Sue
She will be missed.
I have been writing Going Gently for a decade now. Almost every day, over a coffee, I have written down this diary of events ( or non events) the way I see them , and for a decade, with perhaps an occasional exception. I have enjoyed the ritual.
That's why I do it.
There is also another valid reason why I blog and that is vanity.
Going Gently , to me , is like a painting in a museum or a book on a shelf or indeed a film locked away in a film can, for it's now " here" for good! An indelible tribute to colourful characters, loved animals who spend all-too-short lives rubbing along with you and to a small life with all of it's mundane highs and lows .
Sue, left her mark in the blogosphere and has touched others in the process. So have I .
You have to be a real sociopath not to enjoy the fact that others enjoy you.
Vanity, validation whatever it is....
Write a blog, and for the length of time you write.....you are immortalised ...
Well as long as the World Wide Web survives in the ether
That photo looks like Rachel, stalking you in the undergrowth.
ReplyDeleteNo it doesn't; there's no machete.
DeleteAnd she's smiling.
DeleteIt is kind of sad that FB has replaced blogging for many people. After fourteen years, I suppose I will continue blogging. I suspect long after FB has died a horrible death, our blogs as a social and more defined history of a certain time will live on in archives. You are right, part of blogging is ego. I doubt I would have ever continued without receiving comments and most wonderfully I have come to know some people physically and some people just via private internet. It is good.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with FB seems to be that users have the attention span of a goldfish.
DeleteSay "Having a pint in the White Horse" and you get a raft of comments and likes, but write something even vaguely thought-provoking with more than a couple of sentences and everyone ignores it. Blogging definitely still has a place.
Good point, I almost regret starting a FB account, it takes up so much time but soundbites of life do not have the enduring quality of a blog.
DeleteUh-oh. I have at least five blogs and three never get comments. One person leaves three or single word replies. Does it mean there's something horribly wrong with me because I keep posting? LOL. I do believe sending anonymous dialogue into the ethers is a form of communication . . . Is that like talking to myself?
DeleteI am so sad that Sue is no longer blogging, I got all teary about it yesterday. Think it will be quite a while before I stop nipping over to check just in case she's posted again. End of an era indeed.
ReplyDeleteJust as I mentioned before Mass Observation asked people for their diaries of day to day events. Every so often they asked for more private information, for example, one of the things they asked about was peoples attitudes to sex during the war and how it had altered morals. So all you wonderful bloggers out there keep on until you have to stop and the rest of us will continue reading your great ideas of life and how it affects you. Love Andie xxx
ReplyDeleteIt made me sad to read Sue's goodbye post. Reading her daily post and then yours had been a good ritual that brightened my boring days. I will miss her farm, the dogs , ginger and the chickens.
ReplyDeleteThe pressure is on you John - you better stick with it.
Julie
I love reading all the books that Mass Observation have produced by real people in the past and They still have people writing for them now although they don't need "women over 60 in England", so I guess if I want the world to know about what I do it's Blog or paper diary. FB is fine for some but not for me.
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ReplyDeleteHaha ...... it is indeed 😉
DeleteShe will be missed so much. I have loved reading her blogs x
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy reading the blogs. I'm not interesting so don't have my own :) Life in your part of the world is so much more interesting. I would miss you if you left
ReplyDeleteWe enjoy the daily glimpse into your world, it is sad to see a blogger stop, kind of like an old friend moving away to a place we will never hear from them again.
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned a while back that you might be coming to the end of blogging my heart sank. I may not always comment but yours is the first post that I like to read each day.
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
I had to go look and see when I started posting .. I was living in Buenos Aires and a friend said, after reading an email describing a day in my life in Argentina, You should write a blog.
ReplyDeleteWhen I laughed and told my husband, he surprised me by agreeing, that it was a good idea. He was my first and best "follower" .. full of encouragement and advice.
Now I feel boring. How much of my blog is about the exciting life in Argentina anymore ? It certainly isn't that exciting where I am living now. I think of quitting but then it sort of feels good to write stories ...I enjoy writing stories ~
once upon a time, a man told his wife," how would you like to live in Argentina ?"... that started everything.
Nicely put, John Gray.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite possible she'll come back to it. I tried to leave and found I missed it too much. Sometimes the answer is just to take a break and maybe slow it down a bit. Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed and impressed at those who post daily . . .
ReplyDeleteSo bravo to Sue . . . and to you John . . ,
An "art" in and of itself . . .
Call me a "now and then" blogger I guess . . .
It gives me a chance to "tell my stories."
I totally agree with the comments of Poppy and Faith. I keep popping over to check that she hasn't written anything else (and I think I will for some time to come). I wonder how she feels seeing all those (much deserved) lovely comments. I hope she realises how much she will be missed. I loved Sue's blog and love your blog and the pressure is on for you to keep going - gently!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your blog because it's decent. That word to me means honest, fair, simple, kind. It grinds no axes yet stands up for what it believes is right. It reminds me of life when I was growing up and life as I try to live it now in my small Pennsylvania mountain town. I don't like what the world has become, greed and arrogance and meanness and nastiness are reported on and glorified over and over. I am glad I'm going to retire soon and be done with this world. I'll do whatever I can to make it a better place and support those people and institutions who strive to make it better for all of us. That's what your blog means to me.
ReplyDeleteThat moved me greatly, thank you
DeleteI love reading both Sue's and your blogs. I find myself reading stuff on the web and thinking..."John would like this" or Sue...such as, https://www.facebook.com/sdmacbulldogs/videos/1427397830633747/
ReplyDeleteI understand. After writing over eight years I am backing off too.
ReplyDeleteI may not comment often but I visit you every day.
I don't know Sue, but I'm impressed she can stop. My blog is such a big part of my day I don't know that I would want to! Like you, I make it a morning ritual, and it not only shares my life with others but helps me keep track of it myself. Even if no one read it, I would do it. (Indeed I kept paper journals for more than 20 years before blogging.)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I love writing my blog... just as others keep a diary.
DeleteI always enjoy reading blogs, commenting on some regularly, and others occasionally or not at all. Have no desire to write one myself, as other people's lives are much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've been blogging for 12 years, but lost my previous blog when I spent time in hospital.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine not blogging, even though my blog is boring. Still I'm hoping to start a new adventure in the new year, so I will have even more to blog about.
Oh my gawd ..... I should have copyrighted my 'me and my cabbage' photo 😉
ReplyDeleteI felt my blog had reached a place I could leave it, an almost natural conclusion. It was no longer a 'new' life in the country and I'm someone who loves change. I may pop up a photo from time to time as it seems the furry ones, especially Mavis have a fan club all of their own, but now is the time for me and LH to get on with living our lives little more privately. I've shared online in various blogs since 2008 so I think folks should have had enough of me by now!!
You know where we are John and you're welcome anytime, and there's a paddock for all the digs to run around 😊
Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments on the last post ❤❤❤
Haha ... the dogs could run around with the 'digs' 😉
DeleteI selfishly hope that you keep blogging forever! I love this blog so much. I feel like you and the animals are real-life friends.
ReplyDeleteJohn I'd miss your humanity, humour and whacky take on life if you weren't here. I've learnt so much from you, and Sue, about a different kind of daily life - and you have challenged me to aspire to a life that is warm and compassionate. I also read 'Weaver' daily for the same reasons. You've become important to me. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteInstead of reflecting on the business of blogging you should be getting all your field birds into the house, complying with current government advice:-
ReplyDelete"Keepers of poultry and other captive birds are now required to keep their birds indoors, or take appropriate steps to keep them separate from wild birds."
May I suggest you put them all in your bathroom. This will make cleaning up their droppings a bit easier.
I saw this too......my hens hopefully will be going to eirlys's barn!
DeleteJohn. I couldn't bear it if you left us - for whatever reason. I turn to your blog first every morning and usually get a cheerful feeling which lasts me for ages. I agree that one reason for blogging is probably vanity - but for me it is also a discipline - makes me think of something and makes me write.
ReplyDeleteThink I must have been with you about the whole time. Man, does time fly!
ReplyDeleteHi, Mr. Gently (John?),
ReplyDeleteKeep writing!
Yes, enjoyment. Yes, vanity. But also in my case clarifying my thoughts on controversial subjects. And then my blog buddies making perceptive comments that clarify my thoughts a bit more. I can't get any of that from the odd casual chat about the weather at the bus stop.
ReplyDeleteTo some extent, most bloggers are indeed exhibitionists (I speak from experience). It's gratifying to know that people share an interest in our lives.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely understand Sue's need for privacy, however. Blogging can definitely become too time-consuming and overwhelming.
I rarely post now. Sue is stepping down. I read about four Blogs these days - yours the first every morning with my tea & toast xx
ReplyDeleteYour blog reflects a kindness,compassion,and concern for others both human and animal. It gives me hope that i may someday find a community like yours with a neighbor like you for my sister and I. But i believe in fairy tales too. Thanks, you are a wonderful spirit
ReplyDeleteif you quit i will challenge you to a duel. i am only 74 yos but i'll whip yo ass. never, never quit
ReplyDeleteI think blogging everyday would be hard for me.
ReplyDeleteI try to post Mondays Wednesday and Fridays. But after the accident I sometimes only blog Friday.
I am under contract with The Square Dogs and I have to post on that day.
I just started to read "Sue of the Giant Cabbage" just this year so I will miss her.
You may/can stop writing your blog, John after I die !
Thank You very much. hahahahahahahahaha
cheers, parsnip
I just discovered Sue's blog and learned something right off the bat: Chickens are a lot of work. I'll enjoy reading everything she's written, and I wish her well.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that tons of people have left blogging in recent years, especially lately, or at least cut their posting a lot. It ain't trendy any more I guess....
ReplyDeleteI am glad you do write it. A life lived so very different than my own widens my horizons. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello. I found your blog today when I searched for the definition of "touchstone", thinking I might use it in a card to a Prof (ha!) I don't know what I want to say to you other than that I share your need to write every day but had lost the confidence to put myself out there. Thank you for the reminder . Your new regular reader, Roo :)
ReplyDelete