Sunday 23 January 2011

The Hums of Pooh......

or the wibblings of John.....

'tis all the same I suppose.

I've been thinking about what this blog is supposed to be.

Very Serious Boaters must consider this blog of no importance: there's not nearly enough boating on it, for a start.

I remember, a couple of years ago, one particularly arrogant blogger and self-styled arbiter of good blogs dismissing on-line diaries which didn't meet his exacting standards as mere 'letters home'..

"What's wrong with that", I thought, as I deleted his blog from the list of blogs I follow......

And yet there's more to it than that. If I wanted to simply to communicate on-line with friends and family, then I could easily do so through any of the available media, such as Facebook.

So why blog?

Well, I suppose it boils down to this: If Facebook is a letter home, then a blog is a message in a bottle; you cast it adrift in the datastream and know not where it will be picked up, or by whom.

I like that.

A few posts back (titled 'Apologies...'), I got a couple of comments from two very different people.

The first was pleasant and harmlessly bonkers, from someone who had had a dream in which they fought a deadly battle with a giant caterpillar called The Mighty Pippin. The comment had nothing whatsoever to do with the post, but who cares, it made me smile.

The second was from a lovely lady called Jaqueline Almdale, whose blog, "So this is love" I have been quietly following for some time. If you haven't had a look at it yet, do so. It's wonderful.

This is where blogging, as opposed to Facebook, comes into its own. It brings you in touch with some brilliant people.

It also proves that strangers don't always have to be strange.....

So while my bloggings may be as meaningless in The Great Scheme of Things as "The Hums Of Pooh", they allow this sort of gentle and positive contact.

That is good.

That's what matters.

And if you enjoy reading this nonsense too, then also good. If you don't, then there's loads of other blogs out there, but thanks for tuning in anyway.

2 comments:

  1. "If Facebook is a letter home, then a blog is a message in a bottle; you cast it adrift in the datastream and know not where it will be picked up, or by whom..." I hadn't thought of blogging that way. Brilliant!!

    I enjoy good writing that engages me in the subject. Your blog does that for me. It offers a glimpse of the community in which you make your life. While you may not continuously cruise on NB Pippin, but you live aboard, on a river; it is an unconventional choice. It marks you as one--like Thoreau was--who listens to a different drummer and has the courage to follow--and the generosity to write about it and share it with others.

    Thanks for the shout out on your blog.:)
    Jaqueline
    Cloudhouse
    USA

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  2. Hi John, I love your blog! It doesn't always have to be all about your boat, mine isn't! It's nice just to share your stories and make people smile, keep up the good work, and keep casting your bottle adrift!!

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