Loco

A couple of weeks ago I went to see a fantastic gig at a venue close to my home in Hackney where a young fellow named ‘Dizraeli’ (like the old British politician but with a 21st Century ‘z’) was performing alongside lots of other talented folk to promote a low carbon travel adventure all the way from London to Cairo. Dizraeli will be joined on his travels by his friend and filmaker, Billy Macrae.

Here’s a descritption of the fantastic project in their own words:

Faced with the science of climate change, Dizraeli (known to his mum as Rowan Sawday) has vowed never to fly again. All good, until he is offered a golden opportunity to perform in Egypt. After a brief struggle with the devil on his left shoulder, Rowan decides to stick to his principles, exchange quick convenience and aeroplane food for a continent-sized slice of chaos, and go overland. Accompanied by documentary photographer/filmmaker Billy Macrae, he has two weeks and £500 to get to Cairo. The pair will travel through Central and Eastern Europe, then on to Turkey, Syria, Israel and Palestine. Crossing countless borders and barriers, they will broadcast their journey to the world: as a daily blog, a weekly video diary and finally, a documentary film accompanied by a full-length album.

Read more on the Unplaned website.

What I particularly like about the challenge that the pair have set themselves, is that they are poised to explore some really fascinating cultural issues through the medium of music, spoken word and documentary. One of the main reasons we set up Loco2 was to tackle similar issues: what does it mean that frequent short and long-haul travel to have become so prevalent in Western culture? Surely there is more to travel than (a) escaping your own home life or (b) copying everyone else for fear of missing out? Overland travel opens up a whole new world of cultural exchange, and there doesn’t seem to be a better pair to explore it than Dizraeli and Billy Macrae.

I’ll leave you with one of the poems that Dizraeli performed on the night, this time set to music. For me, the lyrics are spot on in terms of how travel has in lots of ways become a status symbol rather than a truly authentic experience for its own sake… The pair leave in three days, so wish them well, and we’ll no doubt be hearing lots more from them…

Photo credits: Elizabeth Argyll, Ed Yourdon, Dizraeli

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One response to “Going Unplaned”

1. Tom McMillan says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 12:42 pm

   Hi Guys,

   Love your blog and your website. I’ve recently launched a website called Flightlesstravel.com that might interest you.

   Have a great trip.

   Cheers

   Tom

   Tom