Happy Bank Holiday Monday everyone! Social media has been around in many forms for around 40 years (according to the internet), but it is in the last 20 or so years that the upsurge in the worlds use of social media has increased. Facebook appeared in 2004 and Twitter in 2006. Both have revolutionised the way in which many communicate and receive information. For some though the sound of the gentle thud as letters come through the post box still hold an excitement. I know, that for me I still enjoy receiving letters. Whilst at university, travelling mostly by public transport, I would use the time to write, usually to my Gran who wanted to know how things were going. Today of course, we sit at or with our many ‘devices’ and type and then whoosh the message has gone. Frustration ensues when the reply is not immediate, but let’s not forget that not everyone attaches the same importance to this method of communication. We still need time to reflect on our answers and yet can reply swiftly to correct an error.

This last week a Minister misspoke and for those who were ‘listening’ sent the choral world into melt down. For many the moment passed them by, and the status quo remained. I am not criticising anyone here, just an observation that perhaps to be ignorant of a mistake can save a flurry of activity, only to be calmed by a correction being made two days later. In my humbled opinion, the mistake should not have been made in the first place, especially in the current climate.

We all want to believe that things will be better in the long run and I believe they will. I follow the data and keep up with the news and have far too many hours of screen time on a daily basis for my own good.

I think we all accept the reality of the situation, but sometimes a little escapism goes a long way to lift the mood. We want good to triumph over evil, we want to live to fight another day and we want to believe that ‘all’s right with the world’.

So, do I wish I hadn’t been drawn in to two days of speculation over whether the parliamentary answer was right or not. Well, yes I do, it would have saved me a lot of time! But I am glad I had the opportunity to scrutinise the comment and be engaged in its journey.

But had I not been aware of it, my week would have been free from frustration, and I would have been blissfully ignorant. Maybe all I need to do is turn off my ‘phone and sit in the garden and watch the blossom fall from the tree; and in that moment time would stop and I would be happy. Let’s have more of those moments.