In reply to maisie:
> But the sense of adventure in just being in out-of-the-way places has been eroded by the ease in which we can now get there, and the ubiquity of the internet, coca-cola and tarmac. The world was bigger and more mysterious in the immediate post-war years.
That's the cliche, but I'm not sure it's true. Just because we can fly around the world in a day or so doesn't make certain places inaccessible. You can't walk into a Haitian slum, northern Syria or a biker bar quite that easily, and whilst you might argue this is a different sort of inaccessible, you'd have quite an adventure getting there (and back). And to some extent, this is how it's always been. The Victorians (or rich ones, at least) could go all over the place but the border of the Raj stopped at Peshawar for pretty much the same reasons that stop you and your butler from riding horses from the Khyber to Kabul.
This lament is rather "Midnight in Paris"
> Not so much making an argument as expressing admiration for Mr Sutherland and others of his time and ilk.
Oh yeah, all those guys were hugely impressive. But that doesn't mean people aren't being impressive nowadays.