Monday night and the Jamieson family are in the living room.
The TV is off. We're all looking at our own screens. J is on her laptop, doing work. I'm updating my Twitter feed (1). Daughter number one is in old-school mode, playing Pokemon on her Nintendo DS, while daughter number two texts her mates on her phone. It's all very 21st century.
We talk as we tweet and text and click. Two of us are passing wind (I'll not name names, but I'm not one of them). We talk about that. (You would, wouldn't you?)
We talk about Wham! (daughter number two loves Wham!), the fact that Andrew Ridgeley is the same age as her mum almost to the day, and Tupac Shakur's shooting because rap always comes into the conversation with my daughters.
We also talk about the ethics of daughter number one's reading daughter number two's Facebook messages. "She left it open on the computer," daughter number one says as her thumb continues to batter away at the DS keys. "You shouldn't look, though, should she, Dad?" her younger sister says between trying to remember the exact lyrics of Everything She Wants (2). I mumble something non-committal. I know if I had come across the messages I'd probably have read them too.
I could maybe try to justify it as a father's concern, but, really, it's just nosiness. Years ago when my mate Damon (not his real name) stayed with J and me for a summer in our flat in Stirling he left his diary behind when he finally moved. I found it when I was tidying the room. And yes, I read it. Does this make me a bad person (3)?
What did I learn? Only that he had a crush on his hairdresser. That must be a common crush, really. It's one of the few times men have someone giving them some due care and attention. It's not one I've ever shared, but that's only because I go to a barber.
The thing is diaries are meant to be read, aren't they? The writer is thinking about the reader, even if the only reader will be him or herself. But diaries are about posterity too. You can't help but imagine someone reading them years from now. Maybe not a couple of days after you've gone off to do a teaching course down south, admittedly.
Me, I stopped keeping a diary when I realised I was never going to be a latterday Pepys.
He had the Great Fire of London. I had dodgy central heating. Not the same.
I stick to Twitter now. I know nobody reads that.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Because clearly my two followers need to know absolutely everything I do.
[2] One of George's finest efforts, I've always thought.
[3] Rhetorical question. You don't need to tell me how bad.
Twitter: @teddyjamieson
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article