About Me

I live in the South East and work in the South West. Every morning a flee West to avoid the rising sun and in the evening a race into the deepening night. Is this an indication of vampyric tendencies?

On my commute I see cows and sheep and buzzards. This pleases me.

contact: admin@flanerie.org

Why flânerie?

Flânerie means idling and the choice of name was inspired by Tom Hodgkinson's How to be Idle

So flânerie is about being lazy?

No. Being lazy is not doing stuff you should be doing. Idling is setting aside time to do nothing, or very little. Most of my idling involves books, music, net-time and drinking tea. Other people write, talk with friends and amble. Idling is about taking the speed out of living and doing exactly what you want to do.

I also work pretty hard. Idling and work are not incompatible; they can happily co-exist as long as all parties are considerate of others, and you only do a job you are happy doing. Sometimes that job takes some finding, but it is out there. There is no point being unhappy for a third of the week, sleeping for another third and having only one third left to rescue some pleasure out of life.

That's easier said than done

Well of course it is. Remember, the only person who is going to make your life better is you!

What this might mean is earning less to do a job you enjoy. Most people find the first half of that sentence unthinkable and the second half a nice idea. But earning less doesn't mean having less. Look at how you spend your money, how much of it is wasted, how many things you throw away after using once.

Now try this equation: I can have a job I enjoy but it would mean not wasting money on ring tones and clothes that only get thrown away.

It starts to sound more palatable.

Most people in our consumer society are busy trying to earn more so that they can spend more. It is not a route to happiness.

Instead, take pleasure from simple living, treat work as another thing to be enjoyed, be in control of your finances, hurry only in a life-threatening situations and treat others with respect and compassion.

So this website is all about idling?

Not especially. It is simply my fairly random musings on my life and the world in general. No politics, no religion, no telling you how to live your life. The only bias here is a bias towards idling and slow living. Plus seeing the humour in everything.