Three of my passions (walking, the English language and CS Lewis) come together in this letter of the great man to a chap called Evans dated 22 December 1954. This was one of the last letters written from God's Own University before he was lured away to the Other Place by the offer of a Professorship, denied him at Oxford because he had pissed a lot of people off, not least by championing for the post of Professor of Poetry a friend possessed of what were considered in highbrow (and some other) circles the twin drawbacks of disliking Pound and Eliot and not actually having much of a background in poetry himself.
"About the word 'hiking' my own objection would lie only against its abuse for something so simple as taking an ordinary 'walk': i.e. to the passion for making specialised and self-conscious stunts out of activities which have hitherto been as ordinary as shaving or playing with the kitten. Kipling's Janeites, where he makes a sort of secret-society-ritual out of (of all things!) reading Jane Austen is a specimen. Or professionals on the BBC playing to an audience the same games we used to play for ourselves at children's parties. I expect any day to find a book written on how to swing your stick when you walk or a club (with badges) formed for Singers in the Bath."
2 comments:
I went up Lantau peak a couple of years ago, on a whim - I had been planning a mui wo - cheung sha outing when the path presented itself and I couldn't say no. It was pretty chilly - not as bad as now and I was in my special walking shorts (that would be a pair of shorts) and special equipment (water). It's a decent hour from the road and a nice hike. At the top it was a bit foggy and through the mist emerged a group of about 8 'hikers' dressed for the arctic. They had it all - thermals, fur lined hoods, sticks (2 each!) - I may have even spotted some crampons. We silently passed each other and I was smiling on the verge of full on laughter.
I felt mighty underdressed that day I tell you.
Can't beat shorts for walking in the rain - less surface area to get wet. 2 sticks each. Maybe they thought it was going to snow.
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