The Idler

East Coast Tour Report

Last week I motored to Kent for a ukulele extravaganza at the Whitstable Labour Club, where I was joined by Margate’s Ukulele Eric. A great time was had by all, as you can see from this picture:

Tom Divulges His Earnings for Tax Year 2009/10

The next day I had lunch at Margate’s Harbour Café with Eric and Sadie, and we were joined by Louise of Margate’s literary B&B, The Reading Rooms. We had a little jam.

Tom and Eric and the Harbour Café, Margate

Then I motored on down to Lewes where I met Matthew De Abaitua and Gustav Temple, editor of The Chap magazine, in the Lewes Arms, We drove back to The Rooms, a bar in a part of St Leonards appealingly called Bohemia, and very bohemian in there it was, too. Thanks to all the fine young mothers who had left their children with their Dads to come along. The night was organized by Sarah Janes and featured a fine choir from Brighton singing Tudor madrigals.

Garland Hearse of Brighton Sing Tudor Madrigals

I sang songs in praise of idleness and chatted about anarchy for about an hour. After a delicious local beer called Boadicea, we went back to Lewes for a few Harveys ales around Matthew’s kitchen table. A few days later Gustav engaged me to write a column for The Chap magazine, so look out for that. We plan to call it Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, after Jerome K. Jerome’s book of that name.

Thanks to all the good folk of Whitstable, Margate, St Leonards and Lewes, and in particular to Val and Sadie Hennessy for organizing the Whitstable gig, and to Sarah Janes for the St Leonards gig. I hope to return soon for another mini-tour. TH

The Idle Parent Now in Paperback

The Idle Parent is now out in paperback, with a price tag of £8.99, and rather a fetching picture of yours truly surrounded his toerags. So get down to your nearest independent bookshop and buy a copy of this consoling manual that puts the parents first. Do NOT buy from Amazon as I consider their low pricing policy to be unjust. If you must buy it mail order, then go to the excellent Book Depository. You can still buy signed first editions of the hardback from the Idler Shop. TH

The Parenting Guide that Puts the Parent First

Country Diary 93

FOR THE FIRST time in months, it is warm enough to sit and work in my study without lighting the fire. Spring has finally arrived. I can hear the birds tweeting and from my desk I can see the tower of the 11th century church of St Martin. Now that the good weather is finally here, Victoria decided to go and inspect the two bee hives. She found devastation. Every bee was dead. She suspects that the collapse may have been a result of the nosema virus, but investigations into the cause of death are ongoing. Now she will have to start right from the beginning again and find a new nucleus. The only upside is that we can take some honey and wax from the hives, and so the bees will bring sweetness and light into the homestead.
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New in the Idler Shop

During the last few days, a whole host of goodies has been delivered to Idler HQ, ready to send out to Idlers worldwide. First we have had the third edition of my Facebook pamphlet, “We Want Everyone”. This is a limited edition of 100 copies, each signed and numbered, and printed by Christian Brett. It features a new introduction by yours truly, and is available for a mere fiver.

The new Facebook pamphlet. All supplied with free anti-Twitter bookmark

Furthermore, Ged Wells has sent us a new load of t-shirts. There are brightly-coloured snail designs, and Smash the System t-shirts in ladies’ fit.

Our new snail t-shirts, and our new candy-striped bags

All orders will be wrapped in our new hand-printed bags, and will be packed with one of our hand-printed “Read: Don’t Twitter” bookmarks. Click here to browse through the shop, and thanks for your custom. TH

A close-up of our fine new bags, hand-printed by Christian Brett

Day of Inaction

My mother, journalist Liz Hodgkinson, and her publisher, Revel Barker of Gentlemen Ranters, have organized a day of inaction for freelance journalists. It is Maundy Thursday, that is 1st of April, chosen because in the old days it was a day off. Revel is launching a new book by Colin Dunne, and is using that as an excuse for a freelances’ get-together and sit-down protest. The point is, says Revel, for all freelances to be unavailable to commissioning editors at the same time. It is, he says, “a gentle and even polite reminder” that freelances are fed up with falling rates and discourteous treatment. All are welcome at The Harrow, 22 Whitefriars Street, London EC4 from 12.30pm, for an afternoon of convivial protest. TH

All Hail the Shorter Working Week!

Here is a report from think tank the New Economics Foundation which recommends the widespread adoption of a shorter working week. Their idea is a 21 hour week, and we can’t see the harm in that.

Country Diary 92

FOLLOWING THREE months of neglect, I have finally started work on the vegetable patch. Alan came round and we spent six or seven hours up there with the fork, spade and unrelenting mattock. The first step was to throw out the raised beds. On the advice of gardener Kirsty Knight-Bruce, I have abandoned the idea of a raised bed garden in favour of two forty foot long plots separated by a path. Alan and I worked out that this has actually doubled the growing area. We cut the turf off the top of the overgrown paths and chucked it into a mound along the fence. This little bank will offer a bit of protection against the fierce winds which ravage the patch. I am told by Kirsty that wind can seriously reduce your crop. The final plan will be to plant a hedge of hawthorn, blackthorn and beech, but in the short term I will also put some green netting along the fence as an extra windbreak. (more…)