Getting the energies
I went to Glastonbury the other day. There was no getting out of it. I've always thought that hunger of the spirit, however half-baked, is a more admirable thing than any kind of egotism or material appetite, so I regard "new ageism" with a tolerant, benign eye: let these mild, slightly goofy people enjoy the vibes and eat lentils; it does no one any harm. Occultism, esoterica and the "matter of Britain" are respectable and legitimate studies; indeed, I have a slight, non-expert interest in them myself. What I don't get, and what makes me a bit sceptical, is why people feel they have to dress up in special clothes because they are keen on Arthuriana, or have got past page 20 of Madame Blavatsky. I mean, nobody feels the need to wear a particular get-up because he is an oceanographer or plays table tennis. There is something in it of joining a gang, convinced of its own rectitude and enjoying a sense of exclusivity over "the others" who don't understand. It's odd, isn't it, how they all look different in the same sort of way, and just think how annoying it would be for them if their attitudes were suddenly to become "mainstream". Glasto's high street is lined with shops selling variants of that Polly Flinders outfit on the left there and what a quirky, original person you must be to wear a coat without putting your arms in the sleeves.
You don't have to wear fancy dress to be yourself and think your own thoughts.
Getting the energies
I went to Glastonbury the other day. There was no getting out of it. I've always thought that hunger of the spirit, however half-baked, is a more admirable thing than any kind of egotism or material appetite, so I regard "new ageism" with a tolerant, benign eye: let these mild, slightly goofy people enjoy the vibes and eat lentils; it does no one any harm. Occultism, esoterica and the "matter of Britain" are respectable and legitimate studies; indeed, I have a slight, non-expert interest in them myself. What I don't get, and what makes me a bit sceptical, is why people feel they have to dress up in special clothes because they are keen on Arthuriana, or have got past page 20 of Madame Blavatsky. I mean, nobody feels the need to wear a particular get-up because he is an oceanographer or plays table tennis. There is something in it of joining a gang, convinced of its own rectitude and enjoying a sense of exclusivity over "the others" who don't understand. It's odd, isn't it, how they all look different in the same sort of way, and just think how annoying it would be for them if their attitudes were suddenly to become "mainstream". Glasto's high street is lined with shops selling variants of that Polly Flinders outfit on the left there and what a quirky, original person you must be to wear a coat without putting your arms in the sleeves.
You don't have to wear fancy dress to be yourself and think your own thoughts.