Iditarod Sled Race, Alaska.
Antiques are a funny business, and one that I have never entirely ‘got’. I still have no idea why you would want a collection of sugar spoons from an era when stirring was still in its infancy and quite why anybody would want to have paintings of harsh looking women with centre partings from a time when let’s face it women looked a bit rough, is just a little weird.
But old stories, tales from a bygone age, that’s a different matter. Whether it’s the writings of Patrick Leigh Fermor walking from London to Constantinople, Amy Johnson flying to America or Mallory attempting to scale Everest in thick socks and a tweed suit, I just can’t get enough of those times when a complete absence of technology and safety, coupled to an almost unimaginable daring spirit, made for real adventure.
And, luckily for me, there are still events around the world whose history and ethos is rooted very firmly in the ‘Boy’s Own’ mould, Iditarod being a prime example.
