Where is my down time?

Grace has written recently about Empty Nesting (Come back Cuckoo – All is forgiven) and Ellie often writes about being overwhelmed when everything becomes too much for her, but my Achilles heel is not having enough ‘down time’. I seem to be constantly dashing all over the place – admittedly often doing things I enjoy – but still not having enough time to do all that I want to. All this technology, that is meant to save us so much time, I actually find makes more work. The home telephone rings and if you don’t answer then they call your mobile and if you choose to ignore that because you are doing something more vital, then they text or email you. My children often wonder why I don’t have my mobile with me at all times – i.e. in the loo!! The iPhone now has an option for you to send an automatic message to a caller that you will ring later but that only works if you remember to make that call.

As I watch my mother sink into the oblivion of Alzheimer’s I wonder if maybe we overwork our brains trying to do and remember so much. What happened to Down Time? My parents always used to ask me when I got time to read the paper, sit in the sunshine with a cup of coffee, or just simply relax. My phone bleeps 30 minutes before I am meant to be somewhere, I can receive emails any time and any place though I have learnt to turn the phone to ‘e silence’ for 8 hours every night so that it only fires up when I pick it up in the morning. I once listened to author Nick Hornby being interviewed and he said that he has bought an app which turns all of his techie equipment off for 2 hours every day. He was unable to ignore his mobile, iPad, computer etc so he had to buy an app!

My OH pointed out an article in the Telegraph yesterday with the boss of Evernote (a new techie company). I only understood 25% of the article however I got the gist that this new way of communicating is set to replace email – it already has 100 million users worldwide, 4.7 million in the UK. OMG I don’t want new systems, more ways for me to be interrupted, less down time.

However I have found myself a small piece of down time…..it is called Opera Prelude. A friend and neighbour started this charity five years ago in order to give young singers a start. Every ticket sold, subscription or donation made goes to enable these young people to follow their career in what must be the most difficult art form to succeed in. Once a month, usually on a Friday morning, there is a gathering of about 50 people in my friend’s barn, where we listen to a lecture given by one of these opera singers and it is highlighted with their singing. Most recently I listened to a talk on the history of Patter songs given by Alex Haigh which I found to be both fun and fascinating, it was lighthearted and with a fast tempo.  During it Alex explored the history and origins of the Patter songs, in opera and beyond; a journey from 480BC to the present day. He took us from the Ancient Greeks through to the best known of the lot; Gilbert and Sullivan, with well- loved patter numbers from Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti along the way. Testing the excellence of his enunciation, Alex rattled off the Champagne aria in double time, demonstrating why these timelessly entertaining, tongue-twisting lyrics play an important part in our understanding and enjoyment of comic opera. Apart from singing Gilbert and Sullivan’s song of the Major-General, he also sang Tom Lehrer’s listing of the chemical elements to the same tune to great applause from his enraptured audience. Alex is giving the same lecture on behalf of Opera Prelude on Tuesday, 2nd June at 10.30 a.m. in The Cadogan Hall, Sloane Terrace so my advice is try and get a ticket now if you can.

I know very, very, little about opera and so this is all a steep learning curve for me, but it is two hours without interruption from the outside world. I meet opera lovers, all of whom know are far more knowledgeable than I but all wanting to share their passion. I learn about the history of opera, the stories behind the great operas and their composers and with the knowledge that I am supporting this precious art form. A couple of weeks ago their was an evening event organised by Opera Prelude called Desert Island Songs and the audience were invited to write in and make a request for their favourite opera song to be sung. There were six singers and we listened to not only the songs, but the stories behind the choices. All of the singers were so talented and so eager to share their passion with all of us and they gave us a memorable night with many a tear shed as some of the songs stirred a memory of times past.

I think we all need some way to escape this world of bleeps, pings and ring tones – some down time for all of us busy Mums who have spent the past 25 years plus, devoted to our families and their needs, and so we would love to hear from some of our readers about what they do to relax.