Changes.

I've been a bit remiss in writing recently. I must redress that. I was thinking recently about how things have changed during my life. I can't really remember the 40s, but the 50s is quite clear to me. I am going to sound like a really old woman harking back to my youth I suppose, but here goes anyway.

In my youth we were taught to put other people first. We had to put their wishes before our own. We also had to be considerate of others. An example of modern life was yesterday. We had trouble getting into a drive due to a car parked opposite the gate in a narrow road. There was plenty of space elsewhere. For someone, that was convenient for them and to hell with anybody else. People park on bends, at junctions, double park, or, as yesterday, just staggered so it's difficult to drive a large car through.

We were also taught that manners is what makes living in society possible. People now don't say please and thank you as a matter of course, they push past with no excuse me, walk in front of you when you are looking at something and stand talking and blocking the pavement.

When I was growing up we were taught that if adults were coming towards you and your friends you should go into single file and not make the adults do so or step off the path. I now am still having to do this for youngsters and it annoys me.

In the 50s you NEVER heard swearing in the street. A parent would not dream of swearing in front of their children and certainly not at them. The F-word was not used. Certainly not commonly as it is now. Every day you hear it in the street. Blasphemy too. That was not heard. Even if someone were a non-believer they didn't say 'oh my God' or 'Jesus'. There was respect for those who were.

Coughing and sneezing. Nowadays people cough without covering their mouth and will cough and sneeze in your face, spreading germs. Also spitting.

We used to offer sweets round and were taught that if you didn't have enough to offer round, then you didn't eat them yourself.

If you couldn't say something nice, don't say anything.

I think it started to change in the 60s when counsellors started to tell people to have some of what is now called 'me time'. This has gone too far and people are putting themselves before everyone else. Can it change? I don't know, but I worry for society if we don't.