I was recently away on holiday in Connemara, Ireland, an area which Oscar Wilde described back in the 19th century as “savage beauty”. I can’t imagine a whole lot has changed in the 150 years since he visited. It’s still wild and rugged with all four seasons regularly experienced in one day. I was staying a few miles outside of the main town, Clifden, where aviation pioneers Alcock and Brown landed in a bog after the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919.
Needless to say, the mobile phone signal wasn’t exactly four bars and while I appreciated getting away from the nuisance calls, I was a bit concerned when I noticed that an elderly relative had tried to call me four times in a relatively short period without leaving a voicemail. That’s always a bit worrying as it’s as if the news is so bad it has to be delivered personally rather than by a recording.
I trudged outside into the horizontal rain to make the call and I get, “It has not been possible to connect your call” in soft feminine tones. This is not looking good. I try again over the next few hours – there’s no reply – and by the next day, I’m sending texts and WhatsApps. They’re being delivered but not read.
Finally, I get a call back. No one’s died. There’s no emergency. Simply calling for a chat. It’s great to hear from them, catch up with their news and pass on mine.
I imagine many of us have relatives like this who only use technology when it suits them. Yes, it can be annoying and maybe it seems old-fashioned to us but it’s perhaps a refreshing change from having smartphones and tablets glued to our hands, always needing to respond immediately to whatever notification pops onto the screen. So for my next holiday, I think I’m going to leave the phone behind a bit more often and not worry about the beeps, dings and warbles. What about you?
