Joanne's Dad is of that age group who experienced the austerity of the post war years, ration books and scarcities. He is of the self sufficient generation who, although making do with what they had did not compromise, did not sacrifice on the quality of a job or task and acheived great things for their families and communities. All of this without recourse to credit or debt.
Even long since retired from business, industry, commerce and public service this generation continue to contribute in a huge way to the smooth running of this country. They voluntarily run the charities, clubs, societies and places of worship. Wise counsel is available free of charge to family, friends, neighbours and strangers in the street and hemmed in on the bus. Unfortunately the best advice borne out of experience is not accepted in the most gracious or willing manner by those who are younger and feel they know and have seen everything already.
The generation provide childcare, a transport and catering service to their grandchildren and regularly place their homes, chattels and physical welfare at the mercy of inquisitive and inexhaustible pre-school infants.They are the invisible economy but without which everything would grind to a halt or tumble into chaos. The Bank of Mum and Dad are always open for business and on generally favourable and not always too judgemental terms.
The most endearing quality of the generation is however their ability to produce, as if by magic, anything obscure, obsolete, out of date or otherwise untraceable even after the warehouses of E-Bay, Amazon and Gumtree have been scoured but with no success. This is because their experience has taught them never to throw anything away that could, over the course of, say the next 50 to 60 years or a lifetime, prove in any way, shape or form, useful.
The vast accumulated resources of this generation can be found in loft storage spaces, the back portion of every conceivable cupboard and drawer, in old biscuit tins and jam jars on the shelving in a garage or shed and although not catalogued can be accessed immediately and with no upheaval or fuss. Some things are just not manufactured anymore but in aggregate this generation hold immeasurable supplies of washers, nuts and bolts of Imperial sizes, jubilee clips, screws, nails, brackets and fixings for every conceivable breakdown, repair or renewal project in the home, garden and on the car.
This is not the amassing of possessions to satisfy materialism but an ultimate practicality and resourcefulness that in successive generations has just not been present.They have not at all been left behind in the information age but do not require the latest technology in home PC's . They read the local paper, listen to the local news and are not averse to just opening a book and setting off on a new line of interest.
Joanne's Dad is a true representative of the generation. If your phone number is not in his address book or speed dial you will easily miss out on the prospect of a bargain, price reduction or a sale at any outlet within the city boundary. He has that depth and breadth of local knowledge that provides an answer to the questions of who lived and worked where, when and for how long, Such information is just not available anywhere else and cannot be bought at any price. Back dated copies of the local newspaper- no problem.
Joanne calls it hoarding but it is the ultimate in re-cycling, sustainable living and self sufficiency which is something that the current generation aspire to but will never, ever attain. Even the back garden of a former childhood home, as Joanne recalls, was an integral part of the family resource as her dad regularly buried everything and anything from cots to car parts in it.
I can imagine, some 1000 years in the future, that location formerly known as Carden Avenue, proving quite a mysterious conundrum for archaeologists from the varied range of excavated relics. Included in the subterranean storage is the body shell of a three-wheeler car, multiple tyres and perhaps more than one engine.
There was a complete method to the whole system of archiving.
It is with great pride that Joanne remembers a day trip, as a child, to the seaside when the family car, another three-wheeler, developed a broken road-spring. This could have spoiled everything on the day out but it was not a problem. It was simply a case of returning home and with shovel in hand, her dad digging over the garden at the exact spot where a spare part had been carefully planted. Harvested, cleaned and fitted it was not too long before they were back , heading east to Withernsea.
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