Stories

Do you like stories?

These days most stories are called films and feature many people being killed and exploded constantly. This reflects badly on our collective minds and hearts, I fear. Also it just adds to the anxiety of living for the people who watch them.

But real stories have been around as long as we have had people! And you have heard at least some of them yourself!

There are rhymes that teach you things. There are rhymes like treasure chests that hold secret memories from long ago, for which the key is old and rusty and worn away to something almost like a spider's web. There are stories of kings and queens and brave heroes and fair maidens and fierce monsters and battles and giants and magic spells and they all lived happily ever after.

Do you never ask why? Do you think they are just for children? You are right. They are for children. And when you become like little children again then you can take your place in the old stories once more and fight those monsters.

And WIN.

Bottles

All the bottles went into the bottle bank for recycling!

I had been keeping them to help remember what it was like to drink their contents. From the exotic aroma of F. E. Trimbach's Gewürztraminer Réserve Exceptionelle 1967, to the fairly usual though not at all unpleasant aroma of various non-vintage champagnes, along with a couple of their more distinguished relatives from Bordeaux - in they went! Now they are all the same, green glass.
There's no reason to accumulate possessions, unless they have some use. Even then, it's the use, more than the object, which is valuable.

By the looks of things, I don't drink alcohol anymore, so there's not much point hoarding memories of wine, is there. There's no point hoarding anything - it would only be sort of distractions and diversions designed to give the impression that their owner has some sort of substance or personality. Otherwise we'd have to really look at ourselves and FIND some character there. But the pretend way is quicker. Unfortunately, it is only pretend.

All those bottles together...it sounds like good material for a sermon or a school assembly. Shall I do it? No matter how important each one thought he was, in the eyes of the recycling bin, each one was the same. Well, it's true, we are all the same! Each one has a value, though that value is low in the case of the bodies (bottles), but high in the case of the contents.

So, away they went.

Tree (House)

A tree house is, as you will probably already know, or can guess, a house in a tree. Quite a good idea, I think.

So your next question will probably be, "Philip, I know you are Philip Howard, Composer and Pianist, but you give out all sorts of interesting information on many subjects! Please please please please please can you tell me how I can stay in a tree house?"

Why yes, I can! And there are more options than you might think. And these are just some of them. I'm afraid I couldn't find anywhere in the United Kingdom, but anyway it might be a bit cold there. Nice trees though, so perhaps I will find somewhere.

Our first port of call on this survey of off-ground hotels is the Zentendorf Tree House in Germany, which is in Saxony and offers views of Poland (quite possible!). Looks a bit rickety to me, and you have to share the toilet. Perhaps you share it with a family of birds? I do not know. Very German-style, I think. Practical and efficient. Though it may be swimming with luxuries on the inside for all I know (probably not). Still, I have no grounds for criticising this accomodation, having not seen it in real life, so let's just say, this is tree house hotel number one. That is really all I can say for sure at this moment. It's looking better the more I think about it, though.

Next of all (and not looking too fantastic) is Kadirs Tree House Hotel in Antalya, Turkey (staying roughly within Europe for the moment). I'm sure it is better than it looks! Not everywhere has to be gleaming, shiny, air-conditioned, according to modern western ideals of living. And indeed, this place does not look as though it was built in accordance with modern western ideals of living. I'm sure it is very nice, though. And if we were going to stay there, we'd research it a bit more of course.

Now, moving on to more far-off locations and better-looking tree house hotels, our little survey has reached the Costa Rica Tree House Hotel in Punta Uva. This is looking really good! Now that's what I call a Tree House Hotel! Yes indeed, it's really in a tree, it doesn't look like you're going to find yourself on the ground in a pile of sticks in the middle of the night, and for these reasons at least it gets my seal of approval. Yes, the Costa Rica Tree House Hotel has been awarded a star in my superficial survey of tree house hotels! Of course, to be really able to grade this accommodation I would have to stay there in person. So if you need to know more details, book me the flight and the hotel and I'll get back to you about it.

The last visit on this surprisingly quick tour of the world is the South Point Banyan Tree House in Waiohinu, Big Island, Hawaii.

OK, I'm frightened now. This isn't a tree house, it's a house tree! There were not really any pictures available of this hotel as it sits in its tree, so I don't know exactly what is going on here. All I know is, this tree house appears to have more "house-ly" facilities than my own house (which, by the way, is attached to the ground). So I don't know how many stars it gets from me. Half a star, two stars, or thirty stars, somewhere between those, I think. This last tree house hotel certainly fits in with the western approach to habitability. But do I like the western approach that much? Mind you, this hotel is probably pretty exciting! And, I do admit, all that western business is quite good in its own way. Ah, dear me, the only answer is to VISIT ALL OF THEM.

Lots of love!

Philip