After ordering a latte at the Italian restaurant, I settled comfortably in the corner with my book and Filofax. As the place filled up, I realised that I was surrounded my people on their gadgets. There was a man at the table next to me also dining alone, and he alternated his time between his phone and tablet. I sneakily had a look at other groups of people, and everywhere it seemed people had their phones out. I suppose that I felt very low tech sitting there with my paperback, Filofax and my basic Nokia phone.
I'm definitely not anti-gadget or technology, but I found that having a leisurely dinner whilst reading and making notes in my Filofax was very relaxing. After finishing my meal, I made my way to the closest pub to the coach stop and settled back down with my book and Filo. I thoroughly enjoyed my unplugged evening and will definitely be doing this again in the future.
Sounds like a very lovely and leisurely evening. It would be nice if more people could take time to appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful evening, Anita! I wish I weren't quite so glued to my various screens.
ReplyDeleteWow! You're genius! You found the main answer why I prefer filofax over gadgets! Because it's relaxing! I even sleps with my ff yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI often do something like that, especially when I'm in London on business. I'm one of those unusual people who quite likes eating alone, accompanied only by by FF.
ReplyDeleteOn a recent visit, however, I went to dinner with my brother. On the adjoining table were three men. One was glued to his phone the entire time we were there, the second had (I kid you not( his tablet on the table, on a stand, and appeared to be watching videos on YouTube. The third just looked bewildered!
Come on folks.....if you've gone to dinner presumably you've decided to spend some time with *them*, yes? Leave the gadget at home where it belongs and attend to your present company!
While I'll freely admit I *like* living in a connected world, it's also easy to forget that the pace of life in that world can be blisteringly fast and bewildering at times; It's therefore nice to be able to get "unplugged" every once in a while, so as to depressurise back to a gentle walking pace.
ReplyDeleteAlso, on restaurants, there was talk of cellular phone jammers being used in US ones a while back to stop such boorish behaviour; I don't know if it ever got past the Federal Communications Commission (their version of OfCom, is the nearest analogy I can bring to the table), but it's a nice idea!
Roger,
DeleteCellular jammers and cellular extenders are illegal in UK and you would find Ofcom and the cellular companies can take people to court for denying them revenue!
BTW I think you are also a radio amateur? So am I!!! My UK call sign is G8SFR
73
Steve
There used to be a restaurant in Budleigh Salterton which got round this simply by putting a stern notice on the wall and on the menus advising customers that they were *not* at liberty to discuss their private lives at full volume as gadget-users seem so fond of doing, and that anyone seen with an infernal device inside their premises would be asked to leave. Works for me....I really don't want to know about the menu plans/latest breakup/internet favourites list of the drone on the next table..........
DeleteSteve -
ReplyDeleteG1LIW here OM! Just looked you up on QRZ dot com - Bit of a way for a 2m ragchew from sunny 'Sahrf Lunnon' on 5W, innit ;-)
Jargon Translation to everyone else: My Amateur Radio Callsign, OM = Old Man (a fairly normal salutation from one male amateur to another, Female version is a rather polite "YL" or Young Lady, irrespective of age!), an amateur radio website portal, a complaint over the distance for a wide-ranging chat, a rather rubbish typed South London accent, and output power from a transmitter ;-) Ahem ;-)
As to OfCom - yep, the various Wireless Telegraphy Acts 1949-2006 do indeed make that illegal over here in Blighty, not sure if that's a good or bad thing, to be honest. As to the mobile companies suing, yeah, doesn't take much to make anyone - people or businesses - litigate instead of negotiate these days, does it. Definitely a bad thing, IMHO.
David -
Oh, I like that :-) Definitely the British way of doing it. Obviously accompanied by a quiet and politely worded "If Sir would accompany me to the concierge desk, please..."...!
Cheers,
Roger
Sounds just wonderful!!!!
ReplyDeleteBack before the euro, I spent two weeks at the Chartres Cathedral seminary on spiritual retreat. There were no TVs, phones, or any type of electrical gadget allowed in our rooms. We also were silent from 7 pm to 7 am. The freedom from noise and electronics had an amazing effect on all of us. I keep up the practice from 10 pm to 6 am during the week, and have one day of no gadgets on the weekend. I update my Personal Malden each night and do a weekly review each Sunday. I also journal during my quiet time with classical music and a scented candle as my companions. Letting go of technical gadgets even for a couple of hours a day is a great way to unwind and reconnect with your soul.
ReplyDeleteSounds wonderful to me & I'm wondering if many filofax lovers are presenting a big part of the 20% of HSPs next to the 80% of nonHSPs in this world?
Delete@sylke Forgive me, but what is an HSP? I'd be interested to know.....
Delete@TVDIVA I'd be really interested to touch base with you about your experience of silence. Have you read 'A Book of Silence' by Sara Maitland? I'm interested in your practice, is it possible you could drop me an off-list line via davidpopely (at) googlemail (dot) com? thank you!
@David, HSP is an acronym for Highly Sensitive People. They receive more information of their invironment than the other 80% of the population, hence they need to process more information and stimuly and need to balance that impact with quiet times, use a ff as brain dump ;-) etc. hope this answer helps a bit.
DeleteI was raised a Quaker and silence is an important aspect of my life. I require a decent amount of silence every day. It is difficult to find silence so I use classical music on the radio to drown out other noise to try to replicate silence.
DeleteHi Josh, I'm pleased that we share more than one treat (FF & silence for processing our rich intake) :-)
DeleteDavid - I am sending you an email about silence. Would love to talk to you about it..
DeleteJosh - I use classical music all day at work to keep me sane and my creative juices flowing. Amazon sells a bunch of classical CDs by composer for $US9.99 that you can download that each have 100 selections on them. My favorites are 100 Piano Concertos, 100 Rachmaninoff Piano Essentials, Mozart 100 Supreme Classical Masterpieces - you get my drift. They are probably available in AMAZON UK as well.
jackiwhitford@aol.com
Sounds great 'unplugging' for a while. I love technology and it's an important part of my life. Sometimes though, paper bound in rich leather is more than enough. It really is amazing what we really see and hear in the silence.
ReplyDeleteLewis - just try setting aside 30 minutes a day to start with and work up to an hour of no gadgets, tv, phone, tablet, etc. It clears away the noise in your mind, slows you down (relaxes you), and when you decide to go back to work on a project (at home or at work), you have much more clarity and creativity.
ReplyDeleteI recently gave my smartphone to my niece and am now using a beloved 12-year-old Nokia. Whilst it can definitely be useful to have my emails coming to my phone, I really enjoyed my recent few days of travelling, with no constant pinging, no distractions and no casual browsing while sitting having coffee in the various cafes. It reminds you how much fun it is to people-watch and you definitely concentrate more on your surroundings.
ReplyDeleteSounds so calming. For the last 10 days I am trying to make a conscious effort of spending at least 2 hours in my day when I am not fidgeting with any of my gadgets. Reading a book, writing or just staring at the wall instead. Feels like a detox.
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't expect so many comments on this little post!
ReplyDeleteI came to realise some time ago that I also need a certain amount of silence in my day. I am very fortunate to have a half hour walk to work & enjoyed the beautiful birdsong this morning :)
Walking is a great bi-lateral activity. It connects both the left and right side of the brain. Swimming does the same thing. I used to swim at lunch time every day when I worked close to a YWCA and now I work 30 minutes each day at lunch time. When I come back in the office my creativity soars.
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