need their day in the sun.

For me, the way the Obamas, especially Michelle, have engaged with society has been genuine. The images that fill my FB timeline highlight the joy, the decorum and respect for their position during their time in the White House. Michelle Obama's work raising the profile of girls education has been inspirational to many and long may her work continue in the organisations she has supported. Their collective message has always been about doing better, working hard, supporting one another and the necessity for heightened gun security. Okay I don't live in the States; many policies Obama imposed don't affect me directly but as the first black family in the White House move out of the spotlight and back into their private lives I believe they were always going to be scrutinised moreso than any other Presidential family. And how refreshing that they completed their tenure without scandal or mighty blunder as we have witnessed before, imagine if this President with a Brown Face committed a socio-political crime? Like getting Twitter trigger happy or mocking the afflicted.

Many may belittle those who rejoiced in the ethnicity of the First Family but there is a truth in how it has opened doors of self belief or understanding of journeys that can be taken by people of colour - when history lessons omit sections of society, if someone in power has experienced and refers to elements of your struggle, you are referenced and therefore can take your place in the future.

In their short lives, my three mixed heritage children, have grown up with classrooms and communities that reflect a whole world; a white male followed by a white female UK Prime Minister; a black American male president - their norm is that different people attain different successes.  Maybe they're too young to realise the power of prejudice, they will learn in time but I hope their future will be one where they use their voices, their strength, their abilities to improve their world - that's a message I taken away from the Obama years. 

just looking

Don't panic - this isn't a how-to-make craft post (although believe it could very well be). 

I recently discovered an old battered metal container with Wall's (as in the ice cream) embossed into the side. It seems that this may have been an old ice cream container from the factories. I loved it, hammered out the dents, lovingly restored it with a coating of a vanilla-esque paint. Why? My grandparents both worked at Walls Ice Cream Factory in Acton, London in the 1950s/60s and this little bit of memorabilia which now holds my old LPs also held some sentimental meaning.

And so began my obsession. I've browsed antique shops before, a brief detour on a holiday high street. But the antique fair I visited last week was serious business. It was massive. Hanging out with a friend, we tried to be all organised and view the whole fair rank and file but like magpies, we'd dart off in search of some vintage thing or a crusty old item that we could restore back to life. (Said friend is way more creative than me but we get the same buzz digging around dilapidated stuff).

Once I got past the ooh I used to have one of these when I was a kid moments and start to really look among the tables and boxes it can be quite a reflective experience. I'm not a fan of jewellrey or fine lace so tended to skip past these but would slow to a pensive halt at spaces filled with suitcases, storage containers, kitchen ware and photo albums.

Some of these items throw their tales out with glorious abandon. Suitcases with faded labels of far-flung places or a regimental history scrawled inside. Or the photo albums, which I have become obsessed by, that lie dustily concealing a whole life for us to peruse the whys and wherefores about the many faces smiling in familial tableaux. 

Then there are the objects that need a little more attention. I wonder what all the battered canisters and containers with scratched off logos may have held at one time. Was it once stashed with love letters to a young romantic or a youngsters collections of nik-naks that were thrown away once adulthood arrived?

When we buy all our bits n bobs that clutter our homes for decades or just for a short while before it's deposited in charity shops, is it likely that in forty years time people will be walking around car parks speculating the life we lived and how quaint or quirky our household objects were? Will it bring back a memory of an old abode or will the excess of the millennial generation pass on to become a desire for minimalism and all things only new? Will our future great-great grandchildren shun their virtual kitchenware and furniture for pine tables and Scandi dinner sets?

I tend to get overly-excited when I see art deco paraphernalia that I can't afford. Then get all whimsical over sixties and seventies kitchenalia with bright oranges emblazoned on plastic cups or Pyrex dishes. Many the time has been when I could have happily laden my Mini Cooper with bounty from yesteryear to add to all the 'projects' already clogging my house up.  

So I step on the breaks and I content myself with just a browse and a brood whilst pondering what I'll buy...next time. 

whole lotta history

History becomes more interesting the older you get; yet I'm not sure why. Is it that we become more aware of the world and its successes and failures as we age? Or do we find ourselves becoming part of history when we observe teens 'reinventing' the music and the fashion of our youth, and also now see the beautiful people of yesteryear struggling with the same wrinkles and flabby bits as the rest of us?

Kids, these days (my goodness what do I sound like?), but hear me out...kids these days have so much to make history fun. Any era you like, there will be a website or BBC kids pages or Horrible Histories episode or English Heritage castle event to bring it to life. My 3G love a good history tale but it's MiddleS who has really been bitten by the history bug - especially the Tudors. 

But what has really surprised me is the amount of reading she has chosen to do, the research she has taken on by herself, the facts and dates she remembers. Her favourite figures have been Henry 8th, Elizabeth 1st and Queen Victoria so far. She has persuaded her Grandpa to take her to Hampton Court for her 7th birthday  - and the countdown to her visit is akin to the days pre-empting a family holiday.

I say surprised that she has found a keen interest in history, when what I really mean is...absolutely chuffed. A trip to an old hunting castle of Henry 8th's  brought forth a stack of interesting comments about the Tudor Dynasty from memory. Including the correction of an erroneous snippet I offered to her!

We've always known our MiddleS was a bright button but her passion, interest, and talent for all things history is astounding.

Long may it continue.

This post is linked with The Photo Gallery - 205 Sticky Fingers:Talent