Welcome to the Go Slow England blog!
Go Slow England is an exciting new book coming out in March 2008 from Alastair Sawday Publishing, the publishers of the Special Places to Stay and Fragile Earth series. Written by Alastair himself, Go Slow England will be all about the places, recipes and people who take their time to enjoy life at its most enriching. In this beautiful book, which goes beyond the mere ‘glossy’, you will discover an unusual emphasis on the people who live in Special Slow Places and what they do. You will meet farmers, literary people, wine-makers and craftsmen – all with rich stories to tell. Go Slow England celebrates fascinating people, fine architecture, history, landscape and real food. A counter-balance to our culture of haste.
Alastair will be giving presentations and doing book signings in March and April so check the author tour dates page for details.
If you want to pre-register for a copy of the book you can leave us your email address here so we can send you ordering information and a special code for a 45% discount once the book is available. We are also conducting a poll on the best place in England to ‘go slow’ so don’t forget to cast your vote here.
Also, make sure you regularly check our downloads page for free samples, our press page for our latest reviews (and contact details if you are from the press) and sales info page for more information and contact details if you are from the book trade.
We’ll update this blog at least twice a week with news and sneak peeks so keep checking back and feel free to leave comments!
5 February 2008 at 8:51 am
I would like to applaud the checkout operators in the Clifton Village Somerfield, who have been bravely and thanklessly pursuing a Go Slow approach for years.
Not exactly the type of Going Slow that we are trying to promote but I suspect many similar establishments are known for their ability to go slow in this way. Personally, I hate it when this happens
5 February 2008 at 10:30 am
ok, ok … well, I recently had a cracking Sunday lunch at a place called Mackells on the Cheltenham Road, where the blackboard proudly proclaims their slow approach to food; it was certainly worth the wait – three types of spuds, mouth-watering pork, crispy crispy crackling … well recommended. They don’t appear to have a website but they are at 196 Cheltenham Rd, tel 0117 924 8930. Is this better?!
Now that sounds like our kind of place! Thanks for the recommendation Jay! So there you have it folks:
Mackell’s Cafe Bar and Brasserie
196 Cheltenham Road, Bristol.
Tel: 0117 924 8930
Anybody else out there with a secret Slow place to share?
5 February 2008 at 7:05 pm
Hey, I’m all for slowing down and I think you’ve rediscovered a truth that our grandparents all took for granted: no cell phones, computers, e-mails, TV, etc.
I like the idea of slow foods, bicycle rides, walks etc.
That said, I’m not ready to start selling tickets to watch paint dry in my studio.
Hi Gerald
I think your comment captures many of the ideas that we are striving for. The Slow lifestyle doesn’t mean being boring or inert but taking the time to enjoy all the good things in life that used to be commonplace before modern life created lots of instant gratification fixes to distract us.
I suspect this is a topic that requires further discussion. I’ve got a couple sample pages from the book about it so will dedicate a post to it next week.
In the meantime, I’m intrigued about the idea of selling tickets for a paint drying exhibit. It sounds like the type of art installation that Yoko Ono may have done in the 70s.
6 February 2008 at 4:14 pm
Fantastic idea for a book. Look forward to reading it.
6 February 2008 at 9:25 pm
There’s a big movement in ’slow kids’ and even a suggestion (from Toxic Childhood – a book about the danger in rushing children) that we need to imagine ourselves walking at an astronauts pace when we picked our kids up from school etc. Nice visualisation, could work all the time! There are so many organisations onto the slow, thoughtful thing from Woodcraft Folk to Common Ground…
Paula, Toxic Childhood sounds really interesting. It is the sort of thing that Steiner Schools promote? I did a bit of Googling and discovered http://www.suepalmer.co.uk, which is the website of Sue Palmer, the author of Toxic Childhood. I haven’t had a chance to have a proper look but I thought some other people may be interested. Please feel free to add any other links that people reading this blog may be interested in.
Cheers, Thomas
7 February 2008 at 9:12 am
I’m very lucky to only work part-time. I love my work, do voluntary work too, but I also love my slow-time which is maybe 40% of my week – i.e. time to do what interests me at a pace I enjoy. So, if I want to spend 30 mins one morning watching the activity on the bird table I do! I feel no guilt. I feel really sorry for anyone whose pace of life is so frenetic that they can’t enjoy doing “nothing” (otherwise known as enjoying being!). I have never known a moment’s boredom in my life. Every August is spent by the sea doing little more than walk, read and sit watching the sky and waves. I am in heaven then. I’m very lucky I know, but everyone should get slow-time on the NHS!
7 February 2008 at 9:27 am
P.S. I look forward to the book. I hope the Isles of Scilly feature somewhere – they are Go Slow England at it’s finest. Especially the car-free off-islands. And Sunday papers don’t arrive til Monday….
Hi Tilly
The Isles of Scilly sound wonderful but unfortunately we are not featuring any properties from there in Go Slow England.
However, there is a hotel at Hell Bay that appears in our British Hotels & Inns book. Also, near the Isles is The Cove, a self catering property that you can find at http://www.special-escapes.co.uk.
Cheers
Thomas
24 February 2008 at 8:19 pm
I can relate to Alex James (ex bassist from Blur, and coke head) who says that livestock is the cocaine of the quiet country gentleman!
27 February 2008 at 12:25 am
thank you jay for your reply about our food we do try and enjoy the process and relish the event i am so pleased you got it that is the it we are trying to achieve. That is enjoying the food the creation and the moments that make up the entire creation why rush, why waist the only moments we have? we do hope you will join us again soon
regards colin mackell of mackell’s cafe bar & brasserie