Contrary to what many Americans think it does not actually rain all the time in my home country, England. Sometimes they experience long dry spells lasting months. The local media go crazy over this, spinning wild stories about how the water supply will run out and everyone will have to drink beer instead of water and stop flushing their toilets and other dire measures. Eventually things get so bad the D-word is invoked and it's officially declared that the country is suffering from a "Drought" as if they were in Somalia. Sometimes they even appoint a Minister for Drought. This always works. As soon as the D-word is used, the heavens open and it rains solidly for 40 days and 40 nights. The Minister for Drought is hailed as a hero and immediately renamed Minister for Floods and eventually promoted to Baron (whatever that means.)
It seems that the old country is in one of those phases right now, enjoying what one of my friends waggishly called "the wettest drought on record." It was raining so heavily yesterday that even a hard-core rower like Chris of Rowing for Pleasure didn't think there would be any pleasure in rowing. Instead he retreated to the library in his country house and wrote a post for our group writing project.
What I imagine Chris's library looks like
Surrounded by books by such authors as Anthony Hope, Richard Adams, H.P. Lovecraft, Anatole France and Robert Louis Stevenson, Chris dreamed of the top rowing destinations on the planet and ventured to waterways that even Ryan Air cannot reach. Much more fun than Rowing in the Rain.
Today is YOUR last chance to write about YOUR recommendation for Top Sailing Destination on the Planet. What are you waiting for?
5 comments:
I was hoping the last person to enter would get a free hat.
That's not a library. My library has books on the shelves, not clocks, bibelots and Victorian collected editions bought from junk shops to furnish the room.
My favourite book at the moment, incidentally, is this: http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Dictionary_of_Imaginary_Places.html?id=T3603Pi01f4C&redir_esc=y
Reminds me of my rowing in the rain story that goes back to when I was living on Stock Island just across the Cow Key channel from Key West and was working as a physician in the VA clinic which was housed next to the old US Navy Hospital in Key West. The hospital fronted on Cow Key Channel and I could row to work and leave my boat tied to Navy Officier's dock --- walk a quarter of a block to the Clinic. I did that for a week so could clain to be the only Doctor in the US that rowed to work. The rain part I will cram into How To Sail The Laser.
Oh Chris! You found those imaginary places in a dictionary of imaginary places? I thought they were from your extensive collection of novels about imaginary Balkan kingdoms.
But you are quite right about the picture. it is not of a real English country gentleman's real library. It was taken from a site called Exotic Excess and was in a real estate ad for a "$9.8 Million Stately English Manor Home in Greenwich, Connecticut." American nouveau riche fake crap!
The Dictionary was more of an aide memoire, but I confess I haven't read Shardik (yet). The Dictionary of Imaginary Places is huge fun and well worth getting.
Post a Comment