My favorite books next to Ray's are E. Nesbit's Five Children series set in Kent.

What's so great about Kent, dandy? I pass through it every time I cross the channel, and it never struck me as anything special. Not BLOCK CAPITALS AND EXCLAMATION MARK special, anyway!

It was the way Nesbit wrote about the Kent of over 100 years ago. I've never been to England and would be almost afraid to because I'd have all these expectations of places which have been drastically altered by two world wars if they were ever the way these authors wrote in the first place.

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
It was the way Nesbit wrote about the Kent of over 100 years ago. I've never been to England and would be almost afraid to because I'd have all these expectations of places which have been drastically altered by two world wars if they were ever the way these authors wrote in the first place.

I didn't think anyone could get that excited about the mention of Kent either. I thought you were making fun of me!

The geography and infrastructure of most of rural Kent was pretty much unaffected by war, so if you went to the right places with the right eyes you may not be as disappointed as you imagine. As usual, progress has been more destructive than war!
As philnic says, while most of Kent is very pleasant, it's nothing special. I think it's more the way of life and the atmosphere that captivated you. I bet Waukegan is an ordinary, boring town to visit, but Green Town was magic! I would like to scramble down into that ravine where Ray played 75 years ago though!

Have you read the series of books by H.E. Bates set in 1950s Kent, about the Larkin family? I think you would love those, but being very English I don't know if they would be available in the States. I can give you more details, or even get them on Amazon if you are interested. Google "The Darling Buds of May".

BTW, sorry to hear this is one of the only places you are "allowed" to get excited! Do the men in white coats keep you sedated?

dandelion, rest assured that there are plenty of places in Britain that have remained unaffected by two world wars. The people have changed a bit, though. We don't wear those cloth caps and britches like we used to.

There are some remarkable museums which preserve the best of the past, too. Take a look at some of these:

http://www.bclm.co.uk/

http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/o...hill_victorian_town/

http://www.wealddown.co.uk/

http://www.avoncroft.org.uk/

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
dandelion, rest assured that there are plenty of places in Britain that have remained unaffected by two world wars. The people have changed a bit, though. We don't wear those cloth caps and britches like we used to.

Okay, but if I go would you and Alive dress up as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson just to give me a thrill?

quote:

Originally posted by Alive:

As philnic says, while most of Kent is very pleasant, it's nothing special. I think it's more the way of life and the atmosphere that captivated you. I bet Waukegan is an ordinary, boring town to visit, but Green Town was magic! I would like to scramble down into that ravine where Ray played 75 years ago though!

Ouch. This is getting terribly close to the bone as I think about it about 95 times a day. Ray's #1 fan Donn Albright when I knew him REFUSED TO GO to Waukegan as he would be "disappointed." To my knowledge he has not changed. I was the exact opposite. I HAD to go to confirm my own impressions against what was in the stories. My dad asked me what I wanted for my college graduation present, and I chose a trip to Waukegan! I hope you don't need too much more proof of utter devotion than that. (I also put together a photo album and written narrative for Ray and received the best answer of my entire life.)

I found two things Ray did not exaggerate were the lake and the ravine. The houses were a big disappointment. The stained glass panes are there, but even if much changed he must have used a fair amount of artistic license. Some things, such as the majestic old courthouse, have fallen to the ravages of time. I got to see a picture of how splendid it was when I visited the modern building.

Besides Ray's work, other great examples are Thornton Wilder's play Our Town which says so much with so little, and Garrison Keillor's marvelous monologues on Lake Wobegon on A Prairie Home Companion where he raises ramblings of twenty minutes on insignificant incidents in the humdrum lives of the residents of a godforsaken midwestern town into high art. He has a gift akin to that of Mark Twain. So what I think about 95 times a day is how I could/should be able to render a fictional version of my own town so beautiful, and make the characters so interesting, that people would really want to see the town and meet these people. I'm afraid I have so beat up on myself over the years for failing to do this it has literally distorted my perceptions.

Another interesting example is Look Homeward, Angel in which Thomas Wolfe manages to render Asheville, North Carolina, a fascinating community of genuine beauty, into almost a trash heap, yet there is a beauty in the character's desolate perceptions which made me need to see it. Can't help wondering how Ray would have rendered it, though!

quote:

Originally posted by Alive:Have you read the series of books by H.E. Bates set in 1950s Kent, about the Larkin family? I think you would love those, but being very English I don't know if they would be available in the States. I can give you more details, or even get them on Amazon if you are interested. Google "The Darling Buds of May".

BTW, sorry to hear this is one of the only places you are "allowed" to get excited! Do the men in white coats keep you sedated?

No, I have not read those books but they sound like just my cup of tea. I wish they were available on audiobook. As for being allowed to get excited, I came on here to post a rant about how I have been kept down as part of a rave on Ray, then didn't have the heart to do it, but now that you ask, I will, thanks.

Here, knock yourself out: https://raybradburyboard.com/ev...607021906#6607021906

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dandelion,

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Okay, but if I go would you and Alive dress up as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson just to give me a thrill?

I don't look good in a deerstalker*, so I'll take the Nigel Bruce part.



*I know the REAL** Holmes never wore a deerstalker, but if you go to a fancy dress party as Sherlock Holmes without wearing a deerstalker, nobody would know who you were meant to be.



**I know he wasn't real.

I quite enjoyed Ironbridge.

Beddgelert is one of my favourites:

http://www.beddgelerttourism.com/

Ironbridge isn't far from Philnic territory!

I think I passed through Beddgelert once, probably on the way to the sandy beaches of the Welsh coast.

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Ray's #1 fan Donn Albright when I knew him REFUSED TO GO to Waukegan as he would be "disappointed." To my knowledge he has not changed.

I understand, but only to a degree. I had to go, and it's interesting that I went whilst en route (at Donn's invitation) to visit him and his marvellous collection at his home archives!

It was quite a week, and in more ways than just that.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:

I don't look good in a deerstalker*, so I'll take the Nigel Bruce part.



*I know the REAL** Holmes never wore a deerstalker, but if you go to a fancy dress party as Sherlock Holmes without wearing a deerstalker, nobody would know who you were meant to be.



**I know he wasn't real.

He did wear the deerstalker and cape, but only on trips to the country. He'd have gotten stares for that in town.

He's as real as you want him to be, but Jeremy Brett is the only REAL Holmes. There are good fakes, such as Basil Rathbone, and deplorable fakes such as Robert Downey Jr. I will accept a reasonably well-done fake.

Let me know if your travels ever take you to Basingstoke.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dandelion,

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:
I understand, but only to a degree. I had to go, and it's interesting that I went whilst en route (at Donn's invitation) to visit him and his marvellous collection at his home archives!

It was quite a week, and in more ways than just that.

Oh, geez, you did the same thing as me! Donn invited me out to see the collection,* drove me to his favorite bookstore, was a perfect gentleman, but said it would take him a week to recover! The contrast in personality between him and Ray is so comical they could be a team--which I guess they are. (I don't mean to give the wrong impression here. See my thread about people, even fans of the same thing, being put off by my enthusiasm. Before this forum existed I almost never got to talk to a real Bradbury fan let alone the fan, and Donn although a good talker and storyteller can burn out with talking a lot, so yes I did get in some trouble there without realizing I did anything wrong.)

*I was the first person to ever photograph the collection but I think only Donn, Ray, and I have the prints.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Okay, but if I go would you and Alive dress up as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson just to give me a thrill?

I don't look good in a deerstalker*, so I'll take the Nigel Bruce part.

I'm game if you are!
But that makes me Basil Rathbone. Hmmm. Are you sure George Clooney has never played Holmes?

quote:

Originally posted by Alive:

I'm game if you are!
But that makes me Basil Rathbone. Hmmm. Are you sure George Clooney has never played Holmes?

The game's afoot, and as I said, Jeremy Brett is the REAL Holmes and Edward Hardwicke is the REAL Watson, even above David Burke. Both of them ran circles around Nigel Bruce. Look at the book and see who fits the description of someone just discharged from military action.

P. S. An astounding number of actors have played Holmes.