The Gran Tour

Travels with My Elders

By: Ben Aitken

Narrated by: Ben Aitken

When Ben Aitken learnt that his gran had enjoyed a four-night holiday including four three-course dinners, four cooked breakfasts, four games of bingo, a pair of excursions, 16 pints of lager and luxury return coach travel, all for a hundred pounds, he thought, that's the life, and signed himself up. Six times over.

Good value aside, what Ben was really after was the company of his elders - those with more chapters under their belt, with the wisdom granted by experience, the candour gifted by time, and the hard-earned ability to live each day like it's nearly their last. A series of coach holidays ensued - from Scarborough to St Ives, Killarney to Lake Como - during which Ben attempts to shake off his 30-something blues by getting old as soon as possible.

©2020 Ben Aitken (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd

Finally!

A book that shows the elderly for what they are: the same as younger people, but with way more experiences both to have learned from and to share. One minute I'm listening to an incredibly touching and insightful summation of what young Ben has gained from his new friends and the next I'm laughing out loud at their antics.

Aitkin's book reminds us that the lack of contact between young and old in our culture is a loss for both. I shall be off my phone more and looking for some bus tours should this pandemic ever end.

Sweet story

I enjoyed this listen, certainly worth the price (an Audible freebie). As a person in my 70s, it was refreshing to hear someone who saw what to appreciate in older people. I visited some of the same places, though never on a coach tour, and as long as I am able, I prefer to travel independently. But it was fun to hear him tell of LLandudno, the Great Orme (I did ride the tramway up and hike down), ferry from Holyhead to Dublin (I did all those this past summer), and other places he traveled to where I’ve been, and many that I haven’t, but sound like great ideas. I enjoy traveling, so it was fun for that reason, too. I saw that some reviewers were quite pleased with the narration and others quite displeased. I fall somewhere in between. For the dry wit, which I loved, the rather dry deadpan tone worked well, but it was too monotonous in its entirety. Also, at least one reviewer mentioned specifically the th-fronting (substituting the th with f’s or v’s), and I know these days it is considered a “dialect” and not incorrect speech, but, frankly, I found it distracting, and here and there even confusing. Maybe it makes me old and stodgy, but I grew up in a home where my father was an immigrant at the age of 9 (to New York) and was glad, in retrospect, that he had a tough teacher who made sure he got rid of any accent. So, I know, it is considered a native UK dialect, but why make more homonyms in English than there already are? I could see using that “dialect” when playing the part of a particular character, but not the whole way through. He was not consistent, either. There were words that sometimes he did get the th and sometimes didn’t, so I know he can do it, so why not? I’m with ‘Enry ‘Iggins on this matter.

Lovely

Very sweet and enjoyable. Also, very much liked Aitken narrating which added an extra level of sincerity.