Tuesday 3 November 2009

Tuesday 3 Nov 2009

Can you believe it eh?  All the pictures I took of Keith's birthday:  the cake, family lunch, tea party - the whole lot - gone!  They were all there on the memory card in the camera when we went to Blackpool but taking shots of the tower ballroom with its intricate decoration used up more memory than I knew.  It seems to have wiped other things to make more space - THEN sent me a 'no memory left' message.   Bother bother BOTHER, say I!  Sounds like a job for the brand new super-duper 8-gig memory stick.It'll have to go grazing off everyone's computers!  It's not the same though, is it?

Telephones.  Most of us have our very own personal carry-out ones these days as well as our home phone.  What they all have in common is push buttons.  I was just thinking this afternoon how I used to like the sound of the old-fashioned dial;  a simple pleasure denied us nowadays.  For some reason I could always remember people's phone numbers when we dialled them on a dial as opposed to a keypad.  I'm hopeless now - probably old age galloping up!  Now  I can't even remember a number for the length of time it takes me to look up the number and pick up the phone!  I did like proper dials though.  I didn't even mind ruining my nails in the holes.

There was something about a proper telephone ringing noise too.  Made from a proper bell, it was.  I know this because I once took one apart to see if I could alter the sound because the 2 phones on my office desk sounded identical.  A small bit of sticky tape stuck on the bell altered the sound just enough so I put it together again - and realised they were the same colour!  So I ended up with a r-r-resonant, r-r-rich r-r-ring-r-r-ring on one and a dull muted thud and a blob of Tippex on the other.  No needto mess about like that now.  You can choose your own ring, and what an eyeopener some are, to be sure!  My niece has an incredibly rude one which, basically amounts to an irate bloke urging you to "Pick up the *** phone.  Answer the phone...why dontcha,  Pick the *** thing up".  It gets louder and more insistent the longer you leave it.  Great in the supermarket checkout!

Let's take a step further back:  who can remember those old Bakelite telephonrs?  The first office I ever worked in had them.  Goodness knows how old it was even then, when plastic ones were the norm.  They smelled horrible and the handset weighed a ton but their dial made a beautiful sound and there was always a tiny little 'ching' when you hung up, which made slamming the phone down extremely satisfying and the person on the other end knew the phone had been slammed.  Not so now.  There's no sound when you press the disconnect button now and he who caused the displeasure rings you back and says"I think we got cut off..........".  Round 2 - ring-ring!


11 comments:

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Sorry you lost all those pictures. I know it must have been a wonderful celelbration. You are so right about the phones. I miss the old ring we used to have before all the new phones became so popular. I have a friend who still uses her old one and it still works so she will not get a new one. There are things that you cannot do over the phone if you don't have push buttons but it still doesn't seem to bother her. She won't have an answering machine nor voice mail either.

Jackie said...

Yes...time for the 'mega card' my friend. I am so sorry that you lost images.
Telephones change so fast now, I dare not buy another one...it will be outdated before I get it home.
You can take photos with one, shop on line...text...and, oh yes, I suppose make a call....:))
I like simplicity. I don't text...and like you, I miss the old sounds of the phones. I keep a 'corded' phone at home...in case the electricity goes out...because now...the cordless ones won't work when that happens. Long ago, if the electricity went out, one still had a phone. Now, I have to search and scrounge to find the 'corded' one to plug in until the 'power' comes back on so that I can use the cordless. My my...
technology is buzzing right along, isn't it.
Love,
Jackie

Patchwork Dragon said...

Sorry about your photos Angie, I'd be really upset too if I lost any of mine!

I've still got an old bakelite phone on an extension at home. It was still in the very house we bought and we had it changed, but kept it for years. Then I had it converted so I could plug it into one of them new fangled plugs. It still has the old telephone number on it with the name of the exchange rather than just numbers. And, yes, it is extremely heavy, and has an extremely loud ring!

Marie Rayner said...

I just love reading your memories Angie. You do make me smile. I am so sorry you lost all your pictures. How annoying! Our camera has a habit of running out of steam right in the middle of a photography session. I am sure there is a way of telling when it needs to be re-charged but darned if I can figure it out!!! I'm no techno wizzie me!

Andy said...

Sorry to hear about your photos, it has happened to me before so now I make certain I download everything as quickly as possible. I have also purchased from Ebay a couple of spare cards.

I to remember those old bakealite phones. The only way I remember phone numbers is by breaking them down in to 2 number segments eg 123456 becomes 12 34 56.
Andy

Blessings each day said...

Here I am popping up from across the US, all the way in Arizona for now.

I am still hoping you will tell us about the birthday boy's celebration as you are such a great story teller, even if we don't have the photos...so sad that happened, Angie!

I have no clue what a bakealite phone even looks like but it is probably just called something else over here.

When I was a little girl in Chicago we used to have phone numbers start with a president's name and then the numbers would follow. Crazy as it may seem I still remember my old phone number that my sweet mama made me memorize...Van Buren (when dialing one just used VA, but you could also tell the operator for free to mke the call!!) 6-2490, but don't ask me what happened in detail yesterday...hmm, or maybe 10 minutes ago??

Sometimes technology takes us zooming ahead in mechanical progress and many steps behind emotionally when we lose the human touch.

blessings and many hugs,

marcy

Kath said...

Awwwww thats a bummer you lost all your pics Angie.Mine takes about 2,000 never had no probs like that.Though I do download them as I take them.I also always remember to charge the batteries regular,though it does tell me like my phone when they are low.I hope you had a wonderful time anyway.Good grief the old telephone Heeeeeee,they weighed a ton didn't they LOL!!You could have killed someone hitting them with the handset alone thats if you didn't strangle yourself first with the cloth cord heeeee.LOL!!My son's FIL bacame a millionaire when he opened his own buisness designing the new plastic ones when they first came out,so they did some good for one person.Hope you get the ccamera sorted.Good to read you again.A very "Happy Belated Birthday and Retirement" to Keith too.Take Care God Bless Kath xx

Rita said...

Hi Angie,
That is very frustrating especially for a very special occasion. I want through that a couple of years ago. I solved that problem with always having an extra memory card in my camera case. As long as I remember to charge the phone before leaving, I'm good.
Take care.
Rita

Anonymous said...

Hi Angie...and thanks for bringing up some recollections of Blackpool...I forgot about the lights...but we so enjoyed walking down by the seashore...but it was cold when we were there and raining...I do remember that much LOLOL...and well I do remember the old heavy phone...one reason is I dropped the receiver on my foot...and boy did I get a nasty bruise...if it had hit my toes they would have been broken for sure LOL...that's my Mom...always trying to find a good out of a bad situation...LOL...I am sorry you lost yur pics...but happy to see you back blogging again...I missed you...God Bless...hugs...Ora

StitchinByTheLake said...

I have a friend whose ring tone is her son saying "Mom (in three syllables!) answer the phone!" progressively getting louder and more aggressive. Annoying at best. blessings, marlene

Unknown said...

hOW SAD ABOUT THE PHOTOS aNGIE, DID ANYONE ELSE TAKE ANY??? rEALLY STRANGE MAYBE IT IS YOUR MAKE OF CAMERA 'COS MINE JUST SAYS "MEMORY FULL" AND THEN YOU HAVE TO PHYSICALLY DELETE PICS TO ALLOW MORE TO BE TAKEN!!