Book fun before computers
So, many years ago, around 1998, yes, pre-millenium in fact, I had just moved to, and settled in, Chingola, in Zambia.
In those days we had no computer, not many people did, up in Zambia, and cell phones had not yet graced us with their presence in deepest, darkest, Africa. (walkie talkies were the order of the day!)
Justin and I were starting our lives together and had planned a holiday to the Seychelles.
I always enjoyed creating fun things, cards, leaflets, newsletters, etc, all of which waere made by hand back then. (Oh, if I'd known the pleasures to come with technology would I have even believed it?!)
So, anyway, wanting to have a little fun with my man, as our holiday approached, and spending a fair amount of my time mooching around and exploring our little Copperbelt town (you''d be surprised what you can find!), I came across a little book, in a shop whose name escapes me for the moment.
The shop was next to Costa, the Greek's, deli, and was some kind of stationery store, albeit rather sadly stocked with dusty pads of paper, pens, a few desultory educational pamphlets, and a few neglected little books. Yes, it was a sad little shop indeed, but to my hungry self, anything was worth investigating in full.
And so it was, that with great glee, my gaze fell upon this book:
I was instantly filled with mischieviousness, of course! This would be perfect for some pre-holiday fun!
And so, armed with some tippex and a pen, I went to work.
Here is the finished book, adapted to my purposes, and just for fun!
(I came across it a few days ago, as I unpacked some more book boxes from our move, and we both had a good snigger as our memories were refreshed.)
In those days we had no computer, not many people did, up in Zambia, and cell phones had not yet graced us with their presence in deepest, darkest, Africa. (walkie talkies were the order of the day!)
Justin and I were starting our lives together and had planned a holiday to the Seychelles.
I always enjoyed creating fun things, cards, leaflets, newsletters, etc, all of which waere made by hand back then. (Oh, if I'd known the pleasures to come with technology would I have even believed it?!)
So, anyway, wanting to have a little fun with my man, as our holiday approached, and spending a fair amount of my time mooching around and exploring our little Copperbelt town (you''d be surprised what you can find!), I came across a little book, in a shop whose name escapes me for the moment.
The shop was next to Costa, the Greek's, deli, and was some kind of stationery store, albeit rather sadly stocked with dusty pads of paper, pens, a few desultory educational pamphlets, and a few neglected little books. Yes, it was a sad little shop indeed, but to my hungry self, anything was worth investigating in full.
And so it was, that with great glee, my gaze fell upon this book:
 |
| What a find! |
And so, armed with some tippex and a pen, I went to work.
Here is the finished book, adapted to my purposes, and just for fun!
(I came across it a few days ago, as I unpacked some more book boxes from our move, and we both had a good snigger as our memories were refreshed.)
We had a lot of fun from this little effort, and, looking back, it's amazing how the simple things often stay in our memories as a source of great pleasure.
I could only have dreamed of a time when we would be able to self-publish our own books!
Not long after this we did, in fact, get a computer, and cell phones arrived, too!
The computer monitor was the size of a house, of course, and the cell phones were capable of just the most basic of texts. But still, it felt like a whole new world had opened up!
Access to the internet was the icing on the cake and suddenly we were connected to the world, our friends and families!
I remember being able to make a cup of tea in the time it took for a web page to load! (we were in the middle of Africa don't forget!)
Now we take it all for granted, being irritated if our connection is lost for a few seconds and we have to wait for the picture to resume as we binge watch our favourite series.
Our smart phones have replaced pretty much everything, a small object, held in our hand, able to connect us to whatever we want!
I love technology. I love what it does for us and especially for the opportunities it has opened up for me, as an Indie author.
But, just occasionally, when I come across something like this little book, and my memory is stirred, I have a moment of sweet nostalgia.
Life was simple. Life was good. Now life is more complicated. But life is still good.
And I do love a good dose of nostalgia!
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