History And Scale

Here in the UK, the National Trust organised the world's biggest blog this week. The idea was to get a feel for what a large number of people in this country are thinking about to keep as some sort of historical record. I find this event as meaningful as making the world's largest hamburger or building a life size sculpture of an elephant out of walnuts. Scale for the sake of scale, rather than scale as meaningful.

According to one report, the majority of people who contributed to this big blog are either a) grownups who are disaffected by having to go to work, or b) school children who are equally disaffected, but presumably by their more relevant agendas of the cost of sweets and how uncool their parents are. Didn't we know this already? (I am a bit biased because along with a fear for snakes and an interest in painting things silver, I also inherited a dislike for the National Trust from my father. He was - amongst other things - an historian, and felt that the National Trust sought to hinder the general public from exploring their interest in UK heritage and history. Watching him wandering around country houses managed by the National Trust, I got the distinct impressions his real resentment was of those roped off areas and rooms that you were not allowed to go into. I've inherited that too, and can often be seen being told off by mrs househusbandnot for trying to force my way through doors marked Private. I call it curiosity. She calls it wrong.)

Anyway, it remains to be seen what the Trust's big blog will tell future generations about us. I suspect not a lot, other than the fact that back in 2006 people were just as bored and tired and broke as they are/will be in the future, and that only those who could afford life coaching ever had time to look up from their desks and embrace life. (Actually back here in real time, I've been told by mrs househusbandnot that I should stop ranting about life coaches - as I have been for the last couple of days - because it is just making her realise quite how urgently I need coaching.) I am assuming that by that time - aka the future - househusbandnot will have been recognised as the Pepys of his generation, and my great grandchildren will be wondering whether or not to leave my original manuscripts to the National Trust.

Speaking of popularity - fantasised or otherwise - here at househusbandnot HQ we celebrated our 1,500th visit to the blog yesterday. Scale for the sake and celebration of it I know. But thought I would mention it just so you know that you are not alone out there.