Harry Allingham

Happy Birthday!

I've just turned 38 and it set me thinking about my life so far and the way the world has changed in that time. You could say, I am just clinging onto my thirties for a bit longer before I hit the big 4 0. I hit me that I have lived nearly half my lifetime. My father used to say to me when I was a teenager, 'hey you wait and see how quickly life goes by' and at which point I would say 'yeah yeah' thinking what a load of rubbish. I can now see what he meant. Don't get me wrong, I am not thinking doom and gloom because I have turned 38, it still feel like a 'spring chicken' but it has made me think where that time has gone and how I have spent it.

The oldest surviving man in Britain, who volunteered for active service in World War I, Harry Allingham, died at the age of 112, on my birthday. This sparked me thinking about what he had seen in his life time, not only the tragic events of the war, but how the world has changed in that time. My interest in historical and nostalgic events over the past 100 years is growing as I think that it isn't really a very long time. It fascinates me how life has changed for all of us and will continue to change. For example, looking at the landing on the moon 40 years ago, an amazing event, 2 years before I was born, compared with the advancements in technology continue at a frighteningly fast speed. This allow me to gain perspective in my life in this ever changing world and that we are not here very long at all.