Fair?

We were at a lecture the other night, the Horse Doctor and I. In some vain attempt to improve our meagre collective intelligence, we sometimes attend these things, organised by the Stapledon Society. Actually, the Horse Doctor was president of the society a couple of years ago, so going to the lectures is kind of compulsory for her. But sometimes I tag along.

The other night's talk was about Constructed Wetlands as a means for pollution control - fascinating I'm sure you'll agree. But I'm not going to bore you with all that nonsense here.

No, the real reason for this post is a casual remark tossed off by an acquaintance of the Horse Doctor as we all stood around chatting after the lecture. He said:

Aberystwyth is a refuge for the unambitious man.

Now is that fair? At first I wanted to argue with him. By inference he was calling me timid, goading me with my own inadequacy. His taunt cut to the very heart of my existence out here in the hinterland. I couldn't be expected to let it go unchallenged.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised he had a point.

So I just kept my mouth shut.