The Eldorado Exploring Expedition

I have recently finished reading Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". On the whole, it is a very good read but I was left a little bemused by the narrator's strength of desire to meet Kurz. No man is that inspired by someone they have never met or seen. Perhaps people in the 19th century thought in a very different way to us today. Nevertheless, the brief appearance of the Eldorado Exploring Expedition left a very strong impression.

The very name of the expedition suggests a tawdry search for treasure with no accompanying wish to genuinely explore or add to mankind's knowledge of this remote part of Africa. Conrad describes the arrival of the expedition in the camp as a visitation and even an infliction. There was no honour amongst these men. Their only interest was personal gain.

Superficially their preparations for the journey into the depths of the jungle seem impressive. There were tents and boxes and stools and many other items from a half decent 19th century camping shop. All the sorts of things that an inexperienced adventurer would think of were thought of but there is no hint that the expedition was morally prepared or that their material preparations would prove adequate.

The demise of the expedition is only hinted at. The wilderness is described as "patient" in its wait for the start of the expedition. When the explorers enter the jungle, the wilderness closed upon it in the manner in which an ocean closes over a diver. There would be no suggestion that they had ever been there. We are told that the donkeys died but the fate of the men which we can assume are included among "the less valuable animals" is not descibed. Chillingly, Conrad says that they probably found what they deserved.

Rarely has man's greedy but ultimately puny attempts to master the environment for his own ends been so succinctly yet so brilliantly described.

Two women must not get into the lift with one man!

I saw this sign in a lift in Nuremburg in Germany. It would seem to suggest from the picture that two women and one man should not be in the lift at the same time. No other hazard appears to be identified. I am tempted to think that the Germans fear some sort of orgy in the elevator. In fact, the sign is supposed to indicate that you should not travel in the lift during a fire. You would never guess that from the sign. As I don't speak German, I was totally nonplussed.

A new but very small conservatory

A short video of my new conservatory. Unfortunately, I read the external measurements as the internal measurements. In other words, another cock up...

Irina in the gardens near Sevastopol (2005)

A short video of my erstwhile friend, Irina, in a botanical garden near Sevastopol. Happy days, alas, no more