Entering the Twenties: Hear us Roar!

Well hello blog world! Been a fair few months, I know, but as a self-proclaimed faddist, what did you expect?!

As the first day of a new year, indeed a new decade, draws to an end, I thought I should make some kind of contribution to my little area of the internet. And the other half is watching football, so it gives me something to do.

So, Merry New Year and all that jazz! We are still only hours into the start of 2020 and another decade – unless you’re in the Team 1 camp, then you’ve got another 364 days to make a meaningful mark before the next stretch begins!

100 years ago, the western world saw the birth of what would be known as the Roaring Twenties, when many prospered as others became disillusioned with the world, celebrity and wealth were favoured, every major country seemed to become anti-immigration and (thankfully) women started standing up for themselves.

Sounds a little like the last ten years…

Because, let’s be honest, overall the planet has really let itself go in recent times. And when I say the planet, I obviously mean we’ve done a right number on it.

Haylee Says…Nostalgia Be Craze-y!

My blogging birthday twin was kind enough to ask me to guest post – and as we both like a bit of nostalgia, I was happy to oblige! Hope you enjoy this trip down a craze-y memory lane!

Steve McSteveface

Nostalgia be Craze-y!

Do you know your Bulbasaur from your Beedrill? Your Charmander from your Clefairy? Do you even care?

Possibly not. But if you’ve succumbed to the craze that swept the smartphone world this summer, (hmmm… that would be me!) then you’ll know I’m talking about Pokemon Go.

From toddlers to pensioners, players avidly stared at their screens in the hope of capturing a virtual monster. However, the tech may have progressed but crazes are nothing new – we little humans love to indulge in pointless collections and activities for no other reason than our friends are doing it (FOMO anyone?)

So join me now as I look back through rose-tinted nostalgia specs and revisit some of the crazes of my 80s and 90s youth, whether I wore it, played it or collected it…

PLAYGROUND: POGS AND TAZOS

I’ll fully admit that although I had some POGS, I never…

View original post 965 more words

Web of Wonder #1

Today, I thought I’d share some online delights that have captured my attention over the last couple of weeks. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen some of these posted already but I’ve decided to pool them together and may make this a regular feature (hence #1!)

It’s a selection of music, history, fashion, pop culture, art and nature. Don’t worry though, I’ve kept my crazy cat lady leashed – there’s not a feline video in sight! 😉

Fitting you with weapons in the form of words

I’m a huge fan of words. I mean, where would we be without them? We’d be endlessly stuck in a world requiring us to jab and flap to get our point across, like some frustrated toddler tourist!  I will happily use fifteen words when one would suffice: I say it’s exercising my vocabulary, others would say I’m waffling! But as the English language is so diverse and interesting, it seems rude not to acquaint yourself with as large a fraction of it as possible.

I’ve always enjoyed learning new words, finding their origins fascinating. Yet, two of my favourites are perpendicular and izquierda (Spanish for left, as in opposite of right). Neither of them have outstanding meanings, I just enjoy how they roll off the tongue! However, being short-tongued often causes me problems, especially with the word thistle (because that’s a word we use every day isn’t it?!) and until I was five, I couldn’t pronounce the letter F (I guess I’d become fed up of being ‘OR’ years old!)

Working in education has expanded my vocabulary immensely. When you have to think on your feet and come up with a list of synonyms for ‘nice’ to illustrate that there was a valid reason for banning its use by your class, having a well stocked brain dictionary is essential! Words are powerful, opening many a door to the user although more frequently these days, they are used negatively. Despite what the old adage teaches us about stick and stones, words can hurt us. However, they can also heal and inspire us and this is why I love them. Whether they break or mend, bring joy or offend, I believe a solid understanding of a language and its words is one of the greatest skills to teach or learn.