The changing world -Introduction

Visiting our eldest son and family in celebration of our second granddaughter's fourth birthday I began to think about how the world has changed in my lifetime of 61 years and how it may change in my grandchildren's lifetimes. As a child in the fifties I remember thinking about how my grandparents had seen the world change beyond recognition in the previous half century. I thought this change greatest in transportation. from no powered flight to jet airliners, from horse drawn transport to motor vehicles everywhere. I thought how can the world change as much in some respect in my lifetime? In the fifties I had no idea. Now I know the answer is electronics and comunications. I grew up in a house with a splendid valve radio and no TV. I listened to two BBC stations and Radio Luxembourg. As I type this I have on the TV a programme recorded from satellite TV station onto a hard drive receiver box. Yet I remember seeing the first intercontinental TV broadcast from the USA via Telstar to Goonhilly Down Cornwall. Now I can get more TV stations than I can watch. This laptop gives instant world wide communication wirelessly. The first computing machine I used was to calculate square roots for a statistics course back in the mid sixties. It was wheeled into the lab on something the size of a meal trolley. So how will the world change most in the next half century? I have no idea.
I thought about how back in the fifties and sixties were were afraid of the bomb, a nuclear holocaust. Now that has gone and children today are frightened by a supposed threat from global warming. Well, after 50 more years, that too may not be the threat people fear. So I decided I aught to write something for my grandchildren concerning the vanishing world I have seen. I have decided to blog these reminiscences. I welcome feedback. Watch this space.