What is it with technology that as we get older , we just get scared of doing new things?

Trying to make a list here of all the things we've updated over the last year. The car, the phone, the television, oh and a new computer is on it's way, to name a few.

So lets break those down shall we?

First I replaced the trusty old volvo that had a quarter of a million miles on it  for a nearly new Kia estate. Good move .

A great 'nearly new' car for us with a long warranty and a huge list of extras. Sat Nav, rear camera , parking sensors , iphone music player, etc, etc all on a touch screen. All stuff that's great, bells and whistles and  fully loaded with everything.

Except after a while ....

"Er ... Sophie, Edward how do you work that bit?"

The reply: "Dad .. you're so slow can't you work anything ?"

Next the phone.

I've got an iphone 7 , or is it a 6 ... or a 5, 4, 3, 2,1 .. who cares?

It works.

Or it did work until you know who  (above)  managed to fill it full of their games and now I get notifications of Barbie apps and Space invaders sent to my phone. I never signed up to those and I don't know how to turn them off.

" Er Sophie , Edward how do I disable these apps?"

The reply: "Daaad ... you can't do that, we absolutely need them!!"

Then comes the television. Is it even called that anymore?

Its a multi function entertainment centre with 50 million channels. We upgraded our sky package and now have super fast fibre broadband with Netflix, Amazon, Catch up , iplayer, games and more games . I even tried a bowling game with Edward yesterday and guess what, he beat me.

I said, Edward when I was just about your age I remember watching Neil Armstong land on the moon on our black and white ('His Master's Voice" ) television. We had one channel, the BBC,  in 1969. And that was the latest technology.

The reply: "But Dad you're sooo old and that was in the old days!"

Oh dear... the truth is I remember saying that to my parents when they probably listened to the radio and played dominoes by candlelight.

So yes times do change and really our children are the ones embracing the new technology. They are just so fast at it and almost seem hard wired to do all the tasks. Especially with this new online learning for school and the use of zoom , face time and all the other social media apps , I've not even mentioned.

I'm afraid the old part of me yearns for simpler times; the ones I grew up with. A good book for relaxation instead of all these channels.

The Great Escape on the BBC on Christmas Day. A decision already  made for me and not a million films to choose from  Netflix, which actually  takes longer than watching the film itself.

Only phoning someone when completely neccessary (mind due email has taken care of that bit) so I still don't use the phone that much.

Driving another volvo estate , with proper knobs and switches.

All that brings me on to the last point. Computers.

We've got other computers in the business , but my main desktop machine is an Apple MAC and it's ...wait for it ... 14 years old!

My theory: if it's not broke .. don't bother fixing it.

It is more than a bit long in the tooth, but it still works ..just!

I can run all my programs on it but its now very slow and with it comes the law of diminishing returns . So a new one is coming soon.

That said, it has performed this new technology that we are using here at Sophie Morrell with absolute precision, albeit slowly, but  it has served me well.

We now have a system in place that pings our personalised orders from our website direct to the printers and out to our customers , all via some incredible software.

It's been a steep learning curve as they say , but I've got the  'young' part of me around that bit, all helped by my trusy old Mac.

There has been a lot to learn as  I've taken raw artwork images, through three separate computer design packages and then into our new personalised software and then finally  uploaded all of it to our website. That is 5 different computer packages that all need some knowledge!

So yes ... I'm giving myself a pat on the back for once.

Old me and my old Mac computer, well  we've managed it together doing the young part all over again. ( Incidentally would my computer be as old as me in computer years like a dog  or a cat??.... hmmm  that's one to mull over) :)

But we are still  ticking along nicely ... just! A bit slower than before ... but enjoying the ride and loving what this new technology can do for us.

Oh I nearly forgot .. the point to all this is we have some lovely new notebooks out now that can all be personalised. They are made individally by the customer choosing a name and title for each book , and seeing their finished design in real time on their screen. Customers then place their order and hey presto the book is made and shipped out. 

All brought to you by the very youthful part of me that still yearns to learn new things and loves designing things, and of course some pretty cool technology!

I'm feeling quite smug.

I must say to Edward and Sophie  "So ... I'm not quite that old yet ..ha, ha"

I wonder what their reply will be?