Coasting: Running Around the Coast of Britain – Life, Love and (Very) Loose Plans

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Elise Downing has reminded us all of the most crucial aspects of adventure: 1) You don’t have to be an expert. But it is his keen observations and lyrical descriptions—however sad—that compel the story and the reader on the tide of the book. Raban hears the news when he ties up in Sutton Pool at Plymouth Sound, alongside working trawlers by the fish market. I have to say, I think if she were my daughter, I would be very very proud of her achievement, determination and motivation. In 1982, Jonathan Raban bought a wooden two-masted sailing boat and circumnavigated England in a slow, wandering, unhurried way.

The constant questioning of whether it was a ‘real’ adventure and if she was doing it ‘right’ was quite repetitive. The tale he tells is of its time and place yet offers wider understanding of the psyche of the British. Below, it felt as if one was squatting in the sound box of an out-of-tune harp, with every shroud vibrating on a slightly different note and the wooden frame answering the shrouds with a long, low sympathetic groan. An easy, thoughtful and engaging read, using his solo sailing trip around the country to review family and British behavior and understand his own place and purpose in life.Or take this wonderful description of waiting out a gale at anchor: “The boat thrummed and shivered on its moorings. I enjoyed this and found it somewhat inspiring, but it was also very negative at times and wasn’t quite what I expected. For the most part, though, the English, both men and women, are afflicted by such a morbid decay of their libido that it has always puzzled the rest of the world how the English manage to reproduce themselves at all. But that makes it so readable and emphasises the resilience she needed every day and the kindness of so many people along the way.

Coasting round Britain single-handed in an antique two-masted sailing boat, Jonathan Raban conducts a masterly exploration of England and the English at the time of Margaret Thatcher and the Falklands War.Also, not being responsible enough to keep appointments with people who are trying to support her and being bailed out by her parents multiple times to just be annoying. Elise has such a self-deprecating and humble way of telling her story - from the ecstasy and highs to the sadness, self-doubt and lows. Each trip back to shore gives him little updates on what is happening, he tends to be disgusted with what he reads in the papers, especially The Sun and it blood hungry racist slurs, these all make him desperate to get back out to sea.

It's the kind of book that makes you want to lace up your trainers and start running towards that mad idea you once had. A hugel

Whilst at sea, real life goes on, Britain goes to war with Argentina, Lady Di drops her first sprog and Thatcher goes to war with the miners. It's a book that certainly has its merits, but personally, I was seeking a stronger narrative thread to keep me fully engaged. Raban himself has commented on his own attitude to England and the influence of Margaret Thatcher on Britain at the time of writing his book. Because of the era in which this was written, we learn about various moments in history such as the Falklands conflict, miners' strikes etc.