Tuesday 28 September 2010

A Magic Carpet Ride


(image taken from http://www.markfarrar.co.uk)

Where would you go on a magic carpet ride?

There was a fantastic podcast on the World Service that I listened to this afternoon which made me wonder about this. My instantaneous thought was that I would go to North Wales with my son to see my parents. But what would I want a carpet ride to be like? I'd like it to be smooth, and without me having to worry about being in charge and driving/flying it properly, otherwise I may as well get a car. I don't think I want it to be completely instantaneous, like teleporting, as I quite relish the opportunity on trains, of being able to switch off for a while (though unfortunately not so much now as looking after a small person requires some degree of awakeness!). But it would get rid of the annoyances of train travel: having to be there at a certain time, crossing London, making connections, and getting to my destination at the other end. In an ideal (to me!) world, I think I'd learn to fly a plane, so that I could walk to my local airport, and be anywhere in the UK within an hour or so (excluding pre-flight checks etc.). I could go up to Scotland and see all my friends far more regularly. But this would again throw up the problem of reaching my final destination from the airport I've landed at. I suppose that if I was rich enough to be able to fly a plane, I wouldn't have qualms about getting a taxi. And if I were continually jet-setting, I'd not be putting the amount of effort that I'd like to into my local community/church etc.
In order for this to happen of course, I'd have to divorce the tree-hugging green part of myself, so that I could live with/ignore the environmental cost of flying. I wonder what the environmental impact of a flying carpet is...
(image taken from http://www.markfarrar.co.uk)

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