A Lifetime of Learning
‘I’m learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.’ – Eartha Kitt.
The other day, whilst in work, I learnt that Quality Street wrappers are compostable. Yes, you really can put those wrappers into your food waste and they’ll eventually rot down to nothing. Whilst there is nothing particularly huge about this discovery, it got me thinking that, even if it’s something as small as learning that Quality Street wrappers are compostable, we learn something new every single day. This particular finding also redeemed Nestle a little in my eyes – yes, they have done bad things in the past, but their Quality Street wrappers are compostable. There is some good in the world after all. It is also probably of more interest to me than most since I work in Waste Management.
Just yesterday, again whilst in work (doing a spell check on place names in North Powys – since we have the somewhat dubiously named town of Machynlleth in North Powys, you can understand my boss’s eagerness to avoid a potentially embarrassing spelling slip-up), I learnt that a man called Beeching closed thousands of miles of railway lines in the mid 20th century in what are known as the ‘Beeching Cuts’. Network Rail has taken over the monopoly of our train tracks and we now have the esteemed rail service we’ve all come to know and love (who hasn’t enjoyed a long wait somewhere along the 13,051+ miles of British railway track at some point in their lives?). Railways used to be celebrated in Britain, part of our heritage. Now, they’re just an annoying commute, an irritating pest in our lives that most of us would prefer to avoid if possible. And that’s not even taking into account the price of rail travel these days!
The funny thing with that discovery is that yesterday evening, in a totally unrelated incident, I came across Beeching’s name again, for the second time in one day, and bearing in mind that yesterday was the first time I’d ever heard his name before, as I
don’t have a keen interest in the history of Britain’s railways. Whilst I was reading my latest book, ‘One Man and his Bike’ by Mike Carter, he happened to mention Beeching and his mutilation of the railways. Funny that in one day, I’d heard more about this Beeching man than I had in the previous 22 and a bit years of my life.
don’t have a keen interest in the history of Britain’s railways. Whilst I was reading my latest book, ‘One Man and his Bike’ by Mike Carter, he happened to mention Beeching and his mutilation of the railways. Funny that in one day, I’d heard more about this Beeching man than I had in the previous 22 and a bit years of my life.
Be it little or small, significant or hugely irrelevant, interesting or dull as a wet weekend in Barbados, we are constantly finding out new things. From the moment we’re born we begin to learn, develop and grow. By the age of 12-13 months, a baby can
walk and talking comes not long after that. We go to school for a minimum of 12 years of our lives, 14 if you decide to do A levels, and longer again if you decide to do a degree or further education. All our lives, we’re trained to learn, and without realising, little titbits are sinking into our heads all the time.
walk and talking comes not long after that. We go to school for a minimum of 12 years of our lives, 14 if you decide to do A levels, and longer again if you decide to do a degree or further education. All our lives, we’re trained to learn, and without realising, little titbits are sinking into our heads all the time.
We’re inundated with television shows teaching us about wildlife in far off places, foreign countries, different people, religions, cultures, lives, world, politics… Radio programmes that fill our ears with facts about music, art, theatre and film… Mindless,
useless facts cram our brains, biding their time, waiting for that pub quiz moment when all of a sudden, you just know the name of that obscure celebrity whose face is staring at you in black and white from the sheet of paper in front of you, or you can remember which football team won the FIFA World Cup held in Spain in 1982 (for the record, it was Italy). We’re even encouraged to watch other people doing this sort of thing, as game shows fill the airwaves and we rejoice in watching others fail miserably (or succeed triumphantly) in multiple-choice and quick-fire question rounds.
useless facts cram our brains, biding their time, waiting for that pub quiz moment when all of a sudden, you just know the name of that obscure celebrity whose face is staring at you in black and white from the sheet of paper in front of you, or you can remember which football team won the FIFA World Cup held in Spain in 1982 (for the record, it was Italy). We’re even encouraged to watch other people doing this sort of thing, as game shows fill the airwaves and we rejoice in watching others fail miserably (or succeed triumphantly) in multiple-choice and quick-fire question rounds.
And then there is the tedious learning, the type nobody likes doing. The revision before exams where the information just does not go in, no matter how hard you try to make it. I can remember countless days spent pacing my bedroom in uni, trying to make the facts about ocean currents and tides sink into my seemingly extremely thick skull. Then there were the environmental laws – don’t even get me started on those! Exams right the way through school, college and university become dreaded, a nightmare, the most stressful time of student life. The entire uni campus emptied when exams were on in Southampton and the library became
jam-packed. A pint glass was replaced with a book and everyone talked in nearly inaudible whispers, the great hulking red-brick building of Hartley Library buzzing with low volume chatter.
jam-packed. A pint glass was replaced with a book and everyone talked in nearly inaudible whispers, the great hulking red-brick building of Hartley Library buzzing with low volume chatter.
I’m glad my student days are over and for the time being, with no plans to return to education in the near future, my learning is left to my own devices. I can pick and choose my hobbies, decide carefully what knowledge I want to keep and store away and that knowledge that I wish to discard. Obviously stuff does filter in, the inane stuff in the media and the silly facts you can pick up in the course of a day’s work or an evening’s play, but mostly I choose what I learn nowadays, rather than following a curriculum.
The nice thing about learning is that you’re never too old to learn. You could be 100 years old, and still learn something brand new. I’ll continue to learn until the day I die. I’ll learn from inane media, I’ll learn from the mistakes I make along the way, I’ll learn through my hobbies and my studies and through work, books, play, film and art. At the moment, because of my aforementioned book, I am learning about cycling and the adventures that are to be had all over Britain. I never knew that cycling could be so fun, or inviting! I’m even tempted to get my own bike and start cycling around Britain. Learning can be inspiring too.
So please excuse me if, for now, I finish this blog and go off to read another chapter. Mike’s just got to Scotland, and this is where the real cycling begins… Besides, as mentioned in a previous blog, I’ve no heritage in Scotland and know very little, really, about the country. And as I’m unlikely to actually get a bike and start cycling around Britain myself, this is the perfect opportunity to discover something new about the place.
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