I have a slimline calendar hanging in my kitchen.  It became a habit or tradition to replace it each year and it hung by the phone for quick reference to appointments and functions.  It began in the days of the fixed phone.  They (fixed phones) were the only kind when I moved in here.

The calendar had one line per day and often the weekend days were in a different colour, making it easier to keep track of the weeks.  It was amazing how much information could be squeezed into one line.  Back in the days when Elly was at school it kept me up to date on hockey or tennis matches, swimming lessons, PTA meetings and school outings.

Jack had his meetings and trips to the UK Mainland and I had committee meetings & fund-raisers to organise and prepare for.  It was checked on a regular basis for up coming birthdays and anniversaries.

The phones changed and with time but the fixed one stayed in the kitchen.  A Calendar stayed alongside it.

Yesterday, I realised that the month was still showing as July!  Taking a second glance I noticed the page was empty.  The month had been a busy one and August was proving to be just the same.

What happened to all the notes on the calendar?  Sudden realisation of how dependent I had become on modern technology.  All dates and reminders were now on my laptop calendar or in my phone.  The phone bleeps to remind me at an appropriate time.

All phones nowadays have address books so we no longer need to learn numbers.  How many people know when asked what their mobile/cell number is?  Who needs to phone their own mobile phone?

338352  336096  592155  888036 are just four numbers from my childhood.  The people are long gone and I am sure the numbers no longer exist.  In the present day everyone has at least two if not three phone numbers.  I have three, two of them I can recite like the list above, but I need to look up the third when asked for it.  With address books in phones I only need to select the persons name and I am given a choice for all their numbers listed.  I seldom remember any of the numbers by heart these days.

There is a series of numbers that I remember and they all have four digits – PINS – wait now…. Is that mine or is it Ellys?

Now don’t get me started on passwords…..