Gemütlich and Spam
The Isle of Wight is inhabited by just over 141,000 people who live on a diamond shaped rock of 147 square miles. This actually came to my attention soon after the recent conflict in the Middle East began. You see the Gaza strip is pretty much the same size as the Isle of Wight, except its population is just over 2 million; 14,000 people per square mile as opposed to the Island's 960.
The above comparison is marked when informing oneself regarding the tragedy unfolding in the Israel-Hamas war, but it also got me thinking about populations generally and how the Isle of Wight compares to the Mainland when it comes to population density. But actually it turns out that any population density statistic is fairly nonsensical. It's one of those things where the word 'average' is highly misleading. If 50% of people have a cat and 50% a dog, 100% of pet owners don't own an animal which purrs and barks and exhibits a schizophrenic mix of being both disdainful and obsequious.
So in the same way (kind of!) the east and west of the Island are very different in terms of population density, rendering an overall figure fairly meaningless; I got to thinking about this yesterday when cycling on the empty roads of West Wight through the 'stones: Mottistone, Hulverstone and Brightstone. In the same ride I'd been snarled up in Newport (yes, cyclists can be snarled up!). Basically West Wight is extremely rural; most of the biggest towns are central or in the east of the Island.
And here's why it's relevant: traditionally the Island has had one Member of Parliament; however since 1954, the Boundary Commission has routinely consulted on this and whether the Island should be redrawn into two constituencies - generally resisting because of the thorny issue of how the potential squiggly boundary line should be drawn. But now it has happened, and in the 2024 election residents will either vote in the Isle of Wight East constituency or the Isle of Wight West one.
Because of the population west/east imbalance, the aforementioned squiggly boundary line is very squiggly indeed, meandering in a haphazard way from north to south seemingly as the spirit takes it. It makes the coast of Norway seem as straight as Richard Osman's back (other tall celebrities are available) kind of looking as though a recalcitrant toddler has randomly graffitied on a map of the island - or that someone who's enjoyed too many Belgian Beers at the Ventnor Exchange has attempted the task. I suppose it's not a line at all. In fact 'squiggly line' is a contradiction in terms; let's call it a squiggly squiggle! Both new constituencies self-evidently require a similarly-sized population, and as implied above, given that West Wight is only inhabited by a couple of farmers, a parson (Gerald) and a Shih Tzu called Kevin, you see the issue!
I joke, but cycling in that part of the world at certain times of the day you do get lonely! I sometimes think that if I fell off my bike and broke my leg it might take a while for anyone to pass by and reluctantly assist. (If it was Gerald at least he could administer the last rites.) So the Griffiths clan will be voting in the Isle of Wight East constituency, along with residents of Shanklin, Sandown and Ryde - to name one or two of the larger towns. Isle of Wight West will comprise Newport, Cowes and Freshwater, along with the aforementioned farmers and Gerald. (Shih Tzus don't have the vote yet, animal enfranchisement not being a thing at the time of writing over here.)
In modern times the single Isle of Wight constituency has swung between Conservative and Liberal. Ewan, who is something of an expert on these things, informs me that I should compare it to a typical South West (Mainland) constituency. It'll obviously be intriguing to see how things pan out at the 2024 election. You'd imagine that Gerald and his friends would stay Tory; Ewan and I will be watching the East with interest.
So things change. Things also stay the same. Hence the well-worn phrase 'Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose'. We met an elderly chap called Michael earlier today. He moved to the Island three years ago following the death of his wife. Naturally I love talking to people who are positive about Island life and he talked eloquently and enthusiastically about living here. He described the area at this time of the year as being 'dreamy', loving the lack of tourists in winter. When I asked him what he especially loved about the Island, he said: "Well it's 30 or 40 years behind, isn't it! I can't bear going to the Mainland now. It's such a rat race."
"It's 30 or 40 years behind"!
I find this to be something of a cliché, often trotted out but difficult to back up with examples. What do people mean by this? A slower pace of life? Technologically less dependent? I've no idea. Certainly folk don't go around in Morris Minors snacking on spam and being casually racist and homophobic. (It turns out that 30 or 40 years ago wasn't all good!) So what does it mean? Well, I'm not going to delve into that now. It needs more time and lots of empirical research. From now on I'll be carrying a notebook around and meticulously noting examples: "2:30pm: saw a vicar on a bicycle"; "4pm: spied a man in his lounge wearing a bowler hat watching Grange Hill on a black and white TV". Actually come to think of it I have noticed that quite often, men over the age of 70 or so will wear a tie when the occasion perhaps doesn't deem it necessary by modern standards - indeed our new friend Michael was wearing one. (I blogged about this when recounting our experience in The Volunteer pub.)
Perhaps the whole concept is more akin to what the Germans call 'gemütlich'. We don't have an absolute translation for this characterful word but basically it means a feeling of warmth, contentedness and a sense of belonging - so a mood, more than something you can pin down.
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