On Thursday I was walking down Harley Street when I saw this blue plaque. You can see blue plaques clamped on front walls in London to mark where famous or eminent people have lived or worked. The colour has changed over time since its inception in 1866. As I was walking, I glanced quickly at the name and
occupations. I thought how wonderful it was to have been a philosopher, surgeon, painter and poet, something quite common in the 19th century.
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It got me thinking about life in the 19th century and how people with a certain standard of living were interested in natural history, the arts and humanities, and took these
interests to a great level of competence. New technologies have brought convenience but have filled people’s life with other distractions: cars meant you didn’t have to stay home, the wireless, the movies, the television, online streaming turned us from creators into consumers.Â
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I was musing about all I would do if my
life had fewer distractions and what I would need to let go of to free time, when I realised that Karl Ghattas was actually born in 1958, not 200 earlier as I had assumed.
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I reflected on the fact that we can still be polymaths if we wished and avoided time-wasting activities. Then I wondered what I’d like my own blue plaque to say. When I
finalised my list, I looked for a blue plaque generator as you can find anything and everything online. Sure enough, I found one and the result was just such a fun thing to have. You can print it as a picture and use it as part of a dream board or just a motivational reminder.
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Why not create your own blue plaque right now? What would be written on
it?Â
It will take you no time to create using this link. Have fun!Â
