Chris Stewart, author of the bestselling Driving Over Lemons, introduces Chasing Hornbills, a new book by Simon Fenton. Chasing Hornbills charts the further adventures of a Brit in Senegal as he continues to face the everyday frustrations and exhilarations that made his first book, Squirting Milk at Chameleons such a compelling and entertaining read.
“So what do you do, then?” This is what I would ask people at parties and suchlike. My detractors would take issue with this, saying that I was superficial and that it was more rewarding to know what people are than what they do. Superficial, well maybe I am, but I do like to know what people do; it goes some way towards defining them. Without this particular piece of context people tend to appear in a vacuum of cod spiritual inclinations, and revolting predilections and habits.
Understandably many of us are reluctant to spill the beans on what we actually do, given that what most of us do – with our working lives at least – is so utterly fatuous and devoid of meaning. We have been fooled, by Capitalism and the Corporations and the besuited thugs who run the media, into trading those basic human rights of creativity, discovery, freedom, adventure and joy, for comfort and security, for ease and vanity. A crap deal if ever there was one, but it’s true: from my investigations I have established that the great majority of people have never swum in a lake or a river, have never slept beneath the stars nor walked in the moonlight, nor even climbed some wild and distant hill. Poor misguided wretches; soon they will find themselves on their death-beds, totting up the reckoning.
“Did I drink to the full the joys and glories that were set before me upon the table of life?” All too often the answer will be “No, I didn’t want to run the risk, or lose my job in the design and marketing of baubles to fool the foolish into parting with more of their money; I didn’t fancy getting wet and cold or a little bit scared… so I stayed in and watched the telly.”
When it all boils down to it you’ve only got yourself to blame, but it may not be too late to do something about it. Pick up Chasing Hornbills, read it, and then act upon it. We can’t all be Semen Fenton (Senegalese pronunciation), but we can take a leaf from his book and get out there and walk a little on the wild side. Because Simon Fenton certainly has taken life by the balls, and better still, he has the gift of being able to communicate it. It’s still a long way off; he’s young, but I assure you that when his time is up Simon will be able to slip away in peace, because he has lived a real life and rejoiced in the fabulous and varied wonders of the world. And it’s a comforting thought, to be able to die easy.
There’s a whole genre of this sort of book, and they are written by people who are blessed by curiosity and daring and a healthy disdain for the conventional way… and cursed perhaps, by Vermittlungsdrang (sometimes only a German word will do, and in this case it means “urge to communicate”) Fenton does the Vermittlung well; his style is easy and his experiences irresistibly fascinating… and you like him… and you like even more Khady, his wonderful Senegalese wife, who is the kingpin of the whole shebang.
The genre – self-help, travel, lifestyle – it’s all of these and yet none of these, but good anyway – is there for inspiration. It worked for me: I was inspired back in my time by Laurie Lee, Gerald Brenan, Paddy Leigh-Fermor, and having read them and others, made decisions in my life according to what I had learned from their books, and it stood me in good stead.
So go on, read the book, and then act upon it. You could start by checking out the Little Baobab, Khady and Simon’s guesthouse in the Casamance. I would certainly do it myself except that I would have to miss my favourite television programme.
Chris Stewart,
El Valero August 2016
Chasing Hornbills and Squirting Milk at Chameleons are both available to buy from Stanfords.co.uk and Stanfords bookshops.