Really enjoyed this. Thanks John. Coincidentally, there are many other bottom- dwelling scavengers (hollowjournalistia) that breathe through their anuses in the darkness. Most of them work for the Guardian, the BBC and Channel 4.
Katy Randle
3 years ago
Marvellous writing, as usual, from this author. Thank you.
I entirely agree. Scientific orthodoxy and sensationalism is killing natural history.
unconcurrentinconnu
3 years ago
One could also ask why is every TV documentary (the BBC the biggest culprit) all about the presenter rather than the subject. Egomaniacs to a man (or more likely a woman, these days). I have given up on all these so-called serious programmes because I don’t want a dose of somebody’s prejudices plus full face or bosom shots rather than seeing and hearing and getting immersed in the ostensible subject.
roger grenville
3 years ago
John. You have a good point, but there might just be a third category, into which I think both my own last book and next one possibly drop, where the act of researching and following something (in my case honeybees and Manx shearwaters) just happens to be both life-explaining and life-improving. I totally agree with your ‘marvellous me’ and ‘miserable me’ examples, which inevitably get in the way of the natural history bit of the story. And I hate the lack of robustness in much of the nature of TV at the moment. Thank you for an enjoyable read.
Alan Hawkes
3 years ago
I am happy to report that excellent eel may be purchased from the smokeries on the beach at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.
Claire D
3 years ago
I agree about today’s nature writing though I enjoyed Mark Cocker’s book ‘Crow Country’. I suppose the whole psychological self-awareness thing, stemming from Freud etc, has many of us in it’s grip, leading to the focus on the ego, it’s a pity.
I like Richard Jefferies’ work which I discovered in a bookshop in Cairo of all places, made me long for England and the countryside.
There’s also The Nature Lovers’ Anthology edited by R.M Lockley, published in 1951, which is full of all sorts of great writing.
Martin Price
3 years ago
A thoroughly enjoyable piece. Thank you.
Brian Dorsley
3 years ago
It could be worse. I won’t be surprised if nature documentaries get even more woke in the future. Just google ‘outdoors is racist’. I’d post links but I’m not sure if that’s permitted here.
Keer Lonsdale
3 years ago
Old school poachers do still exist. I know one or two, and they dine like kings. Poaching is hunting, and hunting is one of mankind’s most absorbing habits. Hence it’ll never entirely die.
Will D. Mann
3 years ago
I remember fishing for eels , and cooking them ( smoked and stewed) in the 60 s and 70 s. They seemed plentiful then, at certain times of year the migrating elvers would take short cuts over land , silver and black streams of wriggling life through the wet grass and even over a sun baked dirt road, many dried out and died, predatory birds gorged on them.
My guess is that over fishing has little to do with the eels decline, although the eel has been around for millions of years it’s strange breeding habits make it dependent on ocean currents, in particular the gulf stream which brings the larva to Europe from the Sargasso sea. Scientists tell us the flow of the this current has become slow and erratic in recent years, possibly as a consequence of climate change .
Nicholas Taylor
3 years ago
It could all boil down to mirror neurons. It may also be that the average reader of Unherd is not the typical social human, constantly chatting, focused on the eyes, facial expressions and tones of voice of others, the sort of things autistic people find unsettling. It’s not just TV channels. Every home page is emblazoned with faces, every other advertisement is a talking head. President Trump’s attraction may be down to being more ‘in your face’ than the typical product of Harvard or Yale. Slipperier than an eel are the messages that slither into your consciousness by triggering innate unconscious responses. Despite being increasingly one-way, ‘communication’ still elicits the illusion of conversation. I wonder whether autonomous nature was more real in the past when ‘content’, security and the staffs of life were harder to come by (excepting eels of course), and might be again in a straitened future.
Really enjoyed this. Thanks John. Coincidentally, there are many other bottom- dwelling scavengers (hollowjournalistia) that breathe through their anuses in the darkness. Most of them work for the Guardian, the BBC and Channel 4.
Marvellous writing, as usual, from this author. Thank you.
I entirely agree. Scientific orthodoxy and sensationalism is killing natural history.
One could also ask why is every TV documentary (the BBC the biggest culprit) all about the presenter rather than the subject. Egomaniacs to a man (or more likely a woman, these days). I have given up on all these so-called serious programmes because I don’t want a dose of somebody’s prejudices plus full face or bosom shots rather than seeing and hearing and getting immersed in the ostensible subject.
John. You have a good point, but there might just be a third category, into which I think both my own last book and next one possibly drop, where the act of researching and following something (in my case honeybees and Manx shearwaters) just happens to be both life-explaining and life-improving. I totally agree with your ‘marvellous me’ and ‘miserable me’ examples, which inevitably get in the way of the natural history bit of the story. And I hate the lack of robustness in much of the nature of TV at the moment. Thank you for an enjoyable read.
I am happy to report that excellent eel may be purchased from the smokeries on the beach at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.
I agree about today’s nature writing though I enjoyed Mark Cocker’s book ‘Crow Country’. I suppose the whole psychological self-awareness thing, stemming from Freud etc, has many of us in it’s grip, leading to the focus on the ego, it’s a pity.
I like Richard Jefferies’ work which I discovered in a bookshop in Cairo of all places, made me long for England and the countryside.
There’s also The Nature Lovers’ Anthology edited by R.M Lockley, published in 1951, which is full of all sorts of great writing.
A thoroughly enjoyable piece. Thank you.
It could be worse. I won’t be surprised if nature documentaries get even more woke in the future. Just google ‘outdoors is racist’. I’d post links but I’m not sure if that’s permitted here.
Old school poachers do still exist. I know one or two, and they dine like kings. Poaching is hunting, and hunting is one of mankind’s most absorbing habits. Hence it’ll never entirely die.
I remember fishing for eels , and cooking them ( smoked and stewed) in the 60 s and 70 s. They seemed plentiful then, at certain times of year the migrating elvers would take short cuts over land , silver and black streams of wriggling life through the wet grass and even over a sun baked dirt road, many dried out and died, predatory birds gorged on them.
My guess is that over fishing has little to do with the eels decline, although the eel has been around for millions of years it’s strange breeding habits make it dependent on ocean currents, in particular the gulf stream which brings the larva to Europe from the Sargasso sea. Scientists tell us the flow of the this current has become slow and erratic in recent years, possibly as a consequence of climate change .
It could all boil down to mirror neurons. It may also be that the average reader of Unherd is not the typical social human, constantly chatting, focused on the eyes, facial expressions and tones of voice of others, the sort of things autistic people find unsettling. It’s not just TV channels. Every home page is emblazoned with faces, every other advertisement is a talking head. President Trump’s attraction may be down to being more ‘in your face’ than the typical product of Harvard or Yale. Slipperier than an eel are the messages that slither into your consciousness by triggering innate unconscious responses. Despite being increasingly one-way, ‘communication’ still elicits the illusion of conversation. I wonder whether autonomous nature was more real in the past when ‘content’, security and the staffs of life were harder to come by (excepting eels of course), and might be again in a straitened future.