The Time Traveller's Strife
Reader's Digest UK|March 2018

Olly Mann considers the reality of life in another era, and decides he’s better off staying put…

The Time Traveller's Strife

IF YOU COULD LIVE IN ONE HISTORICAL ERA, which would you choose?

Perhaps you’d be Victorian, at the vanguard of industrialisation; or a Renaissance artist, painting pious pictures of breasts; or even an Ancient, slaughtering goats for Apollo en route to a packed performance of Antigone.

Not I. Whenever I’m chucked this dinner party curve ball, my response is identical: right now. Yep, of all eras of history, I’d choose to live in the age of Right Now; despite our political instability, our culture of celebrity, our “freakshakes”, PPI and laminate flooring. Partly this is because I know my forebears scratched a living in ghettos, so it’s hard to imagine myself enjoying an especially attractive lifestyle in ye olden days. (My great-grandfather supposedly remarked, when arriving from Russia in the 1890s, that Britain was great because “nobody spits at you in the street”.)

But I’d also choose Right Now because this era is so obviously, evidently, quantifiably better. Improvements in medicine are manifold: we live longer, keyhole surgery is routine, polio is effectively eradicated. Equal rights, admittedly, are somewhat work-in-progress, but broadly speaking, Westerners have the right to work, reside and vote as we please, regardless of gender, sexuality, or ethnicity.

Bu hikaye Reader's Digest UK dergisinin March 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Reader's Digest UK dergisinin March 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

READER'S DIGEST UK DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Reader's Digest UK

EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME

Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.

time-read
3 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
May Fiction
Reader's Digest UK

May Fiction

An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month

time-read
1 min  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Wine Not
Reader's Digest UK

Wine Not

In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food

time-read
3 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Train Booking Hacks
Reader's Digest UK

Train Booking Hacks

With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices

time-read
4 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Reader's Digest UK

JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again

time-read
8 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
My Britain: Cheltenham
Reader's Digest UK

My Britain: Cheltenham

A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!

time-read
6 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Reader's Digest UK

GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB

Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.

time-read
6 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
Reader's Digest UK

Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant

After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”

time-read
3 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Reader's Digest UK

Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World

Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here

time-read
3 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Stand Tall, Ladies
Reader's Digest UK

Stand Tall, Ladies

Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?

time-read
3 dak  |
Reader's Digest May 2024