‘Whicker’s World has been turning on television for around 50 years, and I’m hoping all those far-flung programmes and books encouraged you to watch – and then to get up and go!
‘Such documentaries seek to offer a new outlook, to open a window on the world and show what lies waiting for you, over the hill. Could be something wonderful.
‘Scenery is not doing anything – it’s just lying there looking lovely; yet like a beautiful woman or a splendid meal, it promises deep satisfaction, proffers repletion. To be lucky enough to see Lake Atitlan among its volcanoes or Norfolk Island in its blue Pacific, the Taj Mahal at dawn or Manhattan at twilight – such visions stay with you for a lifetime.
‘Ayers Rock or Milford Sound, Bali or Hawaii offer us a holiday for the eyes and senses, and a good reason for living. Even when the difference between one superb landscape and another is not great, there’s always a world of difference between the people looking at it – or not looking at it. In an early Whicker’s World, one splendid Boston matriarch set me aback by declaring “Why should I travel when I am already here?”
‘She was standing at the far end of my personal scale of valued experience. I remain one of those wanderers who relish the stimulation of any journey – even (would you believe?) airline food! Well, it’s different. Fresh from Treasure Island and his South Sea adventures, Robert Louis Stevenson got it about right, a century ago: “For my part
I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
‘I have been carrying on that “great affair”, in public, for years – and remain deeply devoted. When I started travelling, the War Office was picking up the tab as described in my other television series, Whicker’s War. After umpteen million miles following my wandering star, I still find myself excited at the thought of each new journey, still devour the airline schedules and wonder whether I should be setting off towards some experience. The prospect of a strange new scene always excites, and on the way towards it I always want the corner seat, to see what’s happening.
‘So to me this magazine seems like frozen documentary – instant Whicker’s World, if you like – for almost every page could unleash a powerful memory. Let’s hope some of the glories lying in wait may also get you off and running, for in the troubled state of the world today, the more we see of each other smiling, the better.’
Bon Voyage!
Alan Whicker
