Dear LPG, 

When I retired, I finally had time to consider what I had done so far in life and what I wanted to do with the rest.

However good or bad it looks when you look backwards, reality kicks in, and I realise that there is not much I can do about my past, but the future is an unknown that everyone can have some influence over.  It did not take me very long to look at what I could do with my future, and I soon began to draw up one of those bucket lists that we hear so much about these days.  That list keeps getting added to, but when I put the items included in order of priority, the top item is consistent.  I am not looking to die any time soon, but wanting to leave something of my story behind me is always near the top of my list.

I know my children are a big part of my legacy, and I am proud to be responsible for them. However, considering I am what my parents have left behind, there has to be more to life than that. When people are first introduced to someone they don’t know, after telling their name, they don’t naturally go on to give details about who their parents were. 

When we look at the bigger picture, the people remembered in this world are the celebrities, scientists, politicians, and inventors of the more significant laws and ideas that continue to be after them. That thought always leaves me wondering what I can leave behind. While I know I cannot reinvent the wheel, I accept that my future family and friends might remember me on the odd occasion in a few centuries.

Most people will have found themselves at the end of a family gathering at one time or another, chatting about those family members who have gone before.  It often happens when the family album or picture collection comes out, and it is always noticeable that the pictures of our grandparents (if there are any) will be obscure black-and-white images which will have faded somewhat over the years.  Any image will probably show them in a studio setting, only giving an insight into what they looked like, while their stories and so much more about them will have become just as obscure.  Our parents, aunts and uncles will be featured in holiday snaps and cine films doing a few things, but it is now so easy to make sure that you leave your version of who you are as part of your legacy.

When I consider what I want to be remembered for when my great-granddaughter (or son) tells his children about some of their ancestors and I come up, I often ask myself what will be said about me.  

So many of us have mobile phones or sons and daughters who know how to use them, and I would urge my fellow pensioners to leave their introductions, achievements, and even those stories, both good and bad, that might get distorted if their version is not out there on video.  

When I think about it, when our grandchildren try to explain what we were like to theirs, they can show a video of what you sounded like, thought, and achieved in your life if you talk to them that way.  

Perhaps you might be doing your bit when it comes to putting the future of all those online ancestry websites out of business, and the thought of writing memoirs is just as daunting as talking to anyone who wants to learn a bit more about who you were in a century must be worth doing more than thinking about.    

I know many pensioners who get embarrassed as soon as someone points a camera their way.  I know I am so aware of the older image that I portray these days, but we are what we are when we are, and that is all we can be.  We are still likely to have the pictures that will give an insight into what we were like, and they are so much clearer and more revealing than many of the earlier ones, but I want to remind everyone about what an opportunity they are missing.  You can permanently delete anything you don’t like, but you will always regret a video story or introduction you didn't have the opportunity to make. 

GF, Sydenham.