Riding the Isis
This is a simple tale a simple journey. It is a tale of not of intrigue, spite and jealousy. I’m afraid it has none of the juicier parts of the human condition to titillate your bored and preoccupied sensibilities. No this is a simple tale of two men. They’re bestowed with the far more common human traits of ignorance and an ability to apply yourself to a task that appears largely pointless; tasks that appear to put hindrances in the way of leisure rather than act as its promoter. Though seemingly pointless there can be a wealth of minor challenges that can combine to create a most rewarding experience of these hard and seemingly pointless endeavours.
Obstacles can be surmounted in the traditional English way of making light of situations no matter what. That magical ability to turn a situation on its head through pig headedness in the face of facts and wringing that silver lining out of the darkest cloud. When faced with an overburdened load of facts that say: this is impossible. They simply ignore the senses and carry on.
Do not ever underestimate the role of ignorance in bringing about brilliant actions. It is always the bad neighbour of knowing and knowledge but this is largely unfair on this marginalized state of mind. Would any of our great explorers ever had set sail for those distant and far away lands of hope and glory if they had full knowledge of the travails that were going to assault them upon their journey. Would Shackleton have set of on his voyage for imperial might if he had the foresight to have predicted to him the whole of what was about to unfurl. I fear that he might have set out on another round of tea and crumpets in front of a nice log fire had he known. Instead we have a man that is still a beacon for the human resilience and enterprise when pitted against seemingly impossible odds. No Ignorance can be our friend when we set off on journey.
Armed with ample amounts of this sentiment our brave duo head of on and adventure. Two guys, two canoes and one river. Who knows where it will head.
So, this Journey with simple canoes. A journey down the Evenlode into the Isis, riding this ancient vein of the country from the bucolic splendour of the ancient Wychwood through dreaming spires to the heart of the nation: London. Then to its guarding sentinels: the Thames barrier. The Isis is one name for the Thames. Old farther Thames will always have a few tricks up his sleeve to keep the newcomers in check. Join us on a venture through history, geography, nature and that most amusing medium, the human mind.
