Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by pete9012S »

Image

Can anyone spot the error Eileen Soper has made here?
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Courtenay »

Two taps on the bath when we were told there was only one ("and that was for cold water")... :P (It's OK, Pete, I'm sure Betty Maxey would never have made such a glaring error. :wink: )
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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by pete9012S »

This line is still contained in my Knight paperback 11th impression 1977 Betty Maxey external & internals.Don't know if it has survived into newer editions.
Yan screamed the place down as Mrs Penruthlan
scrubbed him and soaped him and flannelled him. He hit out at her, but she gave him one sound spank on his small behind, and he stopped very suddenly. He felt very much at her mercy, and decided not to annoy her in any way while he was in that dreadful bath!
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Courtenay »

Probably not, Pete. I gather the term "furriners" hasn't survived in newer editions either. :(
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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by pete9012S »

Image--Image

I wonder when the 'furriner' passage was removed? It's still in my 1977 book above and also the 1985 annual I have just received?

The four children found the general store and went in. ‘Any ice-cream?’ said Julian hopefully. But there was none. What a blow! There was orangeade and lemonade, however, quite cool through being kept down in the cellar of the store.

‘You be the folks that old Mrs Penruthlan be having in?’ said the village shopkeeper. ‘She do be expecting of you. Furriners, bain’t you?’
‘Well, not exactly,’ said Julian, remembering that to many Cornish folk anyone was a foreigner who did not belong to Cornwall. ‘My mother had a great-aunt who lived in Cornwall all her life. So we’re not exactly “furriners”, are we?’

‘You’re furriners all right,’ said the bent little shopkeeper, looking at Julian with bird-like eyes. ‘Your talk is furrin-like, too.
Image
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Courtenay »

Not sure, Pete — I just seem to recall another discussion where we confirmed it's since been bowdlerised to "foreigners". Of course, if the shop lady in question had been a proper Cornishwoman, she would more likely have called them "emmets"... :P But this is all off the fascinating topic of drinking water, so I'll desist!
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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Rob Houghton »

By the 'Centenary Edition' (I have a full set of hardbacks - the most modern versions I have!) the passage has indeed been changed. A few other words have altered too - and all the 'colour' and flavour has been removed, sadly, making it just normal speech.

"Are you the folks that old Mrs Penruthlan is having in?" said the village shopkeeper, "She's expecting you. Foreigners, aren't you?"

‘Well, not exactly,’ said Julian, remembering that to many Cornish folk anyone was a foreigner who did not belong to Cornwall. ‘My mother had a great-aunt who lived in Cornwall all her life. So we’re not exactly “foreigners”, are we?’

‘You’re foreigners all right,’ said the bent little shopkeeper, looking at Julian with bird-like eyes. ‘Your talk is foreign-like, too

'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Courtenay »

Hmmm, but was the "Centenary Edition" the one where they basically rewrote just about everything throughout all the FF books until they no longer sounded like Enid at all — and then, a few years later, they reverted to the "classic" (though still somewhat edited) text? I can't quite remember which edition the complete rewrite was in. I would suspect, though, that even the "classic" version now has "foreigners". Actually, I'm surprised they dared to leave in such a negative and degrading stereotype of Cornish people at all... :mrgreen: :wink:
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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Rob Houghton »

the Centenary Edition (1997) is, as far as I know, the text they have now gone back to. Its almost the same as the 1970's version, except for small changes (like the 'foreigners' thing, etc.) I think this is what they're now calling the 'classic' version.

The version which was changed beyond recognition was the 2010 version, which has now been abandoned altogether. :D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Courtenay »

Thanks, Rob — that clears that up, then. I'm sorry they felt the need to not only change "furriners" to "foreigners", but clean up the shopkeeper's speech completely. It does take all the character out of it.
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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I agree that it's a real shame to lose quaint turns of phrase like "You be the folks", "She do be expecting of you"
and "Furriners, bain't you?" They may be non-standard but they're pretty easy to understand from the context and they convey the era, location and character much better than the more formal version.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by pete9012S »

The four children found the general store and went in. ‘Any ice-cream?’ said Julian hopefully. But there was none. What a blow!
And to make matters worse (if possible) the 'shop' didn't even sell ice cream!
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Rob Houghton »

Its annoying when modern publishers remove the colour and flavour from Enid's dialogue. She was depicting the sorts of people who once populated the more rural area of Britain in times gone past. Modern publishers remove all this atmospheric dialogue, then critics accuse Enid's work as being bland and colourless! :evil:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by pete9012S »

Image..Image

15.Secret Trail.

George goes camping with Tim in the rough (ruff) near Kirrin.
Thankfully there is a water source nearby - but will they boil this water before drinking it?
‘Let’s go,’ said George, scrambling up. ‘I’ve got a lovely camping-place, Anne. You’ll like it.It’s near a little spring too, so there’s plenty of water for Timmy to drink - and us too. Did you bring any more food? I didn’t really bring much.’
So Timmy can drink the water straight out of the stream - what about George and Anne? Are they taking precautions?
Chapter Four
THAT NIGHT
It was now tea-time, according to Anne’s watch and also according to everyone’s feelings, including Timmy’s. Timmy felt the heat very much and was always wandering off to the little spring to lap the crystal-cold water.
Anne wished that she and George had a big jug that they could fill - it was such a nuisance to have to keep running to and fro with just a mug.
They had tea - biscuits, a sandwich each, and a bar of rather soft chocolate. George examined Timmy’s ear for the hundredth time that day, and pronounced it very much better.
Nope,straight from The Peckham Stream,sorry Kirrin from mug to mouth!

Image

Mind you,according to the following exchange the water by George & Anne's camp does seem rather good!
‘Are you coming here again?’ demanded George.
‘If I want to,’ said the boy. ‘The water in this spring is better than the one over by my camp.’
‘Then we shall come and explore your camp,’ said George, firmly. ‘If you don’t keep your promise, we shan’t keep ours.’
I know what you're thinking,Anne's mother was so adamant in their fifth story that they must boil all drinking water that surely they followed her advice even just now and again...
Mrs Kirrin's Warning:

"Remember to boil every drop of water you drink," said the children's mother. "That's very important. Get as much milk from the farms as they will let you have. And remember that there is plenty of ginger-beer in the locker under the second caravan."
Anne - how could you forget that?!
Anne didn’t quite know why she awoke. At first she had no idea where she was, and she lay gazing up at the stars in astonishment, thinking she must still be asleep.
She suddenly felt very thirsty. She groped about in the nearby tent for the mug, couldn’t find it and gave it up.

‘I’ll drink from my cupped hands,’ she thought, and set off for the little spring. Timmy wondered whether to follow her. No - he would stay with George. She wouldn’t like it if she awoke and found him gone with Anne. So he settled his head down on his paws again and slept, leaving one ear open for Anne.

Anne found the little spring. Its tinkling gurgling sound guided her as soon as she heard it. She sat down on one of the stones nearby, and held out her cupped hands. How very cold the water was - and how delicious to drink on this hot night! She sipped thirstily, slopping some of the water down her front.
Hmm downright rebellion from even the normally obedient Anne..

Then the boys arrive and all hell breaks loose in regard to water boiling conscientiousness:
Timmy came up to see if he could get any tit-bits. Julian waved him away. ‘You smell of too-strong meat, Timmy,’ he said. ‘Go and get a drink. By the way, is there anything to drink here, George?’

‘Oh yes,’ said George. ‘A lovely spring. Not far off, either. Let’s take the remains of our meal there, and the mug. We’ve only got one unfortunately, so it’s no good getting water unless we all sit by the spring and take turns at the mug. Come on!’

The boys thought that the spring was a really splendid one. They grouped themselves around it and took turns at filling the mug and drinking from it.
Hard to believe isn't it? Their attitude to drinking water from outdoor streams and rivers influenced me until a walking magazine warned about the dangers of drinking water from these locations..

Wild camping and drinking water
https://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/for ... hp?t=16940" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you're a bit undecided on the subject,be sure to scroll down and read the comment posted by kierandokane

Anyway,let's get back to the Famous Five in their fifteenth adventure.Have they drunk their fill from The Kirrin Spring yet? Have they heck:
They changed back into ordinary clothes and then had tea - fruit cake, shortbread biscuits, and tinned pineapple on bread. They kept the juice and diluted it with cold spring water - it was simply delicious.
‘Now let’s explore the cottage,’ said Dick.
As Starship sang 'Nothin's Gonna Stop Me Now' and that could well also describe The Famous Five's approach to drinking untreated,unboiled outdoor water.

They even find a way of drinking more of the untreated stuff from just one puny mug:

Nobody felt terribly hungry. They made a cosy corner in the cottage and had a slice of cake and a biscuit each, with a drink of pineapple juice and spring-water. George had had the bright idea of filling the big empty pineapple tin, and they each filled a mug from it in turn, and drank.

They certainly build up a thirst in this adventure. It's not too long before we read:
‘Anyone want a drink?’ said George. ‘I’ll go and fetch some water from the spring. Where’s the pineapple tin?’
Anne passed it to her. George got up and took the little rabbit-path that led to the spring.

Not the Five's water boiling finest hour,but hey they are in the middle of an adventure and can't afford to waste precious time on boiling water to kill off harmful bacteria and parasites!
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Re: Famous Five's & Others' Drinking Water

Post by Rob Houghton »

Lol! I love these posts, Pete! great commentary! :lol:

The covers of 'Trail' are interesting. I think betty Maxey does a splendid job of making the story look exciting, while Soper just has a few kids running here and there with a bag. Maxey wins hands down! Its not one of my favourite Fives stories, but the Maxey cover would make me want to read it!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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