The Idler is the world’s premier magazine for people who reject the inane busyness of modern life. Launched in 1993 by Tom Hodgkinson,1 the Idler picked up the mantle from Dr Johnson and Jerome K. Jerome—both of whom published their own versions of The Idler—while being steeped in the counter-cultural rebellion of people like Terence McKenna.2
Over the years, its scope has grown to include topics like ancient philosophy, beekeeping, and ukulele playing. Indeed, The Idler went beyond a mere periodical to become an entire empire with courses, retreats, and the annual Idler Festival, which took place last weekend.
My wife,
, had been booked to speak with Eleanor Bowen about the Hysteric, and I was happy to accompany her for the weekend. But I mainly wanted to hang out with Tom and Victoria in person after having spent the last decade talking to them regularly on Zoom in my capacity as the Idler webmaster.No one knows The Idler quite like I do. I see the frenetic activity beneath the serene exterior. I receive the anxious emails at 8am about an e-commerce glitch. However, I also get to experience their practical wisdom and good humour directly. It’s not a facade!
The festival was held in Fenton House, a beautiful National Trust property in Hampstead. It is a long way from Glasgow: geographically, psychologically, and financially. It feels Arcadian even compared to the rest of London. The dappled shade of the orchard was particularly idyllic. Fortunately, Stewart Lee was there to bring the reality principle.
Stewart Lee is deeply pessimistic about the future. He points out that funding cuts mean that the weird theatre that he used to enjoy in the eighties no longer exists. The tech oligarchs have stifled creativity by forcing everyone to compete in the attention marketplace on their platforms. A member of the audience asked if he was being negative because he was getting old. Lee replied that 75% of insect life has died off over the past few decades. Some facts about the state of the world exist independently of personal grumpiness.3
One of Lee’s predictions is that Nigel Farage is surely going to become Prime Minister in a couple of years and inflict more damage on the arts. I was thinking about this when Ferdinand Mount got to the stage to talk on the subject of tyrants.
It was an entertaining and eloquent talk, but he didn’t have much of an answer when someone in the crowd asked him if it wasn’t true that “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times.” Where, I wonder, are we now?
One person who I thought might know is ex-Idler assistant Florence Read, who now works at Unherd. She has even interviewed
, court philosopher of the Trump regime. At the Idler, she had a rather different interviewee: the mononymic Lawrence and his biographer, Will Hodgkinson. Alas, due to scheduling conflicts I couldn’t stay to hear about how hard times had created Lawrence’s charming pop star persona.
I was delighted to finally see
in person after having enjoyed his philosophical sallies on the Drink with the Idler. It’s difficult to get a handle on Vernon’s output with so many books, courses and podcasts, but I am particularly keen to read his new one on William Blake.
The Idler magazine rarely publishes poetry, but they are keen advocates of the form. During the festival, I saw William Blake’s songs being sung on the lawn and odes being performed in an orchard.
I spoke with barristers and meditators, investors and poets. There was a sense in which no matter how wealthy you are, the quality of your consciousness (and thus of your perceptions) remains relatively democratic.
My best celebrity encounter was chatting to Emma Thompson. I noted that there were no security staff in fluorescent tabards at the Idler festival. How many events are spoiled by these reluctant jobsworths! She agreed and pointed out there were also no girls in fluorescent bikinis. The festival was very civilised.
Sunday was even more relaxed as attendees nursed their hangovers.
I whiled away the time observing hats as Rowan Williams spoke.
The festival wasn’t the kind of place to absorb information, but rather to soak up a vibe of relaxed contemplation.
Later, I had another tough scheduling decision to make: Britpop with Miranda Sawyer, or Babylonian Liver Divining with Selena Wisnom? Fortunately, there was a third option: the politics of the English Landscape Garden with Tim Richardson.
This was one of my highlights of the festival with Richardson describing the gardens of places like Castle Howard, Stowe, and Studley Royal as being like conceptual art works, full of political reference points.
The festival ended with a traditional sing-along, the kind of event where everyone realises how few lyrics they remember. I will practice more for next year!
The Idler was co-founded with Gavin Pretor-Pinney; however, he drifted into clouds. Tom now runs things with his wife, Victoria Hull.
Hi Neil, great photos! Would you mind me using the photo of the Loafers in a new listing I'm using with the intention of getting some gigs? NP if not of course :)
Diana
Color me intrigued!!!