Footnotes to a Conversation, December 4, 2023

“If love means anything at all, it means extending your hand to the unlovable.” – Quentin Crisp

I had two days in Worcester before travelling to Kew Gardens. My hotel was beside the River Severn and I was entranced by the swans gliding elegantly past in groups of two or three. At night, they appeared to glow as they sailed by on the dark water. One morning I discovered an enormous flock further up the river – why so many? I was heartened to learn that the stretch of river running through the heart of Worcester was set aside as a swan sanctuary in the early 1980s.

“Until then, Worcester was heavily fished. Swans coming to Worcester fell very ill with lead poisoning or became entangled in fishing line.  People around in those days recall that there were no swans on the river: they died.  The landowners, Worcester Cathedral and Worcester City Council, gave up their income from fishing permits, and anglers a pleasant place to fish, for the welfare of swans.” [The Swan Food Project]

Unsung Heroes

Information is power, and librarians played a key role in gathering and distributing information during World War II. This included material that was rare or archival, from a variety of sources, including technological manuals, land surveys, and economic reports. Using microfilm and microphotography, they were able to distribute the material across continents. [JSTOR Daily]

Strawberry Fields Forever

I try to eat locally so as much as possible. I buy strawberries from local farmers, and I don’t buy them out of season. But I’m the exception to the rule of mass production, international shipments, and supermarkets supplying fruit all year round. The social, political, and economic consequences of our current food system are staggering. This article focuses on strawberries grown and sold in the United Kingdom, but much of it applies to North America as well. The author says, “while larger, firmer strawberries – whose plants produce greater quantities – are notoriously less flavourful, their higher yields, reduction in labour costs, and adaptability to transportation make that a price worth paying for strawberry farmers.” The author goes on to consider the use of migrant workers explaining that “today’s strawberry farmers indirectly hire pickers from Nepal and Indonesia through faceless recruitment operators and dubious third parties, knowing that debt, strict visa rules, and limited government oversight all combine to ensure a more pliable, motivated, and disciplined workforce than could be found in the domestic labour market.” [Vittles]

What Shall I Read?

There are not enough hours in a day or days in a year for me to read all the books I would like to read so I use a variety of techniques to decide what to read. Recommendations from a friend and new books by a favorite author are two key methods. But I also choose books because I like the cover art or because the book summary makes it sound interesting and connects the book to my interests.

Tajja Isen says she doesn’t want to be told what’s going to happen or what the book is about. She says, “As a reader, I’d love to live in a world of blank back covers that preserve a text’s essential mystery. As a writer, the idea of my book bobbing around out there unadorned, stripped of any wiles to woo a reader, absolutely terrifies me. Who would pick it up?” [The Walrus]

Trade-Offs

Kew Village may look (and it is) charming and timeless, but appearances are deceiving as the photos fail to portray the non-stop barrage of planes coming in to land at Heathrow and the trains that run all day long and bisect the neighbourhood.

Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.

If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.