I've had a staggeringly busy few days, writing screeds of stuff which has to be completed today if not yesterday. I've been beginning at 6 am and finishing at midnight, and still not getting through it all Then I got a call asking if I would like to go to the Caribbean for 5 days to research rum.
Well, that makes life worth living. Or it would do if I had time to go.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Monday, 27 April 2009
The National Trust Heritage Movie
I'm all for the National Trust, as it has given a lot of pleasure to a lot of people over the years. Pity it's getting ever more corporate and predictable.
On a recent visit to Polesden Lacy house in Surrey, I found that they've tripled the size of the shop, doubled the size of the tea-room and added another huge "farm shop."
Scores of people were shopping there. Not only this but the gleaming and well polished house was packed with so many guests - even on a midweek afternoon - that I could not imagine how it could cope with many more visitors. There seemed to be an awful lot of "Do not Touch" notices and roped off areas.
Outside, the lovely gardens were immaculately trimmed, and there were notices to tell you not to touch the statues, and - extraordinarily - not to let your children draw in chalk upon the paving stones in the garden.
I have to say that it made me feel as if I was in the middle of a television advert for "heritage." I used to love Polesden Lacy but everything is so rigidly controlled now that it doesn't really feel like a proper place at all. Real history and real historic places were much more rough about the edges, more full of character than this.
I console myself by considering how much the National Trust has contributed to the nation. If this is what they must do in order to rescue wonderful landscapes and amazing houses from developers, then I suppose we should put up with it. Shouldn't we?
On a recent visit to Polesden Lacy house in Surrey, I found that they've tripled the size of the shop, doubled the size of the tea-room and added another huge "farm shop."
Scores of people were shopping there. Not only this but the gleaming and well polished house was packed with so many guests - even on a midweek afternoon - that I could not imagine how it could cope with many more visitors. There seemed to be an awful lot of "Do not Touch" notices and roped off areas.
Outside, the lovely gardens were immaculately trimmed, and there were notices to tell you not to touch the statues, and - extraordinarily - not to let your children draw in chalk upon the paving stones in the garden.
I have to say that it made me feel as if I was in the middle of a television advert for "heritage." I used to love Polesden Lacy but everything is so rigidly controlled now that it doesn't really feel like a proper place at all. Real history and real historic places were much more rough about the edges, more full of character than this.
I console myself by considering how much the National Trust has contributed to the nation. If this is what they must do in order to rescue wonderful landscapes and amazing houses from developers, then I suppose we should put up with it. Shouldn't we?
Monday, 13 April 2009
Peter Moore, Travel Writer
Just discovered Peter Moore's travel writer blog. He manages to do what so many people dream of - make travel part of his daily life and earn a living from it. He's a damn good writer too.
Felt a tinge of envy - wouldn't it be nice to be a full time travel writer rather than a part time one? But I just do not have time. If only I had several parallel lives running at once.
Having said that I'm just about to pack and go away today.
Felt a tinge of envy - wouldn't it be nice to be a full time travel writer rather than a part time one? But I just do not have time. If only I had several parallel lives running at once.
Having said that I'm just about to pack and go away today.
Sunday, 12 April 2009
PR Disaster
I'm struggling with a problem about a piece I am supposed to be setting up in a country which had better remain nameless.
It's quite a big story and has been commissioned and scheduled, but the tourist board has seriously bungled the arrangements. Bungled to the point where it looks as if I may have to consider telling the editor I can't do the story.
I won't, of course - I have some other options up my sleeve - but the moral is, if you want to be a travel writer, find out how the travel biz works. That way you have a chance to rescue the situation if the PR is incompetent.
I hasten to add that 99 percent of the time, PRs and tourist board people are brilliant.
It's quite a big story and has been commissioned and scheduled, but the tourist board has seriously bungled the arrangements. Bungled to the point where it looks as if I may have to consider telling the editor I can't do the story.
I won't, of course - I have some other options up my sleeve - but the moral is, if you want to be a travel writer, find out how the travel biz works. That way you have a chance to rescue the situation if the PR is incompetent.
I hasten to add that 99 percent of the time, PRs and tourist board people are brilliant.
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Good Old Bill Bryson
Just read Bill Bryson's African Diary. Bryson recently something stupid about Lewis Carroll, and I'm writing a biography about Carroll and thought Bryson had got him all wrong, nyah nyah nyah.
But that's no reason not to read the man's travel books, and galloping through this little volume I remembered again what a good writer he is.
He writes just as if he's talking directly to you. His descriptions of places are never overwritten, but he brings them wittily to life. He puts himself very much in the centre of things, but he is never the pub bore.
He also made me want to contribute to the charity CARE, for whose benefit this book is written. That's because I felt guilty reading the stuff about how enormously my kind purchase of the book was going to help CARE. I only paid 10p for it in a jumble sale, you see.
But that's no reason not to read the man's travel books, and galloping through this little volume I remembered again what a good writer he is.
He writes just as if he's talking directly to you. His descriptions of places are never overwritten, but he brings them wittily to life. He puts himself very much in the centre of things, but he is never the pub bore.
He also made me want to contribute to the charity CARE, for whose benefit this book is written. That's because I felt guilty reading the stuff about how enormously my kind purchase of the book was going to help CARE. I only paid 10p for it in a jumble sale, you see.
Monday, 6 April 2009
Interesting Ways of Getting Paid to Travel (1)
Persuading someone to pay you to write a book or an article is getting more difficult every day. But Matt Harding has found a smart way of getting paid to travel. He's persuaded the good folks of Stride Gum to pay him to dance around the world. The selling point of their gum is how long-lasting it is. So long-lasting that you don't need to buy another packet.
Seems a bit of a funny marketing strategy for gum, if you ask me. But anyway, Matt has been filmed doing his strange hoppy little dance in all kinds of amazing locations, as he dances on and on around the world without ever having to change his stick of gum. (I assume he has someone travelling with him to hold the camera.)
In his his latest series he has got local people in doing strange hoppy dances too, in mini "happenings" all round the globe.
These seem to be really popular. Lots of people love watching his videos. But for real dancing "happenings," I think it's hard to beat this one in Antwerp's central station - professionally choreographed I'd say.
Seems a bit of a funny marketing strategy for gum, if you ask me. But anyway, Matt has been filmed doing his strange hoppy little dance in all kinds of amazing locations, as he dances on and on around the world without ever having to change his stick of gum. (I assume he has someone travelling with him to hold the camera.)
In his his latest series he has got local people in doing strange hoppy dances too, in mini "happenings" all round the globe.
These seem to be really popular. Lots of people love watching his videos. But for real dancing "happenings," I think it's hard to beat this one in Antwerp's central station - professionally choreographed I'd say.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
The Ethics of Travel Writing
Do travel writers have any responsibility to try and solve problems and abuses in the countries they visit? This bothered me when I visited Malta and discovered that the hunting of migrating birds is very popular there.
Read about it here - yeuch. It is an ecologically damaging and revolting slaughter of protected and non-protected species.
My trip was to research a long essay for an intelligent American travel magazine. Should I mention the bird hunting? After some thought, I decided not to do so.
These were my reasons:
(a) I hadn't seen the hunting for myself (it was out of season) - and I prefer to have experience of what I describe.
(b) There was (and is) bitter controversy in Malta itself about this, and my two ha'pence worth was certainly not going to make any difference to anyone's views.
(c) I have to choose my words carefully here, but shall we say that I was not exactly impressed by all the top dogs I encountered in Malta, so there would perhaps be some difficulty in enforcing any legislation.
(d) No way was the magazine going to use anything on this subject. If I'd written about this, it would have been taken out again before publication.
(e) No reputable publication would have taken anything else I wrote about it either, since good editors also prefer their writers to have experience of what they are describing.
The problem of speaking up becomes far more difficult when human issues are involved. I was chatting to a colleague who has made many trips to Burma. He says it's important to go there, because otherwise Burmese people have no contact with the outside world. He sees himself as a link between us and them.
However, the alternative view is that the repressive regime in Burma is very keen to make money out of tourism, and visiting that country is just encouraging and empowering the regime.
My decision is to stay away from Burma. I don't speak the language and I wouldn't be much of a "link" for anyone. On the other hand, I can choose not to help a regime of which I disapprove.
Read about it here - yeuch. It is an ecologically damaging and revolting slaughter of protected and non-protected species.
My trip was to research a long essay for an intelligent American travel magazine. Should I mention the bird hunting? After some thought, I decided not to do so.
These were my reasons:
(a) I hadn't seen the hunting for myself (it was out of season) - and I prefer to have experience of what I describe.
(b) There was (and is) bitter controversy in Malta itself about this, and my two ha'pence worth was certainly not going to make any difference to anyone's views.
(c) I have to choose my words carefully here, but shall we say that I was not exactly impressed by all the top dogs I encountered in Malta, so there would perhaps be some difficulty in enforcing any legislation.
(d) No way was the magazine going to use anything on this subject. If I'd written about this, it would have been taken out again before publication.
(e) No reputable publication would have taken anything else I wrote about it either, since good editors also prefer their writers to have experience of what they are describing.
The problem of speaking up becomes far more difficult when human issues are involved. I was chatting to a colleague who has made many trips to Burma. He says it's important to go there, because otherwise Burmese people have no contact with the outside world. He sees himself as a link between us and them.
However, the alternative view is that the repressive regime in Burma is very keen to make money out of tourism, and visiting that country is just encouraging and empowering the regime.
My decision is to stay away from Burma. I don't speak the language and I wouldn't be much of a "link" for anyone. On the other hand, I can choose not to help a regime of which I disapprove.
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