Other people's pleasures!

 

I'm currently reading a book entitled 'Landlines', by Raynor Winn. She and her sick husband Moth (Moth has something called Corticobasal Degeneration...CBD) decide to go 'extreme trekking' in the highlands of Scotland. This is something they did throughout their marriage, and they wished to do it one final time, before the inevitable.

For someone such as myself who dreams of Mediterranean skies, quiet shady bistros, and warm lazy days by the pool, the idea of punishing oneself to the extent of being permanently freezing cold and wet, having seriously blistered feet, and to be (Moth) at death's door whilst scrambling over rocky snow-tipped mountains, and through raging freezing rivers, seems like the worst type of punishment I could imagine. But this book is proof that there are people out there for whom such extreme suffering is their idea of pleasure. I would call it masochism.

In my own family my Mother loved sunshine and beaches on the Med', whilst Father preferred mountains, glaciers, and long exhausting walks. My sister and I sided with our Mother.

The book itself is 'a good read', and beautifully written, but I can't get past the blistered feet, the permanently wet clothing, and the wind and rain that freeze you to the bone. 

Anyway, it hasn't stopped me reading about it.

I've just noticed on the cover that the book is another Sunday Times No 1 Bestseller. I seem to be making a habit of reading such things; but not on purpose.