R&R

Sometimes the idea of a desert island becomes really appealing, some time on my own in a remote corner of the world somewhere. I may not necessarily always choose the traditional island, I can think of some nice ones way down south where I wouldn't mind spending a couple of weeks on my own. Then again, a nice sandy beach with lots of sunshine, a few palm trees for my hammock, warm water for swimming sounds pretty good too. But I guess in the end you don't get to choose the island where you get stuck.

And then I get to take my very own Desert Island Discs, of course:
Eleni Mandell - Miracle of Five
Christy Moore - Live in Dublin 2006
Luka Bloom - Radio Bremen
Zita Swoon - Band in a Box
An Pierlé - White Velvet
Sarah Bettens - Scream
Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion
Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Bach - Cello Sonatas 1027-1029 (Martha Argerich & Mischa Maisky)
Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs

(And yes, I know it's supposed to be just 8, but this seems like a well-balanced set, and why should you stick to all the rules stuck out there on a Desert Island? And anyway, ask again in a week and half my choices will have changed again. I like making lists.)

Then there is the book. I get to take Shakespeare and the Bible, but I've read both. I guess they are good enough to reread though. Which reminds me of one of the most beautiful pieces of poetry Shakespeare wrote, suitable for the situation:

"Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked,
I cried to dream again."

But I digress. I still have to pick another book to bring, and that is the hard part. I am not good at making choices, and then to talk about books. I mean, what book is going to keep me occupied for a long time while I'm out there? I'd probably end up picking poetry, Emily Dickinson, R.S. Thomas or W.B. Yeats. If it was to be a novel, it might be Bleak House or Middlemarch. It's been a long time since I've read those, and both are complex enough to keep me busy for a while. I guess I'd end up with Middlemarch, just to have Dorothea's company.

You also get to take a luxury item, but I can't really think of one. I guess I care more about books and music than about luxury items. If anything I would want to have the predictable endless supply of pen and paper, to do an endless amount of writing. Or should I maybe opt for my binoculars, I'm sure my island is full of the most stunning birds....

How did I get here in the first place, all I really wanted was the peace and quiet of a desert island....