I can remember reading a novel by Marguerite Duras called L’Amant which detailed an affair between a French girl and a Chinese man.

The book made me immensely sad as it was about the decline of empire or so it seemed

A new order replacing the old

I have always thought well of empire

Order and infrastructure replacing the void

Modern thoughts replacing superstitions

At present I am adrift in the Indian Ocean and am aware that I will find it difficult to dock due to the current pandemic

But I will have to come ashore at some stage and I know that there will be complications

In a sense I am trapped in paradise

My boat is strong and I am well provided for

I will not perish as I am resourceful

If anything water is my only problem

But it rains quite frequently and I collect it carefully.

On my bed I have several newspapers one of which carries a photograph of two dogs hanging from a pole

The photograph upsets me as these poor creatures committed no crime and now are being sold for food

A local woman is seen cycling past the corpses but the pays them no attention

Diseases including the current one are known to have originated from the consumption of animals

But it is considered normal in these countries although gruesome and unclean to western eyes

Did it exist during the days of empire

I would imagine that it was common practice

But the world has moved on since then

Yet nothing has really changed and if anything it has got worse

I wonder if the girl in the Marguerite Duras novel ever ate dog meat or the like

My view is that she did not but this is not detailed in the book

I used to have a copy of L’Amant on board but this fell into the sea due to my carelessness

Books are my passion

But I am reduced to reading journals and newspapers

They report but lack passion

L’Amant is a passionate and erotic book

But is also about decay and corrupted youth

I sometimes think what would it have been like to sail one hundred years ago

Would things have been that different to what they are today

I am still trying to answer that question

 

 

Diary entry dated Sunday 19th April 2020 – sent to me by my friend Didier Saul