Monday, December 27, 2010

Perhaps why I'm still here

A few weeks ago I got interviewed for the local paper. I actually said quite a lot about the valley and how people are treating it and how I think it should be treated but of course though I was very moderate in the terms I chose and the subjects I expressed an opinion on a lot of it couldn’t be published quite understandably for fear of offending those cretins, many of them in public office, who have profit-driven designs on the valley and who seem hell bent on messing things up by coveting what they haven’t got (roads, housing estates, industrial complexes etc.) rather than appreciating the uniqueness of  what they have. I was though surprised at some of the things that were published especially a comment made criticising how the authorities often treat outlanders.
Since the article came out quite a few people have commented on it  but, apart from friends, I’ve noticed that people have only really picked up on two things. One, of course, was about me hoofing it barefoot in the mountains (in the fact that the photo of me was me walking barefoot in the mountains) and two that I said I’d never leave the valley because I thought it was paradisiacal. A couple of people have expressed surprise and asked why I’d want to stay here rather than, being mother tongue English, being able to go elsewhere in the world with no language problems. I didn’t really know how to answer that but I think the photo taken from my bedroom window this morning, though not a very good one, gives a more detailed explanation of why I’m still here than any verbal attempt.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a sight for sore eyes! The photo definitely explains it for me.

I doubt that even if everything that you commented on were published (unedited), that it would have changed anything, anyway.