What’s a Young Berserker to do?

Comedian Adrian Edmondson runs away from boarding school in 1973. The escape, recounted in his new memoir, Berserker!, doesn’t go according to plan:

There are only two options really […] face the wrath of my parents or run away. What’s a young berserker to do? I hitchhike straight to the docks. A keen reader of Tintin as a child, my idea is to find a cargo ship, shimmy up the anchor rope under cover of darkness, stow away in the hold until the ship reaches international waters, then present myself to the captain as a willing and capable deckhand. […] Unfortunately, Hull docks are closed. […] Bloody oil crisis, bloody stock market crash, bloody double inflation.

But adventure is still on the cards:

I’ve got nothing with me except some small change and two pairs of underpants, both of which I’m wearing. […] The next day I wake up in a chicken coop near a farmhouse just outside Beverley. [The chickens] look confused. Is that confusion? No, it’s not. It’s… opprobrium. They’re judging me! Chickens!

In the end, he goes to a phone box and calls a schoolfriend who reveals the police are looking for him. Adrian thinks he’s in trouble for a fire he idly set in a scrub brush, but apparently it’s not about that. Is it just about running away? he asks. “It’s about,” says the friend, “you going missing.”

I love that. He’s not really an outlaw or a fugitive. He’s not “wanted,” he’s “missing”!

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New Escapologist Issue 18 is in the works and can be ordered today for November release.

Idleness Has Style

Here’s some more from the diary of New Escapologist contributor Dickon Edwards, this time an historical note from 25th August 2004:

I had some actual work due in today. An introduction to a new edition of Jerome K Jerome’s Idle Thoughts Of An Idle Fellow. It’s been out of print for 20 years. The book is effectively An Audience With Mr Jerome and often reads like the transcription of an 1886 stand-up observational comedy routine. One section is titled “On Cats And Dogs”. Jerome K Jerome – the Victorian Eddie Izzard.

The book was written three years before Three Men In A Boat, which instantly made Jerome rich and famous. Idle Thoughts, however, is very much written from the point of view of someone holding down an office day job after surviving bouts of genuine poverty. In the book, this tempers his haughty epigrams comparable with the best of Wilde, with humanity worthy of Dickens.

The publishers of this new edition are suddenly keen to get the book out as soon as possible, given the new trend of Idleness that’s starting to appear in the news. The French bestseller lists are dominated by an anti-work charter, Bonjour Paresse. Italy has held its first National Convention of the Idle, declaring Idleness to be a sign of intelligence rather than a vice. In Britain, Mr Hodgkinson, editor of the Idler, has published a heavily-researched, semi-historical manual, How To Be Idle.

It’s all done with a certain amount of humour, naturally, but there’s some serious points made about idleness as an existential, even political act. In these desperate times of feeling At The Mercy Of Others, whether it’s uncaring employers, politicians or TV producers, a little deliberate idleness can be no bad thing. If there’s nothing one can do about things, sometimes the only option is to indeed do nothing – but on purpose. Idleness should never be confused with default laziness or characterless apathy – Idleness has style.

This marks a special moment for me, actually. It was when I started reading the Idler, catching up — and trying to join in — with that scene. But the reappearance of the Idle Thoughts book probably also nudged me into thinking about a stand-up comedy of the page, leading eventually to A Loose Egg and Stern Plastic Owl (and, one hopes, a third similar volume someday). This post of Dickon’s is a bit smoking-gunnish really.

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Dickon’s Diary at the Centre of the Earth Vol. 1 is available to order here.

Letter to the Editor: The Act of Moving Through the World

To send a letter to the editor, simply write in. You’ll get a reply and we’ll anonymise any blogged version.

With reference to that digital nomads item, Reader C writes:

What resonated most is how they celebrate the imperfect details that form the real story: missed trains, unexpected rainstorms, street food that’s more exciting than Instagram-worthy meals. Those are the moments you don’t plan for, but they shape you more than the postcard-perfect ones.

I also loved the idea of travel as life capital. Each encounter, whether with fellow travellers or locals, builds empathy and understanding. By “investing” in curiosity and connection, you come home not just with photos but a renewed outlook on the world.

It’s a hopeful reminder that even when things go sideways, that twist becomes part of the adventure. It’s not just about collecting places. It’s about becoming more interesting, more resilient, and more open through the act of moving through the world.

In an age where travel has become easier and sometimes more commoditized, this piece brings us back to the heart of wandering: living out loud, staying curious, and knowing that regrets don’t fit when you travel with intention.

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New Escapologist Issue 18 is in the works and can be ordered today for November release.

The Wrong Existence

From Poor Artists by the White Pube:

He never had luck with funding or galleries. He worked in a shop and he told me once that he felt like he’d lost his identity. It sounds over the top but it so thoroughly destroyed the fabric of his existence to live the wrong existence. I get in my head about it, thinking he’d probably still be alive if there wasn’t such a problem with how money is distributed in this country…

The book is about the struggles of wanting to be an artist today. It’s hard to make money, to be taken seriously, to be a full-time artist without a time- and energy-sapping day job.

Mum said I could grow up to be whatever I wanted to be; school said all we had to do was go to university; university said stick together and see where life takes you. Things had not been going to plan, and I was stuck doing an irrelevant job that used up all my time and energy.

It’s hopeful though:

Most artists can’t afford to be artists, and yet, that doesn’t mean you should stop trying. It is probably an irresponsible thing for me to say, but I do believe deep down that it’s worth being skint and free, rather than a bit better off and suicidal.

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New Escapologist Issue 18 is in the works and can be ordered today for November release.