Date: Wed, 6 Jul 1994 12:51:47 +0000 To:Virtual Tars From:peter@physics.otago.ac.nz (Peter Dowden) Subject:Signalling to Mars 4: AGM, _SW_ Cc:Donald,TAR?Deb,John 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 other person or group [but 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 4 - JULY 1994 Featuring 1994 Tars AGM Return to Secret Water - Ebbing of youth - Mud on paper ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THREE MILLION CHEERS Your clerk of signals now has a boat: my first, a Sunburst-class daggerboard sailing dinghy. More about this next issue. Here is the first of a few AGM-related reports, some more from a couple of other Virtual Tars will follow. There is also a note [by me] on Secret Water and the joys of following Ransome by map, for those of us unable to follow Hamish's example of exploring the real places. Our readership continues to soar:-) ...this one also goes out to another couple of "prospects"...Hello, hope you stay with us. Drool, Peter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TARS 1994 AGM Dave Thewlis <71210.76@compuserve.com The AGM Ambleside was a lot of fun. all around. Friday afternoon I got to sail in Amazon, which was a particular thrill. It was more of a thrill that it might have been: there was no wind at all at 4:00 p.m. at the Steamboat Museum, and Micky Tuson, who was taking people out, suggested that we simply take the sail down and at least row about a bit (because we weren't going anywhere under sail). But Susan, my wife, suggested that we leave the sail up at least long enough for her to get a picture or two. And sure enough, helped by a bit of whistling, enough breeze did come along to enable us to sail, and so we did. We haven't gotten our photographs back from processing yet, and I'll be interested to see if Susan managed to avoid "sailboat syndrome", a sort of variation of Murphy's Law which says that when taking a picture of somebody in a sailboat, the somebody will always be on the other side of the sail. Saturday was a general opening, and then a walk down to the site of the North Pole, where Jim Andrews demonstrated archaelogical dowsing. He had several sets of rods and anybody who wanted was able to try. During the expedition it started to rain, so that afternoon Susan and I left the meeting and went off to buy me a reasonable raincoat (I hadn't brought one). I did get one, and it acted as a proper specific, because there wasn't any rain the rest of the weekend. The events and talks that I attended were a lot of fun, as was the excursion to the sites of the Dog's Home and Octopus Lagoon on Monday. We didn't make the rendezvous on Kanchenjunga for the unveiling of the TARS plaque, but plan to go visit it next time we're in the Lake District. (They did have pictures of the plaque, and the expedition which placed it, at the AGM.) Strangely enough, although there were supposed to be about 8 or 9 Americans at the AGM, the only one I talked to at any length was Doug Faunt (from Oakland, and also an e-TARS). I know there were other TARSUS at the event and (I think) even shared a very long table with two others (who were at the other end, so we smiled at one another but never met). I feel vaguely guilty about not making more of a point of meeting the other Americans; on the other hand, I went to meet TARS in general, and especially make British friends, so I don't feel too guilty. Susan (my wife), who is not a Ransome fan (I suspect you need to start on them when young, unless you have a prediliction for children's books) was a bit concerned that the TARS folk wouldn't be interested in talking about anything but Ransome, but in the event, more or less the reverse happened, and we talked about everything under the sun except Ransome, mostly. There was one ludicrous occurrence, though. We were at lunch the second day, and Susan and I were sitting with a fellow named Ian, who is a schoolteacher in Windermere. She and he were talking away at about 40 knots about American television westerns, about which I know little or nothing, so I was simply sitting there listening. At which point an unknown TARS member sat down and entered their conversation. Now, _he_ assumed that they were speaking about the Ransome books, and _they_ had reached the point in a conversation where nouns had largely been replaced by pronouns anyhow, and the topic sounded vaguely familiar. So he joined right in, commenting on what they were saying. This lasted for about three minutes and it was all I could do not to collapse laughing. Sorta like the argument between the mathematician and the chemist on absolute zero. I _think_ he thought they were talking about a pirate sequence, or mistook the broad plains for the broad seas, but was never sure! After some three or four minutes he fell silent with a bemused expression, and in a minute or two more, got up and "slowly walked away" like the pig. Personally, I had a wonderful time, and came away with various S&A and TARS mementos, only one of which (a coffee mug) failed to make it back in one piece. Next year, the the AGM will be in Chichester, and I am busily trying to figure out how and if I can make it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RETURN TO SECRET WATER peter@physics.otago.ac.nz (Peter Dowden) This is the last book in my Great 1993-1994 S&A Re-reading, it feels good to be back! _SW_ brings the Swallows back to their good old ways, camping and exploring. Bridget really flowers in this one, making this Ransome's funniest book. Christina Hardyment writing in _Captain Flint's Trunk_ said how it seems the Swallows and Amazons are starting to grow up. To me, it's as if the story represents one last flurry of childhood before the ernest grownupness of _P&M_ or _GN_ really sets in. _S&A_ started with "Roger, aged seven, and no longer the youngest..." and now it's Bridget who's "no longer the youngest" as Sinbad takes over. Even Commander Walker is promoted, to Captain, then curiously back to Commander again [this could explain the letter and urgent trips to London]. There is a hint of almost-George-Owdenish mockery, a dismantling of the S&A legend: the Mastadon awkwardly dismisses the unintentionally-placed totem as "just a game" ...and Daisy's send-up of Titty's own name is positively iconoclastic! Roger could be growing into the wrong sort of youth: "Oh Shut up Roger" seems to punctuate every chapter. By _GN_ he seems to become a complete write-off, relieved only by his successes in the China Seas adventure. John's feeling of Nancy having "let him down" and the poor old Mastadon's wretched feelings of treachery both appear later in _The Big Six_, Ransome's nastiest story ever. Overall there's a feeling thet this could have been the last in the series, certainly the following books are not quite the same. Feelings of "The End" and curtains coming down at pantomimes. Mud on Paper The East Coast books are distinct for their geographical accuracy, compared to the Narniafication of the Lakes District. My _SW_ re-reading waited so long because I'd ordered a 1:25 000 scale British Ordnance Survey of the Walton Backwaters: the exactness of the setting is pretty stunning, as if AR ran around with a theodolite himself. I think the children's names here, "Flint Island, Cape Horn" are different to the romantic names in the Lakes, "High Greenland, Kanchenjunga" - they seem pretty closely related to the actual names, and (Christina H points out) to the local informal names: Peewitland = Peewit Island Flint Island = Stone Marsh Witch's Quay = Kirby Quay Straits of Magellan = The Dardanelles [!] If at first the Secret Archipelago Map looks a bit different to the real thing, this can be explained by the fact that it was hand made, and the text itself certainly matches the "real" map perfectly. I would even make a case for Sinbad's Creek, which Christina reported as fictitious. There clearly is no east-west creek here, but a north-south one is nearby, which would run to the town as the old boatman had said. I think the error can be attributed to poor mapping by Egyptians in a hurry. .... I also have a big map of the Broads and another of Harwich Harbour up to Pin Mill. Now I wonder where I could get a streetmap of Vlissingen.... If there's ever a chance, get a look at a big scale map and compare it to a "Broads" or "Pin Milll" story: you'll find the books come to life all over again. As far as the Lake books go, map readers will be disappointed: just read the books and enjoy them! --- Notice though how real names creep in very late: _P&M_ is full of real places, especially in the bit about Mary Swainson's visit to her relative. I wonder if Ransome ever had second thoughts about "improving" the Lakeland too much. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ END OF _SIGNALLING TO MARS_ ISSUE #4