Cold Break before Disney

"Kittens' skulls cracked open and electrodes inserted into their brains in shocking series of experiments at 9 UK universities including Cambridge"

Its certainly not headline to win friends, and positively horrifies a wildlife lover like me (as a boy growing up in a wild, green corner of Wales, I adored animals and even attempted to save newts when winter froze our ponds over). I am not exactly thrilled with animal experiments and would, like most caring human beings, prefer living in a world where such barbarism is not necessary but the cold fact is we don't.
Strip away the Disney blinkers and fluffy hearts and the world reveals its naked colour: life is hard, often cruel and extremely unforgiving. This isn't a place of abundant mercy or good deeds. Sure kindness exists but by and large in order to survive a lifetime on planet Earth, you need to be hard or risk being crushed like a toy soldier. (Im really selling this planet to any alien that might read blogs huh?)
Oh we try our damndest to dull the pain, using reality television, videogames, movies and social media in a vain attempt to ignore the raw knocks but it remains in place no matter what. Life is hard, nobody ever said it would be fair. Bogeymen exist at every turn in the form of cancer, dementia, etc and if experiments on animals lead to a breakthrough cure then I'll roll with it regardless of the genuine pity I feel. I dont wish to sound "combatative" here but I take it those against experiments wouldn't accept breakthrough treatment?
Its so easy using mere words, and ive heard some folks claim that they would prefer to suffer before an innocent creature, which is all very admirable but im afraid I cannot believe it. Like I said, words are easy with no threat of danger but if faced with a very real and very lethal terminal illness I wonder if opinions would change? I'd wager good money on it being so.
Death has ruined many a brave souls intention when faced with the final chapter of their lives because you know...death is DEATH and nobody in receipt of a clean bill of health wants to die. I don't care how many dogs or animal charities they help. And take it from someone who has come close to breathing their last: its frightening (to say the least) and most folks would give a barrel load of kittens in order to extend their mortality. Even by just a day.
Add in the fact that 21st century morals are pretty screwed when you consider how much meat most people eat while they condemn things like hunting, and things look even more grim for those purty looking cats. Nobody likes the idea of scientists sticking needles into animals in the name of medicine but if the endgame is triumph over cancer then its worth it no? I realise this subject is like a cold, hard slap in the chops that sobers us up from our coffee laced, fluffy fairytale and the hangover is one we would rather not face but still it remains.

The Back No Longer Broken

Way back in lets say 1985 (its as accurate as I wish or can be), I loved camping. I used to get rollercoaster thrills just thinking about planning a trip in the countryside and would spend days simply getting stuck into survival lists and learning how to trap rabbits and flat fish. Alas these beasts might have been unicorns or dewfish for they were never near to my calloused and often scabby fingers. (By the way 'dewfish' is something I made up and exists not in our Creators godly land).
When my friends and I got to our spot in the forest (we usually opted for the cover of trees over open land) it was pure nature and wildlife; torn bark on trees, dead rabbits, fox droppings and the beautiful scent of wild berries. The closest we got to modern life was a few lighters to get the fire going, not even bothering with camping stoves.


Camping: never forget your pipe

These days however, going camping and sleeping under the stars is a little different. Make that a LOT different. In fact we are hardly sleeping in the great outdoors anymore because we have taken the indoors out. The internet, mobile phones with countless handy applications, television, iPods, laptops, cameras, everything people have for entertainment at home can now be taken on a camping expedition. We even have satelite navigation in the car to find us the perfect spot!
Back in my day all we had for entertainment was what mother nature provided for us; rivers to fish in,giant oaks to climb on, brambles to shred clothes. Our only entertainment was feeding the fire with wood, alcohol, a portable radio and books. That was it really, apart from the 'fun' of finding your way back to the tent after a late night trip to the bushes for a pee. Now I can take every classic novel ever written with me, along with my entire record collection. I have even seen mobile satellite dishes so campers can tune into their favourite television series while skinning their freshly caught rabbit. Or more likely tucking into a freshly cooked lasagna, nuked in the mobile microwave.
Its hardly survival and I personally think that having all these modern devices on a camping trip ruins the fun. When everything is to hand there is no pleasure or excitement in having it. I admit we carried lighters but certainly a camp fire made with the age old method of rubbing sticks together is infinately more satisfying. And speaking of fire, this should be the ONLY source of light. Seeing the glow of tv and computer screens is just plain wrong when you are out in the bush as our Australian friends would say. Have we become so dependent on 24 hour news and social networking websites that we cannot escape their clutches even for a few days camping? Have we become so lazy that fish bought in Morrisons is preferable to ones caught fresh? Of course we have. The things we had originally for convenience have overtaken us, swallowed us whole and robbed a lot of us of adventure.
Mobile phones are a good idea to have if you intend trekking to desolate, often dangerous parts of the world, or if your children decide to camp out on the beach like I used to do. Phones are useful and can be a lifesaver, but do people really need all the rest of it? The kindles, iPods and satelite dishes? Afterall camping is supposed to be getting you away from it all, not bringing it all with you like a bleeping and pinging ball and chain. We have become our own prisoners, trapped almost in a cold digital world where nobody really cares and nobody is really your friend.
When I next go pitch my tent in Newgale or Freshwater East in beautiful Pembrokeshire, im leaving the keyboards and clicks behind and going naked. It feels good to be free from the internet umbilical cord. Try it.