So different

Apology for the generalisation; but some seem to think 'everyone' is the same no matter where they are.

I love reading blog posts from folks in different countries or places.

Noticing differences is part of the fun. Someone in S.E. England posts more regularly and it's always a delight to read about the happenings. She's always an 'overcoat' different especially in winter and crops are always ahead of ours.

Then there are friends in the U.S.A. and Canada, where life seems both similar and strange at the same time.

A recent post was about a teenager being 'home alone' for a short while. I now realise how in my teenage years (long ago) it was a blessing to have so much freedom. No-one thought anything about girls going for countryside walks. Armed with nothing more than a raincoat, and something to eat and drink we wound our way along country lanes chatting merrily. No money as there was nowhere to spend any, not even bus fare. The lanes we strolled along connected pocket-handkerchief / chocolate box villages. Waiting for a bus would have been a daft thing to do with bus services a couple of times a week. No maps, as we did not possess any nor would we think to have any with us. Just 2 or 3 of us whiling away our time and enjoying the scenery. No thoughts of anything going wrong or any assistance necessary.

Granted times were so different then.

As a child I lived in a steeply sloping terraced street. One of my early memories is of watching the lamplighter lighting the single gas lamp that illuminated the street.
Children played in that cobbled street, no danger from vehicles as they were a rarity. Only the doctor and one of the local shopkeepers had a car.

From the time I began junior school we were allowed to go and play in the castle grounds where there were swings, roundabouts, slides. We were expected to look after and to amuse ourselves. It meant we were out of the way and not 'under the feet' of anyone.

Fortunately the 'street' looked after us youngsters and was full of unofficial 'Aunts'.