Nostalgia, is a national disease?

I don’t think life was better years ago than it is now, at least it wouldn’t have been if I had been born in the same body and of the same family in an earlier period. I suspect that some victims of famine and war around the world would have a different view to mine. 

Our NHS isn’t functioning well at present, but imagine being admitted to hospital in the 1950s because you needed your appendix removed. The anaesthetics used back then were not as safe as those used today. You would have had a bigger incision and you would likely have remained in hospital for a week or more, rather than just a day or two. Even if you weren’t a smoker, it is likely you would have been inhaling smoke from other patients. Imagine the same scenario in the 1930s, except your surgery site gets infected. You would have been more likely to die because antibiotics weren’t widely available. If you go further back in time, you might have had surgery without anaesthetic or you could have been left to die of a ruptured appendix. Vaccinations weren’t widely available and people suffered from ghastly diseases before succumbing to death. 

Welcome and unwelcome life events can distort how people view the past. At least until more recent times, historical works from original source material tended to tell one sided accounts which weren’t necessarily wrong, but they didn’t reflect the experiences and views of a majority who were affected by an event. 

The British TV news and social media have done a good job of distorting people’s perception of the present and the past. At times the TV news channels fail to report really important issues that affect people’s lives. The channels mostly have the same news stories, which makes me wonder why journalists are constrained and for what purpose. Yes, each show has its own interest and target audience, but what is it that keeps the BBC and ITV from reporting diverse events? Negative events such as murders and rapes take up much news time. I was struck how one one escaped prisoner was described as being of Algerian nationality, so this feeds into negative immigrant narratives, yet the news failed to mention that during the Cambridgeshire train stabbing, the hero train worker who saved multiple lives was Algerian. I don’t think it is always necessary to give the nationality and age of Britain’s heroes, I am just pointing out how narratives can manipulate perceptions. Thankfully for future generations, historians will not rely only on news stories to inform people of UK 2025, but for now the public are blasted with these manipulated realities. Furthermore, we are all capable of creating our own manipulated realities even when faced with full facts, that is the nature of the human condition. 

Things are very rarely all good or all bad; the reality is often somewhere in between. It isn’t possible to offer an authentic account of the past that reflects how things were for everyone because the stories of the past are of individuals. We the watchers, listeners and readers of these stories bring our own experiences to how we perceive them. 

Did you watch the first episode of David Olusoga’s new series “Empire” on BBC2 last night? I liked his fresh approach to this difficult period in history.  

I don’t think life was better years ago than it is now, at least it wouldn’t have been if I had been born in the same body and of the same family in an earlier period. I suspect that some victims of famine and war around the world would have a different view to mine. 

Our NHS isn’t functioning well at present, but imagine being admitted to hospital in the 1950s because you needed your appendix removed. The anaesthetics used back then were not as safe as those used today. You would have had a bigger incision and you would likely have remained in hospital for a week or more, rather than just a day or two. Even if you weren’t a smoker, it is likely you would have been inhaling smoke from other patients. Imagine the same scenario in the 1930s, except your surgery site gets infected. You would have been more likely to die because antibiotics weren’t widely available. If you go further back in time, you might have had surgery without anaesthetic or you could have been left to die of a ruptured appendix. Vaccinations weren’t widely available and people suffered from ghastly diseases before succumbing to death. 

Welcome and unwelcome life events can distort how people view the past. At least until more recent times, historical works from original source material tended to tell one sided accounts which weren’t necessarily wrong, but they didn’t reflect the experiences and views of a majority who were affected by an event. 

The British TV news and social media have done a good job of distorting people’s perception of the present and the past. At times the TV news channels fail to report really important issues that affect people’s lives. The channels mostly have the same news stories, which makes me wonder why journalists are constrained and for what purpose. Yes, each show has its own interest and target audience, but what is it that keeps the BBC and ITV from reporting diverse events? Negative events such as murders and rapes take up much news time. I was struck how one one escaped prisoner was described as being of Algerian nationality, so this feeds into negative immigrant narratives, yet the news failed to mention that during the Cambridgeshire train stabbing, the hero train worker who saved multiple lives was Algerian. I don’t think it is always necessary to give the nationality and age of Britain’s heroes, I am just pointing out how narratives can manipulate perceptions. Thankfully for future generations, historians will not rely only on news stories to inform people of UK 2025, but for now the public are blasted with these manipulated realities. Furthermore, we are all capable of creating our own manipulated realities even when faced with full facts, that is the nature of the human condition. 

Things are very rarely all good or all bad; the reality is often somewhere in between. It isn’t possible to offer an authentic account of the past that reflects how things were for everyone because the stories of the past are of individuals. We the watchers, listeners and readers of these stories bring our own experiences to how we perceive them. 

Did you watch the first episode of David Olusoga’s new series “Empire” on BBC2 last night? I liked his fresh approach to this difficult period in history.  

I had my appendix out in the 70s. Anaesthetic then was different to now.  I was so ill by the time I got to hospital I would not have survived the operation, so they put a few drips up and may have given me some drugs, I don't remember. A priest or chaplain came to see me. I was given a 50 50 chance. They operated quickly and expected me to need a second one.

The standard of care, the fact they cared, cleanliness and professionalism were greater then. My months of physio in the 80s was good too.

Private healthcare now is the best solution, if you have money or insurance. Even for blood tests.

I'm not sure GPs are any better now than 50 years ago. They always make you feel like they are doing you a favour and would rather you just went away, even when I was dying, was severely hurt and had trauma and burnout. I will try to avoid ever using them again.