4 March 2023
Dear Tortoise,
This morning I felt a bit like Frodo Baggins leaving the shire; I slipped my mooring in Kings Cross and puttered along the Regent Canal towards the West… towards the unknown, towards adventure. It’s going to be quite a year. I’ll travel the UK’s 2,000 miles of canals in my little narrowboat that – in proper Tortoise style – goes a top speed of three miles per hour. I’ve left my smartphone behind; instead of scrolling social media, I’ll speak with people and find stories. I’ll keep in touch and write each week.
Wish you were here,
Seb
11 March 2023
Dear Tortoise,
As my first week of boat travel draws to a close, I think back to a conversation with Ali Baba, a man moored next to me before I left London. Ali told me stories about his life in Egypt, in a “proper community”, where everyone knew each other’s business. On his boat in Paddington he was totally free, but alone. “Loneliness is the price of freedom, Sebastian,” he said. I paused. “Ali, how can I avoid becoming lonely while travelling around Britain by myself?” “First, let me correct your English,” he replied. “You are not ‘by yourself’, but ‘with yourself’. Make friends with the voice in your head…”
Yours,
Seb
18 March 2023
Dear Tortoise,
The mighty flight that is the Hanwell Locks lowers my boat nearly 60 feet, down to the Thames. It’s a back-breaking day of lifting, pushing and pulling for the lonely traveller or, as I found, a joyous day in the sun when two boats find themselves tackling it together. My companion was a boater called Neil, a local postman who has walked and delivered the same 10-mile route every morning for 30 years. He knows and greets all the towpath pedestrians. “Hey, since you’re travelling alone, how about joining me and some friends at the pub?“ says Neil as we finish our journey. “We will be talking about posty things, but it may be nicer than sitting around by yourself?” “I’d love to,” I say without hesitation.
Love,
Seb
You can find Seb’s letters home each week in the Weekend Sensemaker, Tortoise’s newsletter making sense of who and what is shaping culture now. To receive it, sign up here.