The slow way to go
The slow movement is gathering speed. Travel author Alastair Sawday explains how the slow philosophy will affect not only the way we holiday, but much more besides.
Read more about slow travel in the free pull-out sections of tomorrow's Guardian and the Observer on Sunday
When horses pulled carriages and charabancs, when bicycles were considered dangerous beasts, when flags were waved from rooftops to pass on news, there were always people who were nevertheless considered "fast". Young men galloped insanely quickly on their horses, gambled their money away and drank too much. Cities have always encouraged fast living, whatever the century.
However, our western societies have slowly and almost imperceptibly learned to live at a pace that would have alarmed even those insanely galloping young men. We need, it seems, to be "elsewhere"; anywhere but "here". Holidays have to be far away, the further the better. Food has to come from distant countries; friends are cultivated beyond our immediate reach; we work hard in order to have time not to work. So it goes on. But there is hope. The Slow movement is also, as it were, gathering speed, and it will affect the way we holiday and possibly everything else too. It is more serious than it sounds.
It began in Italy in 1986, when the founding members of the "Slow Food" organisation resolved to fight the invasion of fast food into their country. "Slow" means local, grown with respect and integrity, and with thought to the consequences. McDonald's is a natural enemy. The idea was such a good one that it had to spread, and this it has done with the "CittaSlow". Slow Cities are urban reflections of the Slow Food concept: thoughtful places that value peace and quiet, local production, people over cars, a dark night sky, high-quality artisan production, low-energy consumption and, importantly, time to enjoy all these things within a community.
To the oldest among us, these ideas are risibly, well, old. There is nothing new about taking it easy, keeping your own chickens, holidaying at home, enjoying your friends. But for the rest these ideas need to be re-articulated and spread, for we are so caught up in the modern world of speed that we have lost our perspective. For some of us, life only seems to have much meaning if we are planning to fly off on holiday. What else is there?
One can, it must be admitted, holiday in a Slow Country. The kingdom of Bhutan, in the Himalayas, has had the genius to adopt Gross National Happiness as official policy. Anything that undermines the people's health will be discouraged, as will anything that fruitlessly gobbles up their time. Their old people are valued. All major decisions are tested against their effect on the environment and on society. According to the United Nations, Bhutan is one of the world's 10 least-developed countries, yet according to the Happy Planet Index, it is somewhere near the top. There are 178 countries: the US comes 150th and the UK 108th!
March 27 2008, Friday.
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