jonathan.beckett@gmail.com

Sunday

While sitting in Starbucks with Miss 18 this morning I installed the latest Harry Potter game on my phone (by the same company that made Pokemon Go). I won't pretend to understand anything about it, other than it being overly complicated, and having some back-story involving the Ministry of Magic, Harry, and Hermione. While waiting for 18 to finish her ice tea, I discovered some magical creature or other causing trouble in the middle of Starbucks, and waved my imaginary wand at it (or rather, drew a shape on the screen). On the way home I discovered a rather spectacular invisible unicorn blocking our way, and stopped for several minutes to deal with it. Miss 18 was not impressed with me at all.

I'm home now. After spending the middle part of the day filling the washing machine with clothes, and watching Stranger Things, the rest of the family have returned from a shopping expedition (because OF COURSE the younger children's shoes have fallen to pieces with only a few weeks of school left before the summer holidays), and I'm now half-watching the football World Cup final live from France. The children were obsessed with the tournament until England were knocked out – now they couldn't care less who wins.

We have two more episodes of Stanger Things to go, and then have to wait another year for the next season. Myself and 18 are the only people in the house that have watched it – my other half tends towards shows like Criminal Minds, CSI, NCSI, Sherlock, Elementary, and so on – I'm more drawn to shows like The OA, Mr Robot, and Halt and Catch Fire – although saying that, it's rare that I watch TV any more. The internet has almost completely taken the place of television in my life – reading and writing blog posts, catching up with distant friends, watching movies, playing games, and so on.

In some ways I've begun to think of those I know via the internet as closer friends than many I know in the “real world”. Both worlds are real of course – and I wonder if the generation that has grown up with the internet will not see such a division – because they communite with friends both near and far in the same way. I do wonder if their preference for messaging over face-to-face communication will have a negative effect in the long run though.

Anyway – enough soap box philosophy for one day. Time to put the kettle on and not think too much about anything for the remainder of Sunday evening.