Levelled up?

 

On moving to our current abode, we were denied house insurance at first. Too close to a tidal floodplain they said, until we explained that the house was a good eight feet above the road: itself a further eight feet above the field in question. Surely if we had been flooded then so would much of the world.

In some circles, people are frowned upon if seen sitting on their front porch. Lucky enough to enjoy dramatic sunsets from there, we have our own Upper Circle. Even watching passing traffic below gives a smug satisfaction, sitting discreetly behind a privacy trellis, while others on the hill behind can claim wider horizons as they look down on us. Twas ever thus. Our eisteddfa evokes the same sensation as those rooftop hotels I have been lucky enough to visit over the years, as well as those only read about.

 
There is something uplifting (ouch) about the oasis of calm in an elevated position at the top of a building [or mountain], separated from the fuming vehicular hum. I rarely ascend a mountain these days, but recall with relish the view from above the clouds. I hesitate to mention those I’ve “climbed” (in reality walked up, or gone by train) for fear of describing them as “conquests” as they did in less enlightened times. The most recent was Moel Hebog (2569ft) a couple of years ago, and I got us lost on the descent.

We flew with Yeti Airlines to see that mountain named after a Cymro, Sir George Everest: properly Sagarmartha or Chomolungma. The aircraft (a BA Jetstream 41, if you need to know these things) was only three seats across, 2:1 with an offset aisle, resulting in much turbulence as passengers jostled for a view. The poster and tee-shirt proclaimed “I haven’t climbed Everest, I’ve touched it with my soul”. One of our party was a little stoned and, as we landed, enjoined me to knock on the plane’s windows, recalling a 1970s television double-glazing ad by Ted Moult: “Does it have at least a ¾ inch gap? Fit the best…” You know the rest. 

That evening, overwhelmed by our flight to see the holy mountain, celebrating the trip at a rooftop restaurant, a few of us hired a tuktuk and a rickshaw back to the hotel. A hearty “Namaste” was exchanged as we overtook each other in turn, weaving through the dark narrow streets of Kathmandu. Brits abroad eh? The year was 2007. High jinks aside, I like to think that a personal blessing the following day from a monk at the great stupa of Boudhanath (600 AD) led to the opportunity for early retirement within months. A life transformed.

Many venues have similar high drama, as attested to by countless “news” items (aka advertising) listing the “best elevated restaurants around the world”, whether fifteen feet or fifteen thousand above sea or city. While working we were lucky enough to visit a few of these, unashamedly name dropping: Hotel Giessbach, Brienz; Elsie’s Wine Bar, Zermatt; Jungfraujoch, all in Switzerland; The Hermitage, Mount Cook, New Zealand; Finse 1222, Norway;  upstairs in the Still and West pub, Portsmouth; the Marquess of Anglesey, Covent Garden. But I’m not one for lists. 

A firm favourite is however the Pen y Gwryd hotel, Capel Curig, connected to Everest in its use as a training base for Tenzing and Hillary in 1953. Their boots are still there. Close by was my first experience of “rooftop” hospitality on Yr Wyddfa, in 1971. Clough Willams-Ellis’ modernist summit building lasted unchallenged from the 1930s until some bloke from Windsor complained that it was a carbuncle. While the Ruling Classes still long to reign over us, I’m pleased to say that at least "Levelling Up" is now a passé punchline. I just struggle to get my boots on.

LINKS

Blessings from Aldershot and Kathmandu (cambriancrumbs.blogspot.com)

Post-Pandemic Porch Sitting (cambriancrumbs.blogspot.com)

Something in the air? (cambriancrumbs.blogspot.com)

Yeti Airlines - Wikipedia

Three Therapists - "I Know My Place" (youtube.com)

Everest's Original Tan Hill Inn TV Advert (youtube.com)

The highest slum? - Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Info (snowdoninfo.com)

History of the Pen-Y-Gwryd Hotel (pyg.co.uk)