Every now and then I read something that makes me long for the familiar sights and smells of home. As a three year ex pat, these generally follow well worn patterns. Watching BBC America tends to make me long for fish and chips and even the slightest drizzle of rain has me scurrying for the kettle to brew some hot tea.
This morning I read an article which reminded me of one of my favorite aspects of home. Plain, honest to God eccentricity. It was announced that tickets are on sale for the fourteenth annual Chap Olympiad, being held in London this July. Billed as a "celebration of athletic ineptitude and immaculate trouser creases"
Events include the pipeathlon, iron board surfing and umbrella jousting. All to demonstrate the importance of being a real Chap. The hundreds of people that flock to this event every year demonstrates that people still embrace the absurd in life. Something that I love to write about.
Naturally, this is not just a European phenomena. The United States is littered with road kill cook offs, snow shoe softball and lawn mower racing. All fantastic signs that the USA is also proudly flying the flag of eccentric behavior.
So in conclusion, I have two suggestions that readers should take away with them. Number one, enjoy the absurd and hunt out some of the uplifting and magical books that positively drip with zany nonsense. Number two, if you find yourself in London this summer, don your finest attire and head down to Bedford Square to enjoy some of the most genteel sporting action this side of the nineteen fifties.
And finally some parting wise words from P.G. Wodehouse, a true master when it came to writing about life's eccentrics:
“There are moments, Jeeves, when one asks oneself, 'Do trousers matter?'"
"The mood will pass, sir.”
― P.G. Wodehouse, The Code of the Woosters
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