Tom Hodgkinson - The Book of Idle Pleasures

Contents

Introduction

Life admits not of delays; when pleasure can be had, it is fit to catch it.

Dr Johnson

It is the purpose of this book to prove that the best things in life really are free. For the last two centuries or so, we in the West have laboured under the delusion that fun is a costly business. We work hard doing things we dont enjoy in order to make money to spend on doing things that we do enjoy. Well, the idle pleasure helps you to escape all of that costly confusion and disappointment. The idle pleasure helps us elegantly to sidestep all the commotion and bustle and stress of the work-hard shop-hard world, and enter a world of joy and freedom. And indulging in pleasure for its own sake may be a rebellious act, which tends to add a certain savour . Since Martin Luther, and later the fun-hating Puritans, the Reformed Church has attacked pleasure as being irrelevant to the serious business of salvation and making money. Pleasure, particularly if not paid for, is supremely useless. It does not contribute to the growth of the economy. Illicit pleasures are banned until they become profitable, remarks the Belgian philosopher Raoul Vaneigem in The Book of Pleasures. He also writes: I want to fight for more fun, not less pain.

Idle pleasure is about self-management, freedom, independence. When we take a guilt-free nap under the trees in the park in summer, we are reclaiming our right to live how we choose. When we take a stroll at a deliberately slow pace through the city, and merely observe the currents of life without submitting to the urge to shop, we are making an enjoyable protest against the work-and-consume society.

Idle pleasure can also reconnect us with nature. Mans great programme over the last two or three hundred years has been to reject those parts of nature that we dont like. Hence air-conditioning, gas central heating, concrete, motor cars and Internet social networking websites. All of these man-made constructions attempt to sidestep messy nature. They are attempts to create a brave new world where the ageing process can be slowed down and mud and cold dont exist.

But idlers love nature. It costs nothing, and its therapeutic. Something as simple as skimming a stone on a rocky beach brings us back down to earth. No one has had to buy the stone, or rent the water, or go to a stone-skimming class. There are enough stones to go round. In fact, the idea for this book came when Ged Wells and I were sitting in Woody Bay, the nearest beach to where I live, and reflecting on the fact that nature provides its stuff for free, whereas man-made pleasures are very expensive. Wed noticed also that far from any retail outlet, the children didnt fight or whine or ask us to buy them stuff: there was plenty of sea and sand for everyone so there was no need to compete.

Idle pleasure too is supremely eco-friendly. There is nothing less harmful to the environment than doing nothing. Lying in a field and staring at the sky may be a planet-healing act. It is mans interfering and tragic need for action that has caused the gluttonous draining of the earths oil and gas.

We need to take a look at the old ways. Too often, anyone who looks to history for ideas for living today is labelled as romantic or nostalgic. But I would argue that to do the opposite, which is to believe in the future, is completely irrational. The future hasnt happened yet and therefore is a mere abstraction. And does an accumulation of labour-saving gadgets really save labour? Dont all those machines, designed to banish unpleasant toil, actually increase our workload, since we expect ourselves, in the words of the modern marketeer, to do more? But the old idea of making your own fun, using your own creativity and imagination rather than paying someone else to do it for you, is, I think, a sensible approach. And what could be simpler and more enjoyable than leaning on a gate? Truly the bare necessities of life will come to you.

In a world of non-stop toil and stress and bother, the idle pleasure can help us to live again, to enjoy ourselves, to indulge our inbuilt love of nature and sensuality and conviviality, without breaking our backs, or the bank. So lets throw off the shackles of modern life and embrace pleasure. Its the real thing.

TOM HODGKINSON
North Devon
February 2008

About the Book

The Book of Idle Pleasures is a restorative gift book for the stressed out, tired and hassled. An antidote to our non-stop culture, it is a welcome compendium of simple delights. The book lists and reflects on 100 simple pastimes and proves that the best things in life really are free: lighting fires, skimming stones, catching falling leaves, whittling, staring out of the window, dreaming, doodling or taking a nap. The Book of Idle Pleasures is a celebration of pleasure for its own sake in a world of consumer overload.

Tom Hodgkinson is editor of Idler and author of the Sunday Times bestseller How to be Idle. Dan Kieran is deputy editor of the Idler and edited Crap Towns. With fine illustrations by Ged Wells.

The Pleasures

Taking a Bath

IN A WORLD of power showers and invigorating pick-me-up gel products for the modern striver, its well to remember the simple pleasures of a long, relaxing bath, preferably taken at 11 am when everyone else is toiling in the mills and you have phoned in sick. Follow the medieval tradition and fill your bath with spices and rose petals. Invite your lover to join you. Linger in the bath too long and top up the hot water levels by twisting the taps with your feet, because you are too lazy to sit up and use your hands. Lie there and stare at the ceiling, almostbut not quitedrifting into the land of Nod, perfectly at ease, as the steam rises around you and the workaday world recedes into the realm of unimportance.

TH

Poking the Fire

ONCE YOUVE GOT a roaring fire going, indulge yourself in the simple pleasure of giving it a good poke. The poker is not just there to help revive a dying fire. It is best used when the flames are threatening to set fire to the chimney and you are having difficulty getting close enough to the grate to place it amidst the burning embers. Use it then to swiftly reposition any lumps of coal which are slightly out of position or marginally off-centre, fashioning a red-hot cradle for the final touch, a nice, dry conifer log. Preferably with a dusting of frost, ice or snow still on it, as this damp coating will help add a pleasant variety to the smoke coming from the conflagration and may also provide a satisfying hissing sound. Before you lean back in the cosy armchair to take another long pull on that delicious 25-year-old malt whisky which you had been saving for just such a moment, thrust the poker into the heart of the fire and leave it there. After a few minutes the poker will be red-hot, remove it from the fire and plunge it into a bucket of cold water. Now enjoy the juddering sensation as it immediately cools and acrid fumes rise from the bucket.

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