Sunday, June 10, 2012

Grateful for modern comforts

We live in an age where the global gap between rich and poor is very large and we, although not fabulously wealthy for 'Westerners', have been enjoying the benefits of modern rich society.
When I started this post, Pads was still dozing, the others having left for church. I picked up the live streamed service on a computer in Pads' room. Last night he wanted to record his thanks to the people who got him an i-Pad. Ally and I had taken a short walk around the nearby park having settled everyone else. Although many youngsters struggle with swallowing tablets, Pads has been amazing at this, just knocking back 5 or 6 in one hit. Last night though, one of these had got a bit stuck on the way down and it was making him feel ill. When no-one came in answer to his hand bell, he fired up the i-Pad and became absorbed in 'Finding Neverland', a charming tale about JM Barrie and the creation of 'Peter Pan'.
Ally had driven the boys back from Scotland on Friday having greatly appreciated the new Motobility car. The sheer comfort of the seats, the quiet, efficient engine, the ample audio system (great for audio-books), cruise control and aircon, made for a pleasant if lengthy journey.
In fact, we have too many gadgets. Pads never really took to the PSP-Go, having already been given a Nintendo DS by his classmates. When the i-Pad showed up, the PSP-Go was just gathering dust. Last winter, Pads was planning to bequeath his worldly goods and the PSP-Go was headed towards one of the boys, but I was reluctant seeing how none of us who can read need any distractions from that worthy pursuit. Then the idea came to sell it. It didn't seem right to do that for personal gain, since the PSP-Go was a gift from Sony. Back in 2009, it was 'state of the art' and it is still a remarkable little device. I asked 'arch ebayers' Catherine and Malcolm to help, and it has now appeared as a charity auction, ending 10:46am, 16th June, with all proceeds going to the 'Kids Cancer Charity' (Christian Lewis Trust). This charity have helped us so much, not least through Ann, their play therapist's home visits.

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