If you assume that history is something that happens in the past, which is a fair assumption, then, for Richard, these periods of history aren't really history. He has lived through them all. He went from a time when his family didn't have a fridge, a freezer, a washing machine or a television to a time when he had all those plus a computer, a mobile phone and could almost talk to anyone from anywhere. Oh dear, he must be old. Oh dear, he is.