PADDLER 24
TREADING A FINE LINE
In Edwardian times , self-styled ‘ gentlemen of leisure ’ sustained a romance around adventurous activities like mountaineering and canoeing . Others played their part , from pioneering female adventurers to commonly overlooked porters and guides . Most of the more iconic figures of boys-own stories were taking advantage of an entitled or privileged position in an era before the democratisation of leisure took off . Looking back , almost all of us who have found our way within canoeing as an adventure sport ( as serious leisure ) might conclude we owe these figures ( as embodied by Oliver Cock ) a great deal – but this is also a past we might now also find challenging !
After World War Two , as demobilisation stoked the fires of anti-colonial sentiment in ways which would contribute to the end of empires , working-class adventurers famously claimed their right to do their own thing , their way . British climbers were to the fore , and Mick Hopkinson reflected one key British sentiment of the time when he noted , “ Our parents had fought in the world wars for this new system of freedom , but we still weren ’ t allowed to go out and enjoy the country or enjoy the rivers because the class system prevailed .” Experiences across Europe certainly varied , but before long , the world of canoe and kayak ( and the waterways ) stretched from white water warriors embracing a dirt-bag counter-culture to the militant fringe of the Campaign for River Access for Canoes and Kayaks ( CRACK ).
A certain romance can connect the Edwardian gentlemen of leisure with the ordinary workers on the banks of the Marne and the militants who contested access to the Seiont . It can connect the spirit shown by Mick Hopkinson with those who now seek out the OCF . But as reactions to the Pandemic highlighted , we tread a fine line each time we celebrate those who claim the rivers as their own . Our romance may merely invite others into what we perceive as our pastime . Inclusion is controlled and controlled as if we ( the guardians ) must induct them ( the great unwashed ) on our terms . For a more inclusive canoe , kayak and SUP world , we will need a somewhat deeper romance : one connecting back to the democratic leisure movement ! We will need the entanglement of ordinary lives in ways which invite others to do as we perhaps did : to shape a future for pastimes which are not ours to give nor ours to take away .