IDLE CONVENTION: Suits with socks and shoes pre-attached to the trousers and self-emptying rubbish bins could be the keys to de-stressing and prolonging your life, according to a conference held in Italy at the weekend. Olivia Kelly reports.
The first National Convention of the Idle took place in the little Italian village of Champoluc, near the Swiss border, at the weekend. Instead of writing papers and delivering lectures, delegates attending were encouraged to "do nothing".
The organisers, including Italian comic actor and writer Mr Gianni Fantoni, were seeking to explore the concept of laziness and redefine idleness as a positive, rather than a negative, state.
Idleness is not a vice but a sign of intelligence, Mr Fantoni says. Idle people find clever ways of getting the same results with less effort.
Rather than signing up for yoga or painting classes, that will engender guilt when they aren't attended regularly, people should relax in the traditional way, by doing nothing.
In a world of looming deadlines and increasing pressure from work and family, making time for idleness is the elixir of long life, according to Mr Fantoni.
Delegates who were prepared to drag themselves out of their collective stupor on Sunday were transported by a sedate and comfortable cable car to the remote mountain village.
There, they were encouraged to view, if they could be bothered, an exhibition of idleness through the ages.
There was also a display of objects, old and new, that are designed to reduce effort to a minimum.
Included was the dinner suit with shoes and socks incorporated, the rubbish bin with a chute attached so that it doesn't need to be turned upside down for emptying, a mould to make snowballs without bending down or freezing your fingers and - almost a symbol of the movement - a hammock.
There was also a seminar on idleness, which the participants were promised would last less than half an hour.
This was followed by a long siesta, after which conference goers received tips on perfecting laziness and incorporating idleness into their lives.
The organisers also presented a series of 10 commandments on how to avoid effort. These include letting others always make the first move, remembering that exercise is for other people, and never, ever volunteering for anything.
It is not known if the organisers aim to bring their movement to Ireland, or if they would consider that too much effort.