Travel Books

For me travel books always conjured up either Lonely Planet or coffee table picture books. But all that has just changed after reading two books my daughter Helen gave me for Christmas. The first, "The Art of Travel" by Alain de Botton was orientated towards the philosophy of travel rather than travel itself. He immediatly struck me as a deep thinker and a powerful writer. I had not previously come across de Botton but liked his style right from the start and determined to read more of his stuff. I have since discovered that his work is quite popular now. He even has at least one other blogger among his fans.
In the book he doesn't try to be a one man band. He introduced a number of other writers from the classics and gave their perspective on matters related to travel. I particulary liked Ruskin, who in his day promoted drawing as a skill everyone should acquire. Not just to could create nice pictures, but so that they would learn to really see what is in front of them. Reminds me of the great Krishnamurti whose philosophy is encapsuled in the phrase, "See what is."
Wordsworth's contribution also appealed to me. I visited the Lakes District many years ago, but at the time it was all covered in ice and snow. A great novelty for a West Aussie, but not very Wordsworthian. I may get a chance to go again with renewed interest later this year.
The other book, "The Rats of Ravenna" by Michael Guppy, is totally different. It is a day-to-day account of his work and travels in Europe and Africa. Although not my style of travel, I nevertheless enjoyed seeing it through his eyes. I also enjoyed learning something about his work as a biological scientist. Not so different from Helen who is a neuroscientist. I felt that I could write a book like that - maybe! I have been a wannerbe writer for years. After starting to read some blogs it occurred to me his book was rather like a blog. Perhaps this helped to influence me to start a blog of my own.

The zen of block-splittig

Now is the time of year to get in a supply of fire-wood to provide winter warmth later on. The blocks, called foot-blocks because they are cut into 12 inch lengths, have been drying for a year or two and are now ready to be split into smaller pieces with a block-buster. Unlike an axe, a block-buster does not get stuck in the wood. It either splits the block or bounces off ready for another go.

The action starts as I focus on the head of the block-buster as I swing it up in an arc behind me. At the top of the arc I feel a slight stretching of my arms. The force of gravity now takes over as it accelerates the head on its path down towards the block. At the same time I switch my focus to the exact spot on the block that I want to be hit and to the direction of the wood grain in the block. Hitting my preferred strike point and the head following the optimum path into the wood just seem to happen automatically.

A session like this is good exercise, emotionally satisfying and a nice break from more cerebral activity.