What do you see whilst you’re on your daily walk?  What have you NOTICED about how the views are developing on a daily basis.  I have been particularly grateful for being able to witness the beauty of Spring as it edges into our landscape this year.  The grapeseed in the nearby fields has gone from a stalky green to a blanket of yellow.  The blossom is now a wedding full of pink and white and if you’re lucky you can spot clusters of bluebells in shady wooded areas.

This week I was taken with the dandelions and how to me they symbolise the co-existence of the generations; particularly pertinent in this current pandemic.  This photo, taken near my home painted the picture in my mind of a young and an old person sharing space and wisdom.  I was drawn to the beauty of the elder dandelion, although grey and white, beautifully fragile yet robust, holding its spherical form despite the breeze.  Its younger relative was vibrant in colour and sturdy to touch – there was an equality in its beauty and strength to its elder relative.

This got me thinking about the OLD and the NEW and how they play such a vital role in our development. When referring to people, we can learn so much from different generations if we take the time to look and notice, listen and hear.  New skills can be picked up from almost any source that is willing to impart and receive knowledge.

My nan taught me two memorable things.  I thought of her as ‘old fashioned’ as a kid and to reinforce that stereotype she taught me how to knit (well she cast me on, I knitted to the end of the line; she turned me around, then I knitted back along again).  To this day I remember her instructions “put the needle THROUGH, Wrap the YARN around, put the needle UNDER, then UNHOOK.  THROUGH, WRAP, UNDER, UNHOOK!  The second thing she taught me was to find the ‘C’ note on the piano and to eventually play the ‘C’ chord.  I can still remember her fingers stretching across the keys as she patiently imparted her skills.  I didn’t think it was cool then, but I do now!

I returned the favour of course and taught her that she didn’t always have to serve me a cup of tea in a cup and saucer.  I was a modern species and was quite partial to a mug!  I remember the day when she triumphantly entered the living room carrying a MUG of tea……juggled precariously on her delicate saucer!  She was pleased as punch that she had graduated into my modern world (I never did tell her that she’d completely missed the point).  Today she would be quite the modern chick with her decorated cups and saucers and her knitting patterns.  I think if she owned a tea shop, I would quite like to go.

Mini and Mega gains

So, as for our Mini and Mega gains (reference to last week’s article),  what have we learned?

Knowledge can be picked up from any source, despite initial appearances and judgements.  If you remove the judgement, you might open your mind to a whole host of exciting new adventures.  Fashion does not need to be elitist.  Do what you love rather than waiting for it to be fashionable….and if you wait long enough it’ll come back into fashion anyway!

Please send me your stories of your mini and mega gains.  Have you developed an unexpected friendship that serves you both well?  Have you rekindled a past friendship as a result of having more time on your hands?  Have you learned a new skill; I would love to share it here on this blog.  PLEASE let me hear from you next week.  If I don’t hear from you I will nominate a staff member to kick off a mega gains story.  If you’d like a staff member nominated, please email me at wrightl@busheymeads.org.uk.