Do Your Duty
At times like these, we must all get out there and do our duty. This propaganda film, made by Neil Boorman, should be distributed to all citizens.
Meanwhile, those readers who miss the old Idler forum, can go here to the new one.
The Art of Doing Nothing at Oxford Town Hall
Idler editor Tom Hodgkinson is giving a talk with his meditating Dad, Neville Hodgkinson, on the meaning of doing nothing, the work ethic, and the mystical path. The discussion will be chaired by teacher Sarah Cavanagh.
It’s at Oxford Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, on Wednesday 3 December, 7.30 to 9pm, and admission is free.
Country Diary 81
ONE MORNING IN MID OCTOBER, I DECIDED THAT I could save a fortune by brewing my own beer. Right now I am spending anything from £1.20 to £2 per bottle of fine ale, and it’s all adding up to a considerable outlay. So I took myself off to the local homebrew shop. I was looking forward to it. I imagined long conversations about breweries, real ale and hops with a cheery moustachioed member of CAMRA. Instead there was a large bespectacled unsmiling woman behind the counter who answered my queries in as few syllables as possible.
Joshua Glenn’s Idler’s Glossary
The writer, critic and founder of Hermenaut magazine, Joshua Glenn, has just published an important piece of work called The Idler’s Glossary with Biblioasis in Canada. It’s a very nicely produced and illustrated pocket-sized guide to around 400 idling related terms, from Absent-minded to Working-Class Hero. A shorter version appeared in the Idler magazine nearly ten years ago, but this is a much-improved text. I urge everyone to get a copy—a great pleasure and a great read. We plan to offer it for sale in the Idler Shop, but for now you can get it from Amazon by clicking here
Essential reading matter
"The philosophers of antiquity taught contempt for work, that degradation of the free man, the poets sang of idleness, that gift from the Gods."