I was catching up on some weekend reading and started with The Observer’s travel supplement Escape, which headlined with the final part of Mike Carters midlife bike tour through Europe. Combining two passions (motorbikes and travel) it was a far better place to start than reading of England’s demise in the Ashes! Anyway came across a couple of thought provoking quotes…

But it was always in the poorest places that I got the warmest waves and the biggest smiles as I rode through, and I’m not sure what the significance is in that, but it was as consistent as it was marked.

Upon his return Mike reflects that, “Perhaps tellingly, in the week I’ve been back, exposed to the news again, I can already sense that I’m feeling less optimistic about humanity and, short of going to live in a log cabin in the woods, I don’t know what the solution is.”

The richer we get the more disconnected we become. The more news we surround ourselves with, the greater the anxiety we feel. Ignorance maybe bliss.