Having spent much time driving cars recently, there has been ample time to talk. Unless you’re gaping in awe at your surroundings (“Look, a dog!”) or playing inane in-car games (“I spy with my little eye something beginning with the letter D”, “The dog?”, “You win again…”) these long drives will require topics. Common topics. While I might be quite happy to go on about the evolution of pockets on a field jacket, I’m pretty much guaranteed that the other inhabitants of the car will either fake death or mumble replies in what sounds like French.
So, once the short list of daily topics has been exhausted (“Enjoy breakfast?”, “Brushed teeth?” and “You remembered your phone charger?”) you need an array of topics. Otherwise your journey will be really long and boring, and you’ll probably end up looking for car registration numbers that with a little squinting and a lively imagination could be read as being a bit rude. Possibly not the worst thing to do, mind you, as I’m sure that being able to read “TA55 CRK” as “T’ asscrack” is a sign of superior intelligence and we all like to think we’re really smart.
Yet to pick a topic that offers much scope for discussion, how about this one: If you could relocate to a different time in history, which would you chose?
Disregard the fact that true physical time-travel will never be possible and let your imagination run rampant through historical times. Or even future. Where too, Tardis?
What I would pick? Well, I think the 1950’s would be a good point. A time when the world was full of optimism and wonderment, where the future looked bright and technology was ramping up for big things. The war was over, life was getting back to normal. Jaguar was winning Le Mans, yet technology was still fathomable. No one had heard about the environment, space was still cool, teenagers were still waiting to happen and flying cars were definitely going to happen soon.
What era would be your choice?
(Not to limit things too much, this could also be used as a pool-side topic. Consider it a two-for-one.)
And sorry, yes, this is a bit off-topic, but it’s 35 degrees and way too hot to consider the important matter of tweed!
50’s would be alright I suppose apart from the rationing. And the large amount of folk bowling about with undiagnosed post traumatic stress disorder. And the rationing.
Nah, it’d be the roaring 20’s for me. Debauchery, spats, cars with running boards and so forth.