Following a vacation to London last week, I’ve been struggling to come up with some inspiration and motivation to write. When I started this blog, the aim was to blog about the virtual world and technology, but to be honest – nothing in the virtual world is grabbing my interest at the moment.
Surrounded by ‘all of the history’ in London, I was partly reminded of a world pre-internet, a world where the reliance on computer technology was non-existent. However, wherever I went, there was overwhelming evidence of technology integrating itself into everyday life – sometimes welcome, other times not.
From finding nearby restaurants, to enjoying the British Museum’s excellent ‘StreetMuseum’ app, I used the hell out of my iPhone. Google Maps was invaluable as we tried to get everywhere by foot.
Celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary, we treated ourselves to Champagne Afternoon Tea at the Ritz. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do, and had invited my parents, who recently celebrated their 40th anniversary, to go with us.
Afternoon tea in London at The Ritz is an institution in itself and we are proud to be a member of the Tea Council’s
prestigious Tea Guild. Served in the spectacular Palm Court, the choice of several varieties of tea and a delicious menu combine to make for an unforgettable afternoon.
Elegant dining at The Ritz
An extensive selection of 17 different types of loose leaf tea is offered. The traditional English Tea Menu includes freshly cut sandwiches with smoked salmon, cucumber, egg mayonnaise, roast ham and Cheddar cheese fillings. The finger sandwiches are served on a three tier stand, together with freshly baked apple and raisin scones with strawberry preserve and clotted Devonshire cream, followed by a delectable selection of afternoon tea cakes and pastries.
Befitting the elegant style of The Ritz, we observe a formal dress code in the public areas of the Hotel. With the exception of breakfast, gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie in The Ritz Restaurant, The Palm Court and The Rivoli Bar. Jeans and sport shoes are not permitted in any of these areas.
The whole experience was amazing, from the highest quality of silver service, to the beautiful and elegant surroundings. It really felt like stepping back in time.
Or at least, back to a time when the maitre d’ in full regalia, checked your booking on his iPad, and where the clientele took proud photos of themselves with their smartphones.
I must point out, however, that none of this detracted from the experience – I thoroughly recommend it!
Shortly before we arrived at the Ritz, we were unfortunate enough to have front-row seats to a high speed accident. A motorcycle courier, bumped by a van, careered into the front of the coffee shop we were in, sending glass and metal flying everywhere. Initially thinking it was a bomb I, of course, sprang into action making sure everyone was ok (luckily everyone in the shop was just shaken up, the rider injuring her leg).
As we waited for the ambulance to arrive and the staff attempted to make the scene safe, we were staggered by the number of people who, rather than help, had instead grabbed their phones and were taking photos/videoing the aftermath. This crowd grew and grew, like a macabre press conference – the flashes of their cameras going off, crouching to get the best angle. To be honest, it wasn’t as if there was anything major to see – the rider had already been freed from underneath their bike.
It struck me then – in this age of social media and instant news, the latest technology has enabled people to distance themselves from getting involved. Or rather the new ‘getting involved’ is to record and share, rather than step-in and care. A ‘virtual’ barrier.
I’m reminded of the recent riots in the UK and the video of the poor Malaysian student, Ashraf Haziq, who was mugged by thugs pretending to help him. At the time I thought of the people who took the video – why didn’t they intervene? Safety at first perhaps, but when the crowd had moved on, they continued to film him for quite a while longer as he stood outside their building, dazed, confused, and bleeding from a broken jaw.
Do we become too detached from reality if we’re behind the camera? I’d like to hope that had that been me in that situation, I would have opening a door and helping him inside. Grabbing my phone and documenting the situation would be the last thing on my mind.
Community: Getting Involved
As a footnote to this, I recognise the good that social networking can do – following the riots, Twitter was used to coordinate the cleanup by the public. I followed the tweets (as luckily was nowhere near the riots) and was inspired by the growing community spirit, people ‘getting involved’, enabled by technology.
What do you think? Have we become voyeurs on the real world, more interested in the kudos of good footage for posting on various social sites rather than stepping in and getting involved?
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