sail away
I have been longing for winter. I know that the shorter, colder days are rough for a lot of people, but I have always had the opposite reaction: summers, with their long days in the moist, oppressive Virginia humidity, make me feel trapped and sad and like I might lose it at any moment. But crisp, cold winters, with their long nights that encourage curling up on the sofa or with a book and let me indulge my passion for wrapping myself in sweatshirts and blankets? That's where my heart lies. Even the most unpleasant of winter weather inspires fondness in me. Twice this past week while doing crossword puzzles, the answer to a clue was "sleet" and I thought wistfully....if only.
But more than simply winter I have also been longing for solitude. Perhaps due to the sheer amount of period murder mysteries I watch, I have been fantasizing about checking into an old-fashioned hotel, the kind that existed before telephones were present in every room. No tv, no wifi or internet connection. If someone needs to contact you, they call the front desk and leave a message. You can retrieve it at your leisure. It's not that I am necessarily deluged with messages in my daily life so much as living in the 21st century with a smart phone and social media accounts so frequently feels like standing in the midst of a deluge of information. Living in the here and now and taking advantage of our unprecedented connectivity has brought me into contact with some of my closest friends, and helped me maintain those friendships despite distance and time zones. All the same, I find I would like a break from it all for a spell, and something about the coming of winter has brought it on.
This week, I found myself wondering: do places like my imagined hotel exist? And the answer is--sort of! I discovered a hotel in Germany which equips all rooms with a switch to block all wireless signals (the trick is copper grids in the walls). I also came across a directory of hotels and guest houses which do not have wifi (also from Germany!), which led me to the UK-based Landmark Trust, which buys historic properties and converts them into holiday houses without televisions, or wifi. And after all, who wouldn't want to stay in The Pigsty, a genuine former pigsty which inexplicably resembles a Greek temple, or Hole Cottage, which rather looks, I think, like it might sprout legs and amble away. I managed a version of this last December, when I stayed in a 1960s A-frame holiday house in the mountains, told myself I was only allowed to use my phone to reassure folks I was alive, and brought a stack of books for entertainment.
All of these are attractive, but they do not quite go the distance. Analog connectivity or nothing. If you hear about any promising prospects, send me a wire.
Dog Thing
(Another shot courtesy of Julie, who works from home and thus has unwittingly taken on the role of Official Vista Photographer)
Mixed Media
good reads: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske: My favourite kind of fantasy is what I call “country house” fantasy. Fantasy with manners, of a sort. This is that to a tee. In a society where magic exists but only the magical know about it, Robin–an entirely unmagical man–is appointed to be the liaison between the mundane and magical ruling bodies in an otherwise normal Edwardian England. He finds himself not simply caught up in a world he previously knew nothing about, but also enmeshed in a mystery which has him throwing his lot in with his magical counterpart, Edwin. I tore through this book and loved every page. The setting was wonderful, I loved the characters, and not only were there country houses–two!–but one was full of William Morris furnishings. A lovely time all round. Can’t wait for the next one.
good film: All told, I watched 28 spooky movies in the month of October. I really packed em in in the back half, and treated myself to some excellent double features. My favourite of these were Dracula (1931) with A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) for vamps and The Uninvited (1944) with Changeling (1980) for ghosts. Other views I loved were The Wicker Man (1973), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), Onibaba (1964), and Psycho (1960). All of these were first views for me aside from Psycho, but we caught the 4k restoration at the cinema and man, was it great.
good tv: The Great British Bake-Off isn’t new to anyone, but this is the first season I’ve watched it as it’s aired and done so as a social activity. I love all of the remaining contestants, and I love talking about them with friends and loved ones. I would like to eat anything Crystelle prepares.
good podcast: Shedunnit: This podcast by Caroline Crampton aims to tackle the golden age of detective fiction–the 1920s and 1930s in Great Britain–and has been doing so for a few years now. I listened to all of it over the course of a few weeks and was astonished that she never managed to run out of areas to investigate. As a big fan of this precise era of fiction, I have enjoyed it greatly, and it has introduced me to a number of new writers.
good fic: The Merry Adventure by AuntieClimactic. Ted Lasso, Ted/Trent. This is a Robin Hood AU. No, there’s no time traveling. No, it doesn’t make sense. Yes, it’s great.
When I See Your Light Shine by boasamishipper. Ted Lasso, Sam/Dani. Sometimes you approach a fic like, “Alright, I’ll bite. Convince me.” That’s how I went into this one, and I was indeed convinced. Sam and Dani match on Bantr, which means we’ve got epistolary and mutual pining with neither of the leads even aware of who they’re pining for. Chef’s kiss.
Lastly
That’s all I got!