Winston Churchill once said that history is written by the victors. I believe that the same can be said for the truth. We all have an opportunity to tell our own story - and our own truth.

 

So, when Cate posted a blog about how close to reality some content really is, it got me thinking. 

 

Firstly, coming up with content isn’t easy. If you follow our podcast, you may know that we moved from a weekly to a fortnightly (bi-weekly to some) show some time ago. Why did we do that?

 

Well, putting out a show takes time and effort. There’s the recording and editing and physical act of making it live. But, most of all, it’s the pre-show effort; what are you going to talk about? We started our show talking about our journey but the problem with that is that you eventually run out of adventures. There has to be space to breathe, to live life, to clean your teeth, do your recycling - all that good stuff. 

 

What would we do? Start making up stories? Start exaggerating for affect? 

 

We wanted to remain as authentic as we can be - so we decided to move to a fortnightly show but also introduce some other elements like special guests, topics, club reviews - so that the pressure wasn’t as high.

 

It’s not a huge leap though to think that others have been through the same process. And it could apply to any content producer on any time scale. And with a certain American president claiming that fake news is everywhere, it pays to take everything we say with a pinch of salt.

 

Now, I know that some content producers won’t publish anything unless they have something to say. I totally get that - it’s authentic, saves a horrific schedule and makes the appearance of their content a special event. 

 

But, here’s the rub for us - we really enjoy doing our show. If we didn’t do it, we’d miss it. It gives us a wonderful opportunity to sit down, talk with each other and share our relationship with the rest of the world. By balancing things in this way, we think we can keep close to the truth but also continue to put out content.

 

Now, back to Winston. It’s important to remember that we all put a spin on our stories. Of course we do - they are told from our perspective. We want to present ourselves in the best possible light and also to entertain people too. Some shows and writers will dial up elements (let’s make it sexy or funny) or dial down others (let’s cut out the sad parts of the arguments).

 

Some people (myself included) are incapable of telling a short story - and, if you’ve told a story once, it inevitably grows and shapes with each retelling. I think I have our chundermuff story down to a fine art now thanks to my wife asking me to tell it to so many people.

 

You also need to consider that we all have an agenda. For some it might be to paint things in the most realistic way possible, to promote the lifestyle, to highlight the pitfalls or for others it might be to sell you something. But, just like understanding that newspapers and the news channels may be driven by an agenda, you need to navigate your way to what you believe is the truth (if that’s important to you). 

 

And (finally) for every story we and other producers tell, there is an opposite side - someone else’s opinion. I’ve listened to a number of shows where the same event has been told from a variety of perspectives. I find it fascinating - because somewhere in there is the reality, the real truth.

 

Now, much like old Ben Kenobi, what I’ve said is the truth, from a certain point of view. Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view - and what’s important to you. If you are entertained and enjoy something - does it really matter if it is a story, an exaggeration or what really happened?

 

Honestly yours

 

Mr H