Joining the Mainstream (of Traffic)

Written September 21st 2012

The truth is true – I am a car owner. And today I discovered that until today, whenever I've been on the roads (driving or being driven) I've been there as a tourist. Today, I was there as part of a large chunk of the country who own a car, drive it and see it as a normal, every day part of the world. And I have to say – it was a rather new experience.

Life for me, to date, has often been one “outside the mainstream” - in fact, I'd say my approach, even if mainly psychological, to most things I've engaged with has been “outside the mainstream”. It's suited me and my temperament but I do recognise that things are mainstream for a reason – because a lot of people do them. And that doesn't necessarily make them the right thing to do, but it makes them interesting simply because so many other people do them.

In particular, driving along (and most of it was motorway driving) I was very well aware that, lots of chunks of metal moving at speeds generally exceeding 60 miles per hour would normally be a receipe for disaster – and yet everyone driving knew the rules to keep themselves, and everyone else safe, and abided by them. Somehow I found a sense of community in that – and was rather taken with this collective safety attitude. That was make take, anyway.

But really, my foray into car ownership seems somehow to symbolise me taking a step “into” the mainstream. I'm still me, I'll still do things in my own sweet way, but there's a level of mellowing so I won't just resist something “mainstream” simply because it is mainstream. Which isn't to say that's how I've lived my life to date, but it feels somehow like there's “less to prove”, or that I'm less concerned about proving it to anyone outside of me, now.

Interesting vehicular musings...

But the reason for ALL of this is because I'm on holiday! It's my first real holiday in what feels like a very long time (probably because it is) and it started brilliantly with a stop over with an old (and awesome) friend last night before I continued my journey south and west this morning. I'd merrily stopped off at a service station to stretch legs and the like when I received a call which made it less of a holiday-day and more of a “this really needs to get sorted out” day. That said, said issue DID get sorted out before sunset and I'm now merrily ensconsed in a large settee type thing in the hotel lounge / bar area. Somewhat disappointing that their free wifi seems to be an utter dead loss but that simply means I'll have plenty of time to do a spot of reading. The rest of the group I'm going to be spending the weekend with are en route down from London (eta some time around 11pm - turned out to be 2am) but as I'm sharing a room with one of them (at the moment I've got a surname and nothing else) curling up in a small ball and sleeping isn't necessarily the best option. Definitely feeling like I'm winding down for a holiday weekend, tho'. And being all gizmo-ed up for the drive I even had some (phone call) company for chunks of the drive which was rather nice. Gizmos are a little unnerving at times, but rather brilliant all the same.

And so that's it for today – I wrote the first sentence of this before The Issue kicked in while I was at the service station and, given the wifi status at present, it may well be some days before it actually gets posted BUT posted it shall be!

One Square Inch of Silence

Beside my bed I have a stack of books. Books I have taken an interest in or been recommended, all of which are waiting for my attention. But as I have this stack, when I am looking for a new read I often read the first chunk of one or two before settling on one to really dive into. ch is how I ended up reading One Square Inch of Silence by Gordon Hempton & John Grossmann.

One Square Inch of Silence was lent to me by a very dear friend who I'm due to see on Thursday - and as such I very much hope to finish the book so I can give it back to her (she hadn't read it yet). It's a phenomenal non-fiction book about the loss of natural silence in today's world (specifically in the US) by an acoustic ecologist (Gordon Hempton) and the story of his journey across the US seeking out the last few remaining places of silence (defined by him as no audible interference from any man-made activity). It has had a very powerful impact on me, just in the reading of it. I've started becoming much more attuned to the sounds around me - both natural and man-made - and am spending a lot more time without music on, which used to be my default. One of the most contentious interferences, particularly in very remote areas, is that of flight paths. I'm still getting my head around it, but such interferences, seemingly "low level background noise" still make an impact both on our auditory perception and on those of animals. And yet I find myself coming back to the fact that to make this journey across the US, the author is travelling in an old VW camper van - which itself will be belting out a fair few decibels. (And don't even start on decibels - good ol' exponential measuring systems.)

What the VW highlights to me is the continual, and sometimes agonising, battle within me of the purist and the realist - or, not even the realist, but the "live-ist". In my own world, part of me would love to live a very low-impact life style, growing my own food, really getting to know the natural resources available to me and living with what is there. However, my life is a significant distance from that, and I really enjoy my life - I am very much a consumer, I travel (and now I travel under my own steam in a car which, had I not bought it and were I not driving it, would not be consuming that fuel at all), I enjoy modern day comforts like central heating, electricity and a whole array of technology and my food comes from shops, not direct from plants I have grown and nurtured. The reality of my life is the "live-ist" - the live-ist decided that I would really benefit from a holiday and so am driving myself  to Cornwall to stay in a hotel and learn (hopefully!) how to surf. But the purist wonders if I'm doing enough to minimise my own impact and create ways that others can too, as well as making those ways attractive versus the status quo. It's my own internal battle and one that comes to the fore, as do many things, when I have some quiet (ah ha) moments to reflect. And my resolution for the time being is that I am far from perfect, but am doing things that nourish me and my life - and with any luck, aren't too destructive of the planet overall. Time will tell.

In other news, this morning's fritters (kiwi fritters) were an interesting exploration but ultimately I don't think as successful as the berry fritters (strawberry is still top of the charts, methinks). This may, however, have been down to the *very* ripe nature of the kiwis before they got cooked. Must Remember Fresh Fruit & Veg In The Bottom Of My Fridge.

What a Difference a Car makes

Last week I broke the habit of a lifetime and, with the expertise and much appreciated assistance of my big brother, bought a car. Having not owned a motorised vehicle to date, taking the plunge was quite a big deal and the immediate aftermath was a sense of "oh. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all" but I have decided to stick with it as an experiment for a year - the MOT runs until June 2013, the tax and insurance (once I've got it sorted - I'm on a temporary thing at the moment) will be until September and by then I'll have a sense of whether the life of being a car owner is for me.

Anyway, having driven said vehicle home (from Lichfield) I was convinced I'd need at least one or two more driving lessons to be able to maneouver properly - *but* various friends suggested I simply practise. Now there's a novel idea. So now I'm making a point of reversing when I could drive in forwards and the like. And I'm also making a point of going slow enough to feel comfortable - knowing that there might be someone champing at the bit behind me, but I'm a safer driver for not getting influenced by them to drive more rashly. Even with today's driving I was beginning to feel more confident and getting a better sense of the size of my car (a Citroen Berlingo) so hopefully I won't be the world's most cautious driver for too much longer (within reason).

Point being, I decided I'd go out for a little jaunt today. I did a trip to the dump (more of those to come - STILL clearing out my basement!) and then took the "route less known" away from the tip and ended up at Sunderland Point. Now, this was my third visit to Sunderland Point and I ended up just following my nose from The Globe car park, through some fields and across various styles and footbridges over ditches (it was great fun playing "follow the path by finding path-indicating-structures) and ultimately getting to the Point itself. The morning had been spent doing "useful" things at the computer and yet by the afternoon when I'd set out the sun was shining and I had a glorious walk - enough though my feet got rather soggy courtesy of some marshy ground at one point. It is truly a gorgeous spot down there - and somewhere I simply haven't been to other than by car. I spent around 2 hours ambling around (with a pause at one point for some reading) and enjoying some Proper Outsideness for what felt like the first time in ages. I ate blackberries (and found one or two which were deliciously sweet - the others looking like they might be but not quite there yet!). I saw birds. I listened to the sound of the mud alongside the road through the marsh gurgling - and discovered a rather odd collection of small crab carcases - just in a 2-3 metre stretch. And it was great.

And yes, I know I wouldn't have gone on this wander without having a car to get me to the starting point. Which, to me at least, is an interesting reflection...

Speaking of reflections, I'm also mid-way through a book called One Square Inch of Silence by Gordon Hempton and John Grossman. It was lent to me by the wonderful Jenny Gaiawyn and is a fascinating appraisal of the aural landscapes we live in. I'm very much at the beginning of the journey at the moment (it is the story of a literal journey across parts of the US, as well as a discussion of various sound-related thoughts) but it is making me much more aware of sounds - manufactured and otherwise - around me. Interesting times.

And tomorrow is another day - a day involving another adventure (this time to a bouncy-castle replica of Stonehenge, brilliant!) and, doubtless, more intrigue.