“Worry retards reaction and makes clear-cut decisions impossible.”

These are words attributed to  Amelia Earhart  (1898-1937) who was a pioneer of aviation, as well as an author and decorated pilot.

We know her as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, which she achieved in May 1932 –it took her 14hrs 56mins by the way – but Amelia also set many other records, including on this day - January 11 - in 1935 becoming the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean between Honolulu and Oakland, California (2,408-miles). This was also the first flight where a civilian aircraft carried a two-way radio but flying in those days was still a tricky and dangerous business.

It was in July 1937, during an attempt to fly solo around the world, that Amelia disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. She was eventually declared dead in January 1939.

In her short life, Amelia Earhart achieved much and received many awards, including being honoured by her own country and becoming the first woman to receive the US Distinguished Flying Cross. Apart from flying for fun and competitively, she was also an early advocate of Equal Rights and encouraged women pilots in particular. At one point she was (the first ever) aviation editor for the magazine Cosmopolitan and she also wrote best-selling books about her flying adventures.  The book she wrote about that first (very dangerous) solo Atlantic flight was entitled ‘The Fun of It’.  What a woman!

If you are someone who collects ‘quotes’ from famous people, you may have seen quite a lot of great sayings and adages attributed to Amelia Earhart. Some of these are on Amelia Earhart - The Official Licensing Website of Amelia Earhart but this one about worry rings bells with me.

Anxiety – worry – can be really debilitating.  I’ve learned that over the years.

Worrying about things that haven’t yet happened, things that could happen or might happen if circumstances go one way or another, even worrying about things that have ALREADY happened that you can’t change. Being anxious can rob you of sleep, of peace of mind. It can make you physically ill and incapable of functioning normally. I know, because over the years anxiety has sucked the joy out of my life at times and has sometimes prevented me from going for my dreams and with my gut instinct!

In addition, as Amelia Earhart suggested … “Worry retards reaction and makes clear-cut decisions impossible.” When we worry, we can and do make mistakes, and then our worries are almost self-fulfilled prophecies. And when our minds are full of anxieties and ‘what might be’ and ‘what could happen’ we may find it hard to make sensible decisions for ourselves and for others.

Coping with worry and anxiety can in itself be stressful, but there are things that can help. Deep breathing is a good one for me. And meditating on the moment I’m living NOW rather than the one that is past or the one that is to come.

In the New Testament of the Bible, in Matthew Chapter 6, Jesus said …

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

It’s something I need to remember every day! And then, who knows, I might still have adventures to enjoy without worrying about the consequences?

Amelia Earhart - The Official Licensing Website of Amelia Earhart

Following on from yesterday's post about Happiness and Joy, here's something I wrote a little while back which summed up how I was thinking then and what is still in my heart. 

Suffice to say, I'm a bit of a 'work in progress' 

 

MORE

Money, love, recognition, image, security

Clothes, house, car, holidays,

All the ‘Stuff’ which controlled me, which I thought defined me

All the ‘Things’ which I desired yet left me constantly dissatisfied, unfulfilled

Always comparing myself with others, always wanting MORE of what THEY had

MORE of what I thought I deserved

MORE and MORE and MORE...

 

NOW

AT LAST

I finally understand

All the Stuff and Things are insignificant, unimportant

Compared to Jesus

And now the MORE for which I yearn is only

MORE of Him, His Love, His Presence

MORE of Jesus in my life

MORE and MORE and MORE ...

 

Cathy Le Feuvre

Hello!

Welcome to 'Blue Monday'!

That is, apparently, what today is.

Traditionally, the third Monday in  January has been given this rather gloomy title because of a combination of things.

Post-Christmas blues, dark nights, perhaps the realisation that we've still got quite a few weeks of winter ahead, maybe the arrival of bills, including credit-card bills following an expensive festive period. And let's not forget the added pressure of the coronavirus pandemic this year.

I know, I know - all a load of old nonsense, right? Maybe. Who's to say being down in the dumps is especially pertinent today?

Of course, unfortunately for some people being 'blue' is not just for one day. It's much longer lasting. Some do suffer serious depression and it's not just about feeling 'down' for 24hours. I also know quite a number of people who are really affected by the time of year. Some experts call it 'SAD' - Seasonal Affective Disorder - and it can be really debilitating.

If you are feeling constantly sad and depressed, it's not a bad thing to get some help.

But if it's just today that is making you feel 'blue' then here's a little thought for you which might help you to smile through today, if you can!

It's a poem I came across in recent years. It does mention an 'epidemic' ... sorry about that ... hope no one is offended.

But it might help.

It's apparently attributed to the brilliant, funny, talented Spike Milligan, who himself experienced challenging mental health at times during his life.

A SMILE

Smiling is infectious

You catch it like the flu.

When someone smiled at me today

I started smiling too.

I walked around the corner

     And someone saw me grin.

When he smiled I realised

I'd passed it on to him.

I thought about the smile,

And realised its worth.

A single smile like mine

Could travel round the earth.

If you feel a smile begin

Don't leave it undetected.

Let's start an epidemic quick

And get the world infected!

(Spike Milligan)

So .. this One Day @ a Time blog is my attempt to do a thought for every day of the year. 

So far, I've managed it, but 21 days does not a year make!

As I hope people will enjoy and maybe even be inspired by a daily thought, reading, poem and more, I also want to share some of the readings and people who have inspired me on a day-to-day basis.

As a Christian, I find daily inspiration in reading scripture and prayers, but there are also other publications and people to whom I also turn from time to time. 

Have you ever heard of Marcus Aurelius?  He was a first century Roman Emperor but in his lifetime he also acquired a reputation for being a philosopher, in the Stoic tradition. His renown continued after his death and even some early Christians admired him not just as a philosophic but also as a philanthropic leader. 

Today he is still known, for some 'Meditations' that he authored.

While on a war campaign (between 170 and 180AD), Marcus wrote his Meditations in Greek, firstly as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. Although it's not known how widely these writings were circulated during his own lifetime, they have been handed down the centuries and today they are still very popular. Just check out the internet ... there are loads of sites which include his sayings and epigrams.

Some I find difficult and even challenging, mostly because of the two thousand years or thereabouts between the authoring and my reading of them, and the contexts of the times Marcus and I were/are living through.

But some of his 'Meditations' are surprisingly 'modern' and completely up to date and perfect for the early 21st century. I bet Marcus didn't expect to be so relevant for so long when he scribbled his thoughts all those years ago!

Take this one from Book 8 of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

This could really have been written for today, couldn't it?

We know there are lots of people who are obsessed with leaving their mark on the world, and spend every living moment thinking about the future, trying to ensure people will remember them.

Being ambitious is not a bad thing, of course, but if it is all consuming and we are always reaching for the 'next thing' and believe that the grass is always greener in the next field, maybe this prevents us from just enjoying the life we have - right now.

Even back in the first century, Marcus Aurelius seems to have recognised this trait of human nature.

And his advice is as sound today as it was all those years ago.

'Give yourself a gift: the present moment'

Today I'm going to try to do that. Moment by moment. To appreciate what I have, not worry about the things I do not have. Not being concerned about what people might think of me, or say about me. 

Just to breathe in the joy of life. Right now! 

#

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a summer person.

I like the sunshine. I feel energised in the warmth of the late spring and summer but in the winter months I sometimes struggle to motivate myself, especially first thing in the morning when it's still dark outside at about the time I have to rise for work.

But on THIS day of the week there is one thing that gets me going ... and that is knowing that tomorrow ... the weekend will be here!

Bit tongue in cheek, but here's a little poem I penned ...

FRIDAY MORNING

I woke today

As I usually do

About the time

My clock told me to

And though my heart

Was filled with dread

As I thought about

The day ahead

There was one thought

That made me smile

That gave me joy

For a little while

And what is it?  

Just one more day

Until it will be

SATURDAY!!!

Cathy Le Feuvre

Have you ever heard the saying 'Waste Not Want Not' ? 

I'm sure you have. It sort of rolls off the tongue doesn't it?

And in these days when we're encouraged to try to do our best to save the resources of our planet, the emphasis on conservation, recycling, and on 're-using' and 're-purposing' - it's a phrase that is very 'current'. Or at least, it should be!

This won't be the only time I talk to you about 're-using'. It's something I love to do, especially when I'm sewing and crafting, using up old material, ribbons gathered from all sorts of places, cards, pictures, papers. I'm also a person who loves to visit charity/thrift shops to find stuff that other people have discarded, and to give them a new life.

But that's a tale for another time.

Back to that phrase - 'Waste Not Want Not'.

What does it actually mean?

Well, it's really saying ... if you don't waste anything, you will always have enough. If you don't squander your money and resources, you will never be in want. If you use a commodity or resources carefully, you will never be in need.

In other words - there's always enough to go around. We just need to stop wasting stuff! 

I love that!

But although it's a phrase perfectly suited to today, did you know that it's an idiom that has been around since the end of the 18th century?

It's reckoned one of the first references was in a book called 'The Parent's Assistant' which was the first collection of children's stories by a writer called Maria Edgeworth, and it was published in 1796.

Maria was English/Irish and a prolific writer of children's and adult literature.  She had strong views on politics, education and estate management and she wrote on these matters, as well as creating stories. And apparently Maria was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe.

Queen Victoria was a fan. She was reading The Parent's Assistant in 1837, just three months before her coronation. In her diary she recalled reading "The Birthday Present" in "Miss Edgeworth's inimitable and delightful Parent's Assistant" while doing her hair.

Today's phrase is actually the title of one of her stories, entitled 'Waste Not, Want Not' (or 'Two Strings To Your Bow'). It's the story of two boys Hal and Benjamin, who are taken in by their Uncle. The motto is actually written over the chimney-piece, in the Uncle's big kitchen, and the narrative is mostly about how the boys learn the lessons of not wasting or squandering what they have, or are given.

Maria Edgeworth, in common with many early novelists, definitely wrote to teach as well as to inform and to entertain. Although it's not exactly the genre of storytelling that is popular these days, in their time these stories were very much in demand.

And the fact that Maria was highly regarded as a writer, at a time when educated females were often disapproved of, says much about the woman who more than 200 years ago first profiled a simple phrase which is even today calling us to action. 

Waste not, want not - Idioms by The Free Dictionary

Were you ever a Scout, or a Girl Guide? Or a Cub Scout or a Brownie? Perhaps you are still a member of the Scouting Movement, maybe as a leader?

When I was a little girl, I put on the 'Brownie' uniform, with a yellow scarf and a leather ‘woggle’, and later I also donned the blue Guide uniform, attending ‘meetings’ and camps where we learnt all sort of interesting skills which eventually allowed me to gain the famous 'badges' which I could sew on the sleeves of my uniform.

Some have been useful all my life.  Sewing, which I love to this day. Map-reading/orienteering which I have used very occasionally. I also learned how to make a campfire, although I’ve yet to make use of that. However if I did go camping, I could forage for sticks and build a shelf unit for our plates and pans!

In addition, and most importantly, I also made loads of friends, and had masses of organised fun. And I learned some really important values and lessons which have stood me in good stead over more than five decades.

It was on this day - January 24th - in 1908 that a British soldier called Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell published a manual which was filled with information about self-improvement and what today is called ‘survival training’ – skills to help a person survive in the outdoors.

Baden-Powell had already been working with and inspiring young men in outdoors pursuits and adventure for about a year but his manual -  ‘Scouting for Boys’ - inspired the founding of the Boy Scouts Association just two years later. However, it's interesting to note that when they held their first rally at The Crystal Palace in London in 1909 it wasn’t just boys who donned a Scout uniform. Some girls were determined to become ‘Girl Scouts’, so Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes formed the ‘Girl Guides’.

Today the Scout Association is global, and the World Scout Bureau estimate numbers at around  28 Million, although as some countries don't do accurate counts, it could be as many as 40 million. All of these young people having brilliant experiences, meeting new people, gaining new skills (those infamous 'badges') and creating friendships, becoming part of teams and learning values that will last a lifetime. 

The Scouting Programme has clear objectives to ‘actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society’. All their activities are around three main themes - outdoor and adventure, world and skills. Scouting is something a person can be involved in as a member, and a leader, for their entire life. 

Changes have and are made to suit the times, without moving away from the core values. Although the Girl Guide movement still flourishes, young women have been part of the Scout movement now for decades.

Wherever they are in the world, all Scouts are expected to adhere to the  Scout Promise including the words which commit them to ‘On my honour…   do my duty to God ... ’ These days, the wording may vary in different countries determined by the local culture, but the promises are all based on the original Promise and Law conceived by the founder of their movement. 

In recent years, there have been some question marks over Baden-Powell's legacy and even allegations of racism, but today the Scouting movement spans the globe encouraging not just self-sufficiency but also a life of sacrifice and community.

Robert Baden-Powell was at the helm of his movement until his retirement in 1937. He and his wife then moved permanently to Kenya in East Africa, and when he died in January 1941 he was buried in the church yard of St Peter's Church in a place called Nyeri in the Central Highlands, within sight of Mount Kenya.

His gravestone, which is now a Kenyan national monument, is inscribed with a circle, with a dot in the centre. It’s the trail sign, which so many scouts and adventurers will recognise, for ‘going home’ or ‘I have gone home’.

I have particular memories of that grave, because at one time when I was living in Kenya as a child, I attended a boarding school in Nyeri, and every Sunday we attended that church. And one of our favourite things to do was to visit that grave.  It was a highlight of my week which seems a bit bizarre now, 50 years on.

It’s intriguing what intrigues young people.

So today all I really want to say is this ... let’s give thanks for the men and women who have inspired young people for good in the past, and continue to do so today.

Some are inscribed in history. Others will quietly inspire. But their legacy will live on, if only in the memory of those who they have helped along the way.

Scouts (UK)

'Diamonds are forever', 'Diamonds are a girl's Best Friend'. Who hasn't heard of those songs?

Just two of the most popular tunes and songs with diamonds in the title.

The sparkling gemstones are, of course, much prized and the most popular of jewels. The diamond, being a hard element, also represents steadfast love ... hence all those love songs, I guess! 

And diamonds come in all sizes. But did you know that it was on this day - January 26th in 1905 - that the world's largest diamond was discovered, in South Africa?

The Cullinan Diamond, which was 10.1 centimetres(4inches) long, 6.35cm (2.5in) wide, and 5.9cm (2.3in) deep, was discovered at a mine in Pretoria. It weighed 3,106-carats. With one carat equal to 200 milligrams, I worked out that the Cullinan weighed around 621 grams, which is 1.3lbs. That's big!

The guy who found it was a 'surface manager' at the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan in the Transvaal Colony, which is now known as South Africa.  Lots of big diamonds had been dug out of the earth before, but this was and remains, the largest.

In those days, before social media and the like, although the news of the find went around the world, the diamond did not immediately get snapped up by a rich person. Instead, it went on display - at the Standard Bank in Johannesburg - until it was sent to London. It was a bit of a security palaver. To avoid attempted robberies, detectives apparently were set sail on a steamboat, believe to be carrying the Cullinan. They were locked in the captain's cabin to keep the diamond safe.

But this was a decoy. The diamond they were protecting was a fake, and the real Cullinan was sent to England via regular standard post, in a box. That's clever!

Yet, on arrival in England, it remained unsold. It was two years before the Transvaal Colony bought the diamond on behalf of the British King, Edward VII, for a price of £150,000 - the Bank of England inflation calculator reckons that's nearly £18,500,000 at the end of 2020. It was presented to the King on his birthday, on the 9th of November 1907.

The Cullinan was then was sent to Amsterdam for cutting. The diamond trade and industry in that city in the Netherlands goes back to the 16th century and so it was there that the experts meticulously cut the Cullinan into nine separate diamonds. Two are part of the British Crown Jewels, and the remainder are still privately owned, by the British monarch.

Yes, diamonds are very special. I don't own any, although I do have a little ring set with a diamond chip or two - it cost substantially less than 18 and a half million pounds. More like £18 I think!

But it's pretty, and I like it!

Yet the interesting thing about diamonds, I'm sure you know, is that they don't start out as precious jewels. Even the Cullinan Diamond had to be cut, and polished, to create the exquisite and very expensive gemstones fit for the Crown Jewels.

And diamond is actually carbon ... the same element as coal. Black, hard, dirty coal which can burn to give us warmth. Not a glittering gem, but made of the same stuff.  The beauty of the diamond is made under the pressure of being created deep within the earth over billions of year. And as the solid form of carbon, diamond is the hardest of any natural material so it is used in industry as well, for cutting and polishing. It seems there's a lot more to a diamond, or even a diamond chip,  than just a sparkling ring on my finger!

The 19th century British historian, writer and polymath Thomas Carlyle is credited with saying 'No pressure, no diamonds.' 

I like that! 

We might like to have life handed to us on a plate, with little work on our behalf, but real life isn't like that. Sometimes we have to go through challenges to fulfil our dreams and reach our goals. Sometimes the pressures of life can bring us down, but often they can make us stronger.

So, today, if you're going through hard times, please believe this - beauty can come out of adversity.

Don't give up. Keep on going!

And have a great day!

World's Largest Diamond Discovered - On This Day

When you were a kid did you ever get into Lego? Perhaps you still are?

I have adults friends and relatives who love a bit of Lego, and these days the constructions come in all themes and all shapes and sizes. From farmyards to Star Wars and Harry Potter's Hogwarts, these kits come with strict instructions, specialist bricks and other objects, which when carefully and meticulously put together, turn into something quite magical. If you want you can recreate the White House, or the Roman Coliseum, the London Sky Line ... all in Lego!

But today I'm not talking about these modern marvels. No, I'm thinking about those basic, simple plastic blocks in bright primary colours which I loved as a child.

There was no order to it  ... usually the Lego bricks were kept in a box and then scattered on the floor. Like the kids of today, we then rifled through them to find what we wanted, making a lot of noise and grabbing what we needed to build that simple house, or car, or even people (before the days when Lego made plastic people) And of course, the best thing was, at the end of it all, we could smash it to pieces and the following day we could use the bricks again to make something new, confident in the knowledge that whatever Lego piece we chose, it would always connect with another.

It all seemed so simple, but of course, it wasn't. The development of the child's toy had not happened overnight.

It has all begun around 1932 when a Danish carpenter called Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys. Two years later, his company became known as 'Lego' - in Danish, the phrase leg godt  means "play well" ! 

By 1947 the company was developing plastic toys and in 1949 they began producing a new product, 'Automatic Binding Bricks'.  Other companies were also producing similar self-locking blocks, and Lego continued to refine and develop the ultimate 'locking' design, and to search for an outstandingly durable material from which to make their building blocks.

And so it was that 63 years ago today - on January 28 1958 - that the modern Lego brick design was patented.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Back at the start of it all Christiansen had a motto -  "only the best is good enough". He encouraged his workers to never skimp on quality, always producing the best. That is still the Lego Group's motto today and it's stood the Danish company in good stead because Lego is now one of the most recognisable and valuable brands in the world. Not just all those building bricks and incredible kits for adult Lego connoisseurs, but even amusement parks. I've had a few fun days myself at Legoland in the town of Windsor in the UK!

Films, competitions, those theme parks dotted around the world - the Lego Group continues to develop it's brand and products, but I guess it's that iconic brick which we all remember. We certainly remember it when we unexpectedly step on one of them in bare feet ! 

But what I love about Lego is that the original concept and even the fancy kits today are all about IMAGINATION and creativity. And it's about perseverance ... if at first you don't succeed, try try again.

The individual blocks in themselves are nothing. But locked into another, and another, and another, and another ... we can build something out of nothing. We can imagine something and build it. And if we're not happy, we can admit it hasn't worked, and try again, re-building  it using the same blocks which we discarded on the first design.

Out of the chaos of the multi-coloured masses of Lego pieces scattered on the floor in front of us can come order, so long as we have the determination to keep trying, re-thinking our design, and maybe use the bricks and blocks in a slightly different configuration.

There's something spiritual about that.

Out of the chaos of our lives can come order. With a motivation to do our best, some imagination, a good deal of determination and maybe a guide to help us from time to time, we can create something beautiful.

And if it doesn't happen the first, or even the umpteenth time, if we develop our skills, and talents and creativity and motivations, and use them again, and again perhaps in a slightly different way, we can begin to create that beauty in our lives which we have craved.

And - if we think beyond ourselves, the same can be true for our communities, our world. We just need to be committed to creating that beauty, determined not to give up, even if at the moment everything looks and feels so messy!

So - maybe it's time to start building!

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” 

That's the iconic opening line of a very famous novel.

Any idea?

Of course, it's 'Pride and Prejudice' penned by the incredible Jane Austen and it's one of my favourite novels.

It was published on January 29th 1813.

Why do I love it? Well, if I had time I'd write you a dissertation, but I haven't so I'll make just a few points.

I'm aware that many people HAVE written dissertations and tomes about this subject and I won't try to come close to all that knowledge but just give you my impressions, as a reader.

If this makes no sense to you at all then you might have to read the book!

'Pride and Prejudice' is a great read for a history lover, and a would be 'time traveller' like myself. The book is described as a 'novel of manners' - Austen is recreating the social world of her time, and she was obviously someone who really took in everything that was going on around her. People and their quirks, the manners and conventions of her time, the values of her community and class. And she is able to convey this in such detail, I just feel I'm there. At the parties, in the drawing rooms, listening in to the conversations with the author.

As a writer and a journalist, I know how important it is keep my ears and eyes open and to observe the world around me. Yes, I am one of those who keeps a notebook, noticing quirky things about the people I meet and see, and one day you all might end up in a novel of my own, in some disguised form. I am a would-be Jane Austen in this respect.

Second, Elizabeth Bennet, Austen's main character. What a woman! I think she's feisty and funny, quite brave and given half a chance, independent.

It's easy for those of us today, in the 21st century, to try to project our own sensibilities and cultural norms on people who lived in the past, but if we do that we maybe miss what novels like 'Pride and Prejudice' may have to say to us and what we might learn about the past through them.

Today, the idea that a woman can't be a real woman unless she has a husband is frankly ridiculous, so it's really interesting to immerse myself in that strange time. However, I am aware that although they might not say it out loud, there  may still be those in OUR culture who, if they were pushed on this point, might secretly not think much of single women and might actually believe that they'd be better off with a man. So maybe our time has more in common with Austen's day?

In the person of Elizabeth we see someone who is trying to defy the conventions of her time, someone who is not entirely happy with what society expects of her when it comes to behaviour. But Elizabeth does have to behave largely in a conventional manner and not upset TOO many people otherwise life would be unbearable for her. Of course, we are aware of some of that inner defiance as the reader, but what I really love is the words that Austen put's in Elizabeth's mouth, which helps her to express some of the frustrations.

Just imagine ... a man who you can't abide and hasn't really shown the slightest interest in you, ups and tells you that, against his better judgement because he knows you're socially beneath him, he is in love with you and wants to marry you.

I know what I'd do. I'll tell him to ... well you know.

But if Elizabeth was overtly rude that would be unacceptable to early 19th century sensibilities, so Austen has her being clever with her words.

"From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish distain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of the disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world on whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.”

How excellent is that?

And the third reason I love 'Pride and Prejudice'? 

Well it has to be Mr Darcy.

Now I have to admit, this might have something to do with the TV drama first shown back in 1995 which had Colin Firth in the role of Mr Darcy ... at the time loads of my friends, and myself, were secretly in love with the character. 

But I read the book many years before I saw a TV drama or movie based on Jane Austen's 1813 novel and Mr Darcy was already a favourite literary character of mine.

Yes he was a snob, and rather rude, but of course we pretty much see him through Elizabeth's eyes and narration, so the characterisation is maybe a bit one-sided. But as the novel progresses, we see aspects of kindness and loyalty and yes, romance. For a reader like me in a world where the idea of 'courtly love' is no more, I freely admit Mr Darcy has his attractions. If only as a dream.

When Jane Austen published her novel this day in 1813 I wonder if she imagined that, 200 years down the line, we would be picking her work apart and still enjoying her characters and story.

And one final thought.

The book was originally to have been called 'First Impressions'. Much of the tension of the novel is based on those first impressions that Elizabeth had of Mr Darcy and vice versa, and the story is, among other things, about how the main characters have to overcome their snobbery and pride (Mr Darcy) and their inverted snobbery or prejudice (Elizabeth).

It was only when I learnt more about Jane Austen's life and work that I heard about that alternate title to one of my favourite novels. And it's a lesson to me. Not to jump to conclusions about people, based on the first impression.

How people speak, what they look like, what they are wearing, where they live, what job they have. This should all be less important than their values, their sense of humour and other traits which show us their personality and character.

But of course, we DO often make judgements based on the superficial first impression. And sometimes we, like Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, have to admit that we were wrong, and need to unravel the misconceptions and begin to form relationships with those who we may have thought we would never be able to connect with.

For me, that is a lesson in life, not just in literature.