The Mark of the Butterfly

When July comes around I look forward to the local jazz festival which, happening just yards from home, is very convenient for dipping in and out of. I like the idea of lazy summer afternoons and balmy evenings spent sitting in the Town Hall square, supping ale while jazz fills the air, captivating unconverted passers-by and wafting over the encircling traffic. The problem, of course, is that the weather doesn't always oblige. Even in late July the square can be a wet and windy place and a retreat to the shelter of the marquee means the music has to compete with the sound of rain beating down on canvas.

This year there's a heatwave, which is good for all concerned except, unfortunately, me. A conflict of interests exists, since my partner and I agreed to pre-allocate any spells of fine weather to our "let's walk the Wales Coast Path" project, begun a few weeks ago. So, I had just time to catch an opening gig before loading up the campervan to head west over the hills towards Aberdovey. A deal is a deal - and besides, I have invested in expensive, state-of-the-art hiking sandals.

We walked two days, during which we were mostly alone. On Day One we met only one other person - a man employed to keep the path clear of undergrowth. On Day Two, where the path goes by Aberystwyth, we were joined on stretches by dog-walkers (several of whom were carrying their exhausted, heat-stricken pets) and by a few casual strollers. Only one 'serious' hiker came by - a chap who was raising money for a charity by walking not only the coast but also the inland border of Wales. I am now worried that, having spent a considerable sum on establishing the path, the authorities may follow up with a cost/benefit analysis of their investment - perhaps by using drones to spot walkers. If they do they might conclude that it's not really worthwhile spending more money on maintenance.

But if people were thin on the ground, there was an abundance of butterflies - mostly brown ones with geometrical patterns of red splashes on their wings - and judging from their playful, skittering duets it appeared to be their time of courtship. They fluttered so effortlessly around us that our own progress felt sweaty and cumbersome in comparison.

Coastal walking has its hazards. When the July sky is clear, for example, precautions must be taken against sunburn and over-heating. Having only just regrown the skin on my forearms, which had been burned off on the first outing, I made sure this time that they were smothered in factor 30.  Another, less obvious problem is ankle-strain: the terrain inevitably slopes in one direction - towards the sea - and this eventually takes a toll on the joints and muscles. After enduring two such days of lopsided walking I devised a plan to compensate for the effect: in future, walk each consecutive stretch in opposite directions. This will require complicated logistical planning but should be effective.

On the evening of Day Two, while soothing my ankles with a glass of Valpolicella, I took a phone call from my pal back at home asking if I would join him for an impromptu beer-and-jazz session. "I'm in a field in Wales," I said, trying but failing to put a gloss on it.

Tootling home on Day Three, fantasising about finding an artisan bakery, a deli and a perfect spot for a picnic, we turned hopefully into the "Historic Market Town" of Llanidloes and were delighted to find that it is indeed an oasis of wholefood retailing. We joyfully stocked our larder and later, while picnicking among the isolated, romantic ruins of Dolforwyn Castle, I kicked off my sandals. I had not noticed them before but there, on the top of each foot, were geometrical patterns of red splashes.

On The Home Front

Walking home slightly tipsy one evening I was pick-pocketed by a woman who appeared to be a foreign tourist in need of directions but was, in fact, feinting. She managed to steal a couple of notes from my pocket while I was leaning in to understand what she was saying. I am prudent when I go out, taking with me only a limited amount of cash, so its loss was easier to dismiss than the sense of foolishness I felt at having fallen for the trick. To salve my pride I waxed philosophical: this was an enterprising method of wealth re-distribution, executed with an admirable degree of skill and bravado. But I might not have been so forgiving of a straightforward mugging.

I had been drinking earlier with a friend who, being a whole generation younger than I am, is about to become a father for the first time. (We had arranged this evening out because we both knew it would be our last opportunity for about 18 years.) The baby will be a boy and the parents have already decided on his name and his nursery wallpaper - both of which I interpret as indicators of their actual and aspirational social standing. I hope it all works out as planned, although my week subsequently seemed to be full of un-promising signs for those about to be born.

I've been following a TV drama called Utopia which is about a secretive attempt to sterilise the human race in order to avert over-population. The plot is overblown but is redeemed by quirky characters, wacky humour and colourful filming. Behind these techniques, however, lies the serious issue of population growth and the strain it will put on our resources. “What do you think will happen when water becomes scarce?” asks the protagonist.

“We'll tear each other to pieces,” comes the reply.

Then I went to an evening lecture on domestic architecture and house building - a subject which is unhealthily entwined with politics. The effect of prevailing economic policies on the quality, quantity and location of housing has resulted in a stock which is not necessarily appropriate to society's present needs. The speaker argued in favour of prefabricated buildings and a trailer-park approach to relieving shortages, enabling affordability and the location of housing where it is demanded. We have an unsustainable economic model where housing has become 'financialised': a dwelling is more often seen as an investment, or even as a substitute for retirement savings, rather than a functioning habitation. If people don't save there will be less money for investment; and low investment levels spell trouble in the future. The obstacles to rectifying the situation are numerous and complex, but a good place to start might be the de-coupling of the mortgage and house-building industries, along with adjustments to planning regulations so that prefabricated homes may be situated temporarily on brownfield sites.

So, not only does my friend’s son face the prospect of swelling populations fighting for resources, he may also have to spend most of his own resources on finding a decent place to live. And that’s before we factor in the difficulties of being able to afford education and healthcare in what may well be by then a completely profit-driven system. A vestige of optimism returned after watching Richard Linklater's film Boyhood. I came away with the feeling that boys have a degree of inherited resilience to the vicissitudes of life and that my friend's son may have a reasonable chance of surviving his future after all.

At the end of the week I spent an evening with a friend of my own generation and, walking home slightly tipsy (avoiding eye contact with anyone who looked in the least bit foreign), I reflected on how fortunate we have been and what a poor hand we have passed on.

L'Angleterre Profonde

It was a warm, sunny evening and we sat outside reading the Sunday papers, aperitifs in hand and a BBQ at the ready. Apart from a few playful rabbits, we had the meadow to ourselves. We had earlier completed a walk around the Tees valley, taking in some pretty views and meeting no one but a gaggle of randomly dressed teenagers lugging huge rucksacks who, from previous experience, we took to be a group of Duke of Edinburgh Award hopefuls. And now, after a brief negotiation with a farmer, we had secured a bucolic overnight site for our campervan and were enjoying the benefits of a temporary tenancy with unimpeded views over swathes of green, rolling countryside. Behind us was the imposing ruined core of 12th Century Bowes castle, beside us a stretch of the Pennine Way - although no hikers came by that evening. In fact the only intrusion was the sound of traffic from the invisible but not-so-distant A66: that and a solitary 'ding-ding' from my Nokia notifying me of an incoming text message.

The purpose of our trip to the North East was threefold: to pay our first visit to the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts, to hike in or around the Tees Valley and to avoid being stuck at home, in front of the TV, watching the Wimbledon men's final. When I conceived the idea, however, I had not realised that our route through Yorkshire would be complicated by road closures and diversions on account of yet another sporting fest - Le Tour de France. (Yes, I am naive enough to imagine that a French cycle race would have not the slightest impact on my life.) And so, to offset this unfortunate timing, we set off a day early.

I have since forgiven the French for the inconvenience, having read a piece by one of their journalists admitting to their collective ignorance of the charms of l'Angleterre profonde  (the sun had been shining in Yorkshire that day) and comparing it favourably with their own hinterlands. If they get as far as the North East, they will discover that it too is a very attractive region. Anthony Gormley's massive, rusting Angel of the North dominates the low hills south of Gateshead seeming to say "You have arrived at a significant place" and, sure enough,  a few miles further north you cross one of the Tyne's spectacular bridges into the centre of Newcastle where the steep topography displays to dramatic advantage streets lined with magnificent stone buildings. They are impressive but, when you consider that one end of Hadrian's Wall is still visible nearby, you realise that they represent just one layer of the important history of this place.

The waterfront of Newcastle reflects the passing of its industrial economy - people now live in converted and newly built apartments; hotels and restaurants occupy some of the prime locations - and the Baltic Centre itself, once a flour mill, has become a tourist destination. Unfortunately I had, in my haste to get away, neglected to check the programme of exhibitions and was disappointed to find two of the three galleries closed for re-hanging, the top floor closed to all except customers buying tickets to ride a zip-wire across the river and the terrace bar reserved for the exclusive use of wedding guests. Fortunately the fine weather made an alternative walking tour of the city both feasible and enjoyable.

Back in the meadow, we were talking about the importance of forward planning, especially in the case of our up-coming trip to Nice on September 5, when that text message arrived. It was from my Finnish friend whom I last spoke to a year ago. It read "Fancy joining me with vacation trip to Nice on Sept. 4 - 9?"

Bunkering Down

1. Wimbledon coincides this year with the World Cup, providing sports fans with a glut of entertainment. For someone like me, who lives with a fan but is not interested, these are trying times. Media coverage seems endless: tennis matches can go on for a whole day, football matches often run into extra time and, even when they're over, there is post-contest analysis to be endured. Fans appear to be incurably addicted: the more they get, the more they want.

   On the other hand my lack of interest in sport is also incurable. School did its best to introduce me to its benefits and - to be fair - made allowance for the fact that it doesn't work for everyone: after a while we were given the choice on Wednesday afternoons of training either as sportsmen or soldiers. I chose to join the Army Cadet Force. The authorities' real agenda - that of recruitment - was never made explicit, nevertheless I was happy to swap the sweaty rugby kit for the smart military one whenever I could.

   Last Monday, driven out of the apartment by tennis on the telly, I took refuge in a nuclear bunker. Deep in the Cheshire countryside there is a building which, having started life as a radar station, was later adapted to serve as the command centre for regional government in the event of nuclear war with the USSR. It is a museum now - perhaps there is a new bunker elsewhere - and I was amused to see a military uniform just like the one I wore as a cadet. Otherwise I was appalled by the realisation that nuclear war had seemed at the time to be almost inevitable - and that I might have been called upon to do my duty. It was clear from the displays that the effects of such a war had not been underestimated but it was also evident that no amount of preparation would have saved us from its effects. A screening of Peter Watkins' award-winning 1965 film The War Game demonstrated this but, although it had been commissioned by the BBC, they declined to show it until twenty years later. A notice on the wall towards the exit gives a clue as to why: "If the next war is fought with nuclear weapons, the one after that will be fought with bows and arrows." Albert Einstein.

   But not all my anti-sport outings turn out to be profound. Yesterday I spent a few hours in that part of town where the shabby old buildings have been revived by a new generation of tenancies: the shops, bars, tea-rooms and restaurants of the youthful 'alternative' culture, the independent, under-capitalised, hopeful businesses mostly doomed to a brief flourishing. One of these, a little place where chocolate is made and sold, I patronise occasionally to satisfy my craving for the serious stuff. Inside there are three tiny tables for those who want to sit and sip hot chocolate in a setting which could be described as either intimate or claustrophobic, depending on circumstance.

   I usually buy chocolate-to-go but, in order to draw out the time, I ordered a drink and took a seat. Almost immediately I realised I had put myself in that classic Hammer horror movie scene where a hopeful stranger walks into a bar and is made to feel like an unwanted intruder. The three people at the other table were obviously on familiar terms with the proprietor and my arrival had interrupted their conversation. After a while they resumed, making no attempt to include me and, since there was no quiet corner for me to retreat to, I was faced with either imposing my presence or pretending not to listen.

   I arrived home unexpectedly early that day - and with a feeling that I was interrupting something. 

Plan A. (There was no Plan B).