On the weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of July, we are running a Simple Living Weekend at our home in North Devon. The course is run in association with the School of Life. The course will combine philosophy, husbandry and merriment. We will debate usury and learn about bread-making, bee-keeping, wood storage, poultry and vegetable growing. We will go ‘wild’ swimming, and an expert forager will show us the edible treats on our own doorstep. We will feast in the village hall. Here is Dixe Wills’ account of last year’s course. Go to the School of Life for more information. There is a discount for Idler readers. TH
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This Little Piggie Stayed at Home
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We are introducing a new web project. It is based on a wonderful piece of Chinese writing called Chin’s Thirty Three Happy Moments. Chin Shengt’an was a 17th century playwright who once found himself stranded with a friend in a temple for ten days because of a rainstorm. While thus secluded, the pair compiled a [...]
The best things in life are free. Like love, or oxygen. At the Idler we have long sought out such pleasures, and here present a selection for your enjoyment.
The new 'Back to the Land' issue features a major interview with David Hockney who has also contributed two sketches. Essayists include Paul Kingsnorth, Harry Mount, Penny Rimbaud, Jay Griffiths and Simon Fairlie,.
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350 page Idler, a collection of radical essays by Alain De Botton, Penny Rimbaud, John Mitchinson, Jay Griffiths, Paul Kingsnorth, Oliver James. Published 17 June 2009. In Stock. Order now.
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Order Now. Published 5th March. "Wise, funny, practical and personal, The Idle Parent puts the fun back into parenting." Oliver James
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A sumptuous compendium of one hundred pleasures, each lovingly described and illustrated.
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"Packed with wit, anecdotes and ideas ..." Word Magazine
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Take control of your life and reclaim your right to be idle.
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"Very funny...should be at the top of Tony Blair's reading
list." The Times
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Recommended to anyone interested in either angling or doing nothing.
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"Read this eye-opening and amusingly written book" Daily Mail
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The Idler is an annual, book-shaped magazine that campaigns against the work ethic. It was founded in 1993 by Tom Hodgkinson and his friend Gavin Pretor-Pinney. The intention of the magazine is to return dignity to the art of loafing, to make idling into something to aspire towards rather than reject. As well as providing a radical and thought-provoking read, the Idler is also very funny. MORE …
"For Jerome, idleness had little in common with laziness. His notion of idleness in the world beyond his fiction was one of contemplative productivity with the minimum of fuss." Idle Idols: Jerome K. Jerome
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