Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 01:25:36 +0000 To:Virtual Tars From:peter@physics.otago.ac.nz (Peter Dowden) Subject:Signalling to Mars -#3- Cc:Donald MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMM MMM M MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMM MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MXXXXXXXMMMXXXXXXXX/.\\\XXXXXMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMM MMMMM XXXMXXMXXXXXXXMXXX/.:.\\\\XXXXXXXMMMMM MMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MM XXXXXXXXXXMXXXXXX/:__:.\\\\\XXMXXXXXXXMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM ++++++++++XXXXXX/:| |:.\\\\\\XXMXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXMMMMMMXX ++MM++++++++++++|.|__|.:|: . |XXXXXXXXXXMMXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ++++++++++++++++|:.:.::.| : |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXMXXXXXXXXXXXXX ++++++++++++++++|.:..:.:|. :| signal station +MMMMM++++ Virtual Tars ---|:.::.:.|.____ and observatory ++++ ++++ M M ++++++ ++ SIGNALLING M M M M aaaa rrr sss ++ ++ TO M M M a a rr s + + M M a a r ss + + M M a aa r s + + M M aaa a r sss + + + + an unofficial Electronic Newsletter for Members + + of The Arthur Ransome Society + + + +content is the personal opinion and the intellectual property + +of the contributors and does not reflect the opinion of TARS, + + any person or any group [well not too intellectual we hope] + + + + e-address: peter@physics.otago.ac.nz + + [more addresses at foot of message] + + NB: any mail received Will Be Publishable unless Marked + + Otherwise!! This includes senders' + + identities! [name and email address] + We're not junk emailers! IF YOU DO NOT WANT THIS NEWSLETTER please send Reply to that effect _______________________________________________________________________ ISSUE NUMBER 3 - LATE MAY 1994 Featuring More Adventures in Ransome's Lakeland Baba Yaga's House explained ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A NOTE FROM YOUR CLERK OF SIGNALS I got this from Hamish: I like S2M simply because it is interactive due to the nature of the communication medium. No waits for AGMs! I'm sure there must be a few more potential CyberMembers say in Japan and the States as well as Australasia who are on the Internet. Maybe if the paper-based publications carry some more details we'll get a few more in the group. If you find a monthly issue too much then bi-monthly would be fine by me. -- | Hamish | This leads me to wonder, why be monthly, bi-monthly or anythingly? These things are most "interactive" if they are also instant. I'll now send s2m whenever there's something to send, be it every day [gulp!] or twice a year. This is the policy of URSI NEWS, most of whose features I'm copying in making this e-newsletter. As it happens, there is something to send: another of Hamish's guided explorations of Ransome territory. I have also compiled my correspondence with Yelena Aksyenova on the subject of Baba Yaga's mysterious house, as described by Ransome in _Old Peter's Russian Tales_. Yelena teaches at a Siberian secondary school, and the students there are keen on writing to any key-pals who are interested. The address accompanies the Baba Yaga article. As Hamish points out above, in over 1200 members there must be a few more networked tars, so keep looking, and get them in touch! Drool, Peter Dowden PS This issue is dedicated to the memory of Richard Scarry, another wonderful children's writer and illustrator. Roger Walker said if Columbus had known about chocolate he'd have "fairly hogged it": I'm sure Ransome would have admired Scarry's work. , /\ ;|`); Lowly Worm '|| , || \\======' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RANSOME'S LAKELAND: YEWDALE from: hamish@gunn.demon.co.uk (Dr.H.I.E.Gunn) Peter, here is a little article on my search for AR's campsite in the Yewdale Valley. I may write to Claire Kendall-Price to see if she can throw any light on the subject. The Hunt for AR's campsite. Hamish I. E. Gunn I am particularly interested in the period of AR's life when he was in his late teens - early twenties, before his first marriage. During this time he worked in London, first as an office boy in a publishing house, later becoming self-supporting as a reviewer and magazine article author. In those days before television and radio, the reading market was large and disparate (and dare I say it, probably more discerning). It was during this time that AR travelled north to holiday in his beloved Lake District. It must have been an idyllic time, surrounded by his artistic friends and the Lake District country folk. In 1908, aged 24, AR was staying at Low Yewdale farm. This is a collection of buildings just off the main road to Coniston from Ambleside, near to the junction to Tilberthwaite. The main buildings comprise a large barn and two cottages in line and at right angles to the barn. I infer from Claire Kendall-Price's book "In The Footsteps Of The Swallows And Amazons" that the larger house, now actually two semi-detacheds, was the one in which he lived. Which of the semi-detacheds actually had his room appears not to be known. The smaller house to the north appears to have been a store later converted to a house by Beatrix Potter. [Claire Kendall- Price refers to "the middle house in the other building" without reference to which building. Also she refers to the storehouse "on the far left" without indicating which way one should be facing.] Looking east, in front of the two houses is a low-walled garden leading down to Tilberthwaite Beck. It is likely that this farm appeared in some guise in the S&A books. While he stayed here AR used to camp up the valley when the weather was hot. He had a ridge tent in the days before camping became popular. "But for good weather I had a second home, in a tent on a small mound close to Yewdale Beck a few hundred yards up the valley" Many friends used to visit him and he them. Since he enjoyed walking so much he thought nothing of travelling long distances on foot. (I must say however that I find some of the distances claimed in his autobiography a little suspect, nay ambitious). He describes how he used to walk from Low Yewdale to Ambleside, to Ulpha (visiting his mother) and to Cartmel. I had incorporated Low Yewdale into my family walk book. Visiting it, I thought I knew the mound where he had camped. There is a mound near to the farm, up the valley, however it is only about a hundred yards away and is next to a small ditch tributary of Yewdale Beck. I wasn't convinced but thought this was the likeliest spot. It had a few trees at one side, some rocks on top and there was plenty of space to pitch camp. On the cover and inside of Claire Kendall-Price's book is a picture of AR encamped near Low Yewdale. He sits on a deck-chair in front of his tent. A pail sits beside him. Behind him a few yards away are some trees. The skyline of the hills above Tarn Hows is visible. The sun shines on AR's face. From this picture I thought I had confirmation that the mound next to the farm was his campsite. After Easter, my family went to the Lake District for a week. We (I!) decided to have a walk at the north end of Coniston Water. I really wanted to check the picture against the mound. We started off from the car park at Monk Coniston (right at the top east side of Coniston Water). We walked round the top of the lake towards Coniston and turned right at the road junction, heading north. Another few hundred yards along a National Trust footpath took us to a farm and small sawmill where we turned left along a farm track. This is a delightful little walk on a sunny spring or summer morning. Eventually we came to Yewdale Beck, then to a stone bridge by Low Yewdale farm. A short diversion through the farm took us to the mound. Well, book in hand I proceeded to match the picture with the lie of the land. I came across some inconsistencies: I could not match the existing trees. The skyline did not seem at the right angle. The ground did not match. Try as I might I really could not convince myself that this was the spot, despite many attempts at various points on and near the mound. It was time for a return to the source. AR states his mound was several hundred yards up the valley next to Yewdale Beck. Now wandering up the bank of Yewdale Beck from the farm for several hundred yards does not lead one to a mound of any description, certainly no trees. In fact the field adjacent to the beck is bowling green flat! Given this, I formed the hypothesis that in the time since AR camped here, the trees had been cut down and the mound levelled. So unless more evidence arises I'll never know where AR's campsite was. Somewhat disappointed, we continued on our walk. We returned to the bridge and followed the right bank of Yewdale Beck going upstream. On quickly coming to a wood we followed a path (mentioned in "ITFOTS&A") up through the wood to Tarn Hows Cottage. Then we followed the road uphill to Tarn Hows where we took a leisurely tour round this anticlockwise, stopping for a picnic lunch. Just past the outflow a path led us down through fields to the main Coniston road where we gingerly made our way to High Yewdale farm then across more fields back to Low Yewdale farm. From there we retraced our steps to the car park. We drowned our sorrows at the Drunken Duck imagining what it was like when AR was here in 1908: "on a general walk over to Ambleside ... we had stopped for bread and cheese and beer by the Drunken Duck at Barngates" -- | Hamish | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BABA YAGA AND THE HOUSE ON CHICKEN LEGS an electronic discussion between Yelena G. Aksyenova and Peter Dowden Peter's address: peter@physics.otago.ac.nz Yelena's adderss: English Club