Friday 3 May 2024
Even though the world went mad
This was where he meant to live when he retired: surely in this place a man could live at peace; even though the world went mad, this hill country might keep its ancient dower of quietude under the northern stars.
E. C. R Lorac - The Last Escape (1959)
Not so easy now, life under the northern stars could be as mad as anywhere else and possibly madder. Escape routes closing - it’s a characteristic of our times.
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5 comments:
Those northern stars seem likely to be Angela Rayner, Andy Burnham, George Galloway, and John Swinney.
A.K. I feel the same way as you do. And now there is no escape in the Southern Hemisphere either. The WEFers and Davosians will have them all, with deep bunkers and hidden runways.
I admire, and envy, your knowledge of apposite pieces of literature. Thankyou.
You can still retire to a dower of quietude... anywhere on the edge of a village at least 5 or 6 miles from the nearest large town. But there will probably be no bus or train services, and hospitals, doctors and schools will be much closer to the urban centre. There may be no local pub, shop, Post Office, or even parish hall.
So quietude yes, but also a consciousness of trading off convenience for the sake of it.
I'm not so sure...
Like many citizens, I live in a village where life is much slower than in a big fat city. I do notice the increase in traffic, but can avoid all the unpleasantness associated with being among the sort of people I don't want to associate with.
I can even get to know the names of the staff in the small supermarkets, the garage bloke is charming, I spend millions of pounds in my local garden centre and give and get a friendly wave from drivers when walking the dog in the lane opposite!
But I couldn't go back to the working environment I 'enjoyed' several years ago...
Sam - oh good, that should lead to a dower of quietude.
Doonhamer - thank you and thanks for dropping by with your entertaining comments. Maybe the only possible escape is a state of mind.
DJ - we moved to a small town for the convenience and although we like the idea of village life, we know we'd lose too much of the convenience we already have.
Scrobs - yours sounds like an idyllic location. I couldn't go back to a working environment either. When I think about commuting to Nottingham every day I wonder how I stuck it.
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