Christmas lights! A room of your own. Changes.

In the mid to late afternoon yesterday we decided to go for a walk. It was rather dull and damp but not raining and we thought it was a good idea to stretch our legs a little. Going down the road behind the village we discovered that they were erecting barriers, preventing access to the village centre. The pub at the bottom of the lane was all lit up for Christmas.

There were people standing around expectantly. The elf which has been sleeping in the window of the haberdashery was up and about and coming out of the door to greet children. The lady who runs the shop really goes to town on her seasonal decorations. I don’t know who she persuaded to don the elf costume. 

Judging by the number of people milling around, we surmised that we had walked into the switching on of the Delph Christmas lights! People were out and about, buying fast food and coffee from the stalls which had sprung up along the high street.

And the church was decorated with a nativity scene, to remind us what Christmas was really about.

And then, a couple of hours later, there were fireworks! 

Christmas has officially begun here in Delph.

Our daughter has spent a good part of the weekend sorting out the small children’s bedroom. We built the bunk beds and she has now installed more useful storage units so that there is space to play in the middle of the room. The little ones share a bedroom at the moment. The older (young adult) siblings each have a room of their own. At some point the small people will need/want a room each too. 

 I was reflecting on the business of having a room of your own. As a child, and as a teenager, I always shared a bedroom with my two sisters. We were a bit crowded. This was strictly a room to sleep in - no room for much else. Our brother had a room of his own, a very small room, just big enough for a bed a little else, but still his own space. Grandson Number One has room for a huge desk for his computer. He works from home there or plays games online there, socialising at a distance! Granddaughter Number Two has her bookshelves ( she’s a compulsive book purchaser) and, when home from university also works from home there, or reads there, or watches stuff on her iPad or computer there. Sometimes it seems as though he family is spread through the house, often communicating via mobile phone when necessary. 

It’s all very different from when I was a child. We did homework, played, read our books, listened to the radio, watched television, all of us together in the living-room. Of course, there was rather less choice of programmes to watch on the television, so there was little argument over what to choose. Is the insistence on every child having a room of their own and playing there a contributing factor to the rather fractured society we seem to have nowadays? Do teenagers watch inappropriate stuff on their phones and tablets because they are alone in their rooms to do so? 

It’s not that I object to people having their own space. It’s wonderful to have that. Our son’s small daughter escapes to her room when she feels the need for quiet time. My two sisters and I used to ask permission to take over our brother’s little room in turn whenever he went away to scout camp in the summer.  I didn’t have a room of my own until I went away to university. And I am of that fortunate generation who found it easy to get a job on leaving university and never went home on a permanent basis again. 

But that was a different era. Much has changed since then.

Life goes on, stay safe and well, everyone!