THE GOLDILOCKS GRANDMA

I feel like a ‘Goldilocks’ Grandma
Having reached my eightieth year
And part of that generation
That the State and our country held dear

My childhood was blessed by protection
From poverty, hunger and fear
I grew up with blissful assumptions
That all that I needed was near

I’m old enough to remember
The rationing after the war
Delicious dried egg in large silver cans
And orange juice, too thick to pour

At school I received education
That now seems to be rarely taught
Like cookery, drama and music
Gymnastics and out of doors sport

And though I am old I remember
School dinners cooked in the canteen
Which were delicious and wholesome
With no UPFs to be seen

My teen years were fun and fulfilling
No trauma attended my play
Our choices were many and varied
And we always had plenty to say

I married with never a worry
That there was no money for frills
I trusted the state to step up to the plate
And be there to cope with life’s ills

We raised our three beautiful children
In this welcoming country of Wales
Who enjoyed an untrammelled childhood
Despite the rain and the gales!

And now that I’m into my eighties
I hope that my grandchildren see
That life is worth all the living
And delivers the best that can be

That poem, written some time ago, hopefully explains why this blog is called the Goldilocks Grandma. Not so many years ago I read of the ‘Goldilocks Zone’, which is explained in wikipedia as the zone around a star which can support ‘habitable ocean worlds’; also known as circumstellar habitable zones.

Liquid water is considered necessary to support life. If a planet is too close to a sunlike star (or a red dwarf) water boils off. If too far, water freezes. This simple and glaringly obvious fact is the reason that all life on this planet is here. According to data obtained from the Kepler space telescope, there could be as many as 40 billion earth sized planets orbiting Habitable (or Goldilocks) Zones; planets that are happily positioned in that ‘just right’ zone. Hence my rather complacent view of my luck to be born in the political and social zone that contributed to my life’s health, happiness and security.

As I write many parts of our ‘Goldilocks zone’ world are experiencing the effects of climate change; which is manifesting itself in the form of extreme heat; warming oceans, coastal flooding and unprecedented violent storms. Globally now we are fighting fires that are burning out of control, seeing ocean and river levels dropping; no longer able to sustain healthy marine life or the passage of shipping.

To make matters worse the human race continues to pollute our land, sea and air; to ignore the many warnings of the dangers of continuing on the same trajectories; and to still believe in the deliberately delusional lies of, mostly, anonymous ‘influencers’.

I think it would be hard to find any one of these ‘influencers’ who sincerely believe in the ‘facts’ they regurgitate. Look behind the lies, and almost always we find shady corporations; international bodies motivated by the desire to retain their hold on the world’s resources; to continue with their obsession and addiction to MONEY; and the power that all that cash provides.

And yet, and yet . . . my ‘Goldilocks’ outlook can’t help but hope that the human race still has the time and ability to turn our trajectory around; especially if communities start/continue to adopt the ‘micro’ local lifestyle; as compared to the macro centralised systems that indifferently run our lives.

I base this conjecture on observations of my immediate environment. Take one example. Having recently been made a widow, my ability to keep my much loved garden in a tidy state has been drastically reduced; seeing as my darling hubby was the one who would venture out with strimmer, hedge cutter and mower to create order out of chaotic growth. I have mobility problems and have had to watch nature reclaiming our weed free beds, our trimmed hedges and vegetable patch for her own.

But I am not downhearted! Despite the drought, untrammelled growth has provided much needed protection and food for insects and birds. I left loganberries, blackberries and blackcurrants unpicked; food for the blackbirds, thrushes and other avian friends. And all the ‘weeds’ have produced myriads of seeds; thousands of thistledown, hundreds of hips, bountiful blossom where butterflies and moths, bees, wasps and flies have found sustenance. On this small patch alone, I feel that I have helped nature to survive and thrive. Micro culture has proved it’s worth to me.

I could go on and on with this theme; and definitely will in future posts. But I think I’d better ‘pause’ this one now; and hope that old friends and readers of Forward to the Past will take up my new project with enthusiasm! Until next time Live and Love Local!