Sometimes I miss my diary. I was never really one for detailing my daily activities and thoughts, but I started one for some reason on 13-Dec-2011 (131211 in UK date format) and kept it as a private blog online until the summer of 2015. I wrote an entry almost every day and often included photographs as well.

I wanted to keep one just as a reminder of how things were going during my middle ages. It served not only as a journal of activities but also provided some form of cathartic outlet, although I admit that, because I chose for it to be in an electronic format, rather than the traditional leather-bound tome, it certainly contained more censoring that a true “stream of consciousness” diary would. Perhaps it was because of this requirement to sit in front of the laptop each evening that it suddenly seemed to become more of a chore to keep it up that to maintain it. Maybe I subconsciously considered it to be a futile exercise. Or, more optimistically, possibly it had served its purpose. Anyhow, for whatever reason the entries became staccato and in the end I stopped maintaining it in the summer before I hit the big five-oh.

Well, it’s now been about half a year without even visiting my diary and I think I may start up another one. This time though I am considering using the traditional pen-and-ink version, foregoing the convenience of electronic editing for the tactile experience of putting down works on real paper.

It’s going to be a hard slog though, as I really have got out of practice of using simple pen and ink, with its unforgiving nature. I am so used to an electronic format for just about all writing these days, whether at home or at the office, with spell checker and the ability to rewrite a phrase with no trace of the original underneath.

On the other hand it does give me an excuse to select a nice heavy volume perhaps and indulge in a more spontaneous type of writing which is arguably missing from my electronic world. Methinks a nice pocket diary beckons…

Plus, I’ll always have this blog as a supplement too 🙂

~Richard