My life is completely immersed in nostalgia. I can picture things vividly in my head from decades before I was born. I can imagine how things must have been. I'm not at all superstitious but sometimes I do wonder if I had a past life. I guess I do view things through rose tinted spectacles and I constantly yearn to go back. I find modern life so utterly depressing and ugly in nearly every aspect, I admire people who create alternative worlds to the one that is outside the window. I'm particularly fascinated with the 40s and 50s but I have time for anyone who chooses a different era to the 21st century. For instance, I watched an episode of Come Dine With Me (one of my guilty pleasures, much to my boyfriend's disdain) awhile ago and there was a guy on there who had done his house out completely Victorian. It was amazing. My parents have a Victorian House and they have tried to keep it as authentic as possible; the tiles are all original as are most of the doors and windows. I was brought up to appreciate how things look but most people nowadays don't seem to give a monkeys about whether something is aesthetically pleasing or not. It all seems to be about grim functionality and making things easy for people. I prefer glamour and ostentatiousness!
I live in Birmingham and walk to work everyday. I have to walk down the Hagley Road which is the main road that leads into and out of Birmingham. It's mostly a concrete mess of office blocks but there's the odd treasure here and there such as the Oratory with its gorgeous green dome. Then you come to the horror that is Five Ways, a nightmare roundabout that connects all the roads that lead in and out of Birmingham. It's truly horrible and walking through the subway under the roundabout is a daily nightmare for me. Then after surviving that you find yourself on the equally horrendous Broad Street. It used to be the mecca for classy restaurants and exclusive clubs. Now it's just a sad, barren wasteland of empty, boarded up buildings and fast food places.
One thing that really upsets me is seeing beautiful, Victorian buildings with amazing features turned into horrible, tacky fast food outlets. I pass one every day and it breaks my heart. Oh, the genius of Victorian architecture, its skill and intricacy turned into a place for idiots wearing tracksuits to buy burgers and kebabs. I die a little inside every time I pass it. Likewise, there is another equally stunning Victorian building near where I work and that is now Flares - a 1970s themed nightclub. Nice. If I was the Mayoress I wouldn't allow such buildings to be used for clubs and dodgy restaurants. It shouldn't be allowed. It really is the disintegration of everything that actually makes me proud of this country (which isn't much nowadays it must be said).
Most things about 21st century life get me down. I've learnt to focus on my own life though and what makes me happy and to try and block out what saddens me. It is hard though when you have to go out everyday and deal with it. Things like litter anger me. The way people just don't care. The way people nowadays seems so cut off from each other, so remote, like we're all in our own bubbles or something. Back in the 40s and 50s there seemed to be more of a sense of camaraderie and pulling together and just being pleasant to each other. People today kick off if they have to wait in a queue for more than 5 minutes. I crave simplicity. There is way too much of everything nowadays. I understand why some people just leave it all and go off backpacking or leave the city and move to the country. I'd love to be able to create my own little 1950s paradise, the house, the car etc.. I guess just having it in my head all the time will suffice for now...
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