Skip to main content

Where Facebook Can Be a Force for Good


People often ask me why I use Facebook.

 Today something happened that exemplified why. 

 A former work colleague, many years younger than me, fell victim to cancer. This tragic loss of life, meaning that kids have lost their Mum and a husband has lost his wife, would have passed me by completely had we not been friends on Facebook. This is where Facebook can be a force for good, it means people can keep in touch, pay their respects and share in the sorrow, albeit to a minute extent of what the family are facing.

 It enables family and friends to keep in touch with those who have moved away to far-flung corners of the world, or simply another town. Or it helps the lonely, the old, the retired and the infirm to keep in touch with people they haven't seen for ages. Those people who are still busy, involved, active, or in a similar situation to themselves. In the old days, people moved on, there was the odd meeting-up, the occasional letter, followed by the infrequent phone call. In short, in many cases, you would simply lose touch. 

 Don't think I like everything about FB. I don't. I don't like the increasing commercialisation, the fact that despite the fact I'm not a serious movie buff it frequently recommends films I would not watch in a month of Sundays.I don't like the fact they tinker with your timeline so things don't appear in order, or are missed off.

 But...without it, would I have been aware of the untimely passing away of Sally? Unlikely. Would I and countless others have been able to pay our respects to our former colleague? No.

 Thanks for reading....

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Calder Valley Ale Trail - UPDATED December 2023

The essential guide to the pubs and bars that line the railways in the towns and villages of the beautiful Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, an area which has a lot to offer and captivate the visitor. Here's the latest, updated version.... The original Rail Ale Trail heads through the Pennines from Dewsbury through Huddersfield to Stalybridge, or vice versa, depending on your starting point. Made famous by Oz Clarke and James May on a TV drinking trip around Britain several years ago, it reached saturation point on weekends to such an extent that lager and shorts were banned by some pubs and plastic glasses introduced to the hordes of stag dos, hen parties, and fancy-dressed revellers that invaded the trans-Pennine towns and villages. There are some great pubs en route and whilst things have calmed down from a few years ago, they can still get very busy on a summer Saturday in particular. However, only a few miles away to the north, there is another trail possible which takes in s...
21 comments
Read more

North Westward Ho! Sets Sail Again....

A visit to a brand new bar in Manchester, which has just been opened in the city centre by Pomona Island, and the fascinating story behind its unusual name, plus a visit to the brewery's original city centre bar.... Pomona Island started brewing in Salford, close to Media City, in 2017. I remember there was quite a buzz about them when they made their debut at the 2018 Manchester Beer and Cider Festival ( nudge to the relevant people - could really do with another one of those! ), and I remember enthusing about the two beers I tried from them that day, both on cask, a porter and a 5.3% NZ Pale. Over the years they have continued to grow and develop and produced a wide range of modern-style beers and whilst they have tended to major on craft beers, they have always produced cask ale. They got into canning their beers, and during lockdown they were regular visitors to my fridge. Today their web shop is stocked with some delightfully-named beers, all canned in a distinctive house-styl...
1 comment
Read more

Through The Garden Gate To The Tetley....

I went over to Leeds last weekend for a wander around which took in a visit to the newly re-opened Tetley, but first I called in at one of the city's finest architectural gems.... The Garden Gate is one of Leeds' most historic pubs, with a spectacular Grade II-listed interior which is up there with the finest not just in the city but in the country as a whole. Situated in the area of Hunslet about two miles out of the city centre in the middle of an unassuming low-rise housing estate, it stands alone on a quiet pedestrianised street in what was once one of the city's main industrial areas. This large and sprawling suburb grew from the early 19th century when several mills were built for spinning flax, and other industries in the area developed including the manufacture of chemicals, glassware, and pottery, with heavy engineering becoming particularly important. And to water the workers pubs such as the Garden Gate were built, although few could match its magnificence. Desp...
2 comments
Read more