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18 August

I'm back in town. I spent last weekend at Tinker's Bubble, the ground-breaking low impact settlement down in Somerset. I've never been there before, and it's beautiful and inspiring. Spent the weekend picking apples, clearing ground and collecting wood, and came back with a ton of apples, some herbal teas, a mass of gorgeous unpastuerised cheese and my life slowed down to something nearing a reasonable speed. Everyone works damned hard at the Bubble - twelve hour days of serious physical labour is about the only way you can make a subsistence lifestyle work. Even so, the work seems more grounded and more real than sitting at this desk thinking and banging on.

Whenever I go to places like that I entertain semi-serious notions about throwing all this in and joining them. When I was a student I went through a phase of idly thinking about becoming a traveller (many nights in road protest camps fuelled the fantasy). When I spent time in Scoraig, another remote community in Scotland, writing my novel, I almost didn't come back. Now Tinker's Bubble brings the thoughts back up.

Something always keeps me here though, and if I'm honest I know what that thing is: ambition. That dreadful, middle-class virtue that's drummed into us all in childhood. There are still things I want to 'achieve.' I still want to be noticed. I wonder if that feeling ever leaves, or whether ambition is something we take to the grave? I hope not. I would be nice to have a few years off at least.

Reluctantly, then, it's back to the cyber-world, where I've come across a few recent items that are worth a peek. Firstly, a couple of barneys involving the 'philosopher' Julian Baggini. He's sometimes quite interesting, but he wrote some utter drivel in yesterday's Guardian which I'm almost loath to point you towards. Suffice it to say that our Julian hasn't been keeping up with the last thirty years ecological thinking. I suggest he sticks to the leather armchairs in future. Baggini is also involved in a very interesting debate with Nick Cohen on the openDemocracy site, about whether or not to introduce a law banning 'religious hatred.' Cohen, who is against such a law (as am I) gets the upper hand, in my view. See what you think.

Intolerance, by the way, is not limited to religion. Have a look at this story about the over-enthusiastic campaigners who are trying to ban a TV programme before they've even seen it. This sort of thing used to be the preserve of Mary Whitehouse and Co - now the other side has got in on the act. The implications of this seem similar to those of a law banning religious hatred - where is the line to be drawn, and who does the defining? If, in this case, a piece of serious journalism cannot be aired, apparently telling an uncomfortable but important truth (and most important truths are uncomfortable) in case it 'incites' prejudice, what are the implications? Think about it. They aren't nice.

This is all getting very serious, so I'll sign off by pointing you towards my website of the week, featuring all the news and updates you could ever want on the life of President Bush's dog, Barney. Bookmark this one: it's a winner.

Posted by paul at August 18, 2004 01:54 PM

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