Drifting Away

My Granddad Kimber first got me interested in airships. I'm not sure if it is a particular interest of his, but he had a book about the Hindenburg disaster that I thought was great. My brain seemed to skip all the details of the actual accident and fixate on images of the magnificent aircraft. I can remember being in awe of the ship's grace and enormity. These feelings were later reawakened in films like Indiana Jones and Sky Captain. It was Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy that really sparked my imagination though; I gorged on the splendour of the airships, but the idea of airship travel being common place captivated me.

We (or at least I) seem to put a great deal of effort into moving from one place to another as quickly as possible. Last year, I spent a good deal of time travelling between Leeds and London. The journeys didn't take too long and I wasn't paying. The time spent on the train itself didn’t really bother me, when I had a seat. All that said I was still filled with dread whenever I trip came up. I think about that dread now, now that my commute is a leisurely fifteen minute bus ride, and wonder whether that dread was fuelled by pressure created by distance.

The world grows smaller and smaller as transport becomes cheaper and faster, I think this is a good thing when not at the expense of the environment (not too much expense anyway). But as I trundle up the hill to Halifax every morning, I realise I don’t have the dread. Because, I think, I don’t have a sense of urgency to squeeze the most distance in the shortest space of time. I don’t because, I know that if I miss this bus another bus will be along in minute, we have a very good bus service in Halifax. I don’t because I have also conceded that my bus is not the fastest or the most luxurious way to get to work, but it is convenient. So I don’t rush to the bus stop, I don’t even know when the next bus is, this is only partially intended.

I’m rambling, the point is; When I go to Halifax I jump on a bus and watch the world go by. When I go to London, it becomes a quest to cover as much distance as possible in the shortest amount of time. Infuriated by lack of early trains, late trains, over crowded trains, inconvenient change over's and the thought of having to do it all again in the other direction in eight hours. Once at the office, every minute counted for to provide maxim return for the travel.

What if travel was no longer a race, but was instead part of the schedule. I am aware of the idea of travel for travels sake, that is not what I am talking about. I’m not talking about cruises down the Nile or jaunt on the Orient Express, or I guess maybe I am in someway. What I am talking about specifically is taking a morning or a day to two hundred miles, instead of two hours.

What if I could jump on an airship in Leeds, have a bit of lunch, tap away at my laptop for a couple of hours, have a meeting with some colleagues along for the ride. Then get off the airship at Victoria, ready for office the following day. Would I ultimately be more productive, or would I just be happier?