Posted by John Nichols on March 16, 2006 at 21:47:02 from 70.191.149.99 user Mcneacail.
In Reply to: How was it all paid for? posted by Jim Hadfield on March 16, 2006 at 20:43:16:
I think on the point of wages for servants one needs to be careful. The relevant ratio is the average annual salary of the two classes we are talking about in the analysis. There is also the issue of social security or the pension, making the world slightly less desparate for the poor than it would have been in the 1910's to 1920's. As my lawyer brother once said, "My reason for working is fear of poverty."
Also the houses today are more resiliant and less in need of daily maintence. We do not have to light fires, chop wood, or grow vegetables etc. We have also raised people expectations, after all isn't Starbucks success predicated on the illusion that you are enjoying a forbidden rich person's fruit. I mean 5 bucks for a cup of coffee, I can buy 12 cans of pop for that price and I can tell you which one is harder to make.
Also there will come a day when some-one creates a model of the AR world in a computer. Children can play in a cube and see this world and even play along. Imagination is not just words - but also deeds. If I had the energy I would give it a go.
Finally AR did not invent that much, he re-arranged but in the end I do not think he created anything that does not exist. Statistically speaking, at the 5% level, it is likely that Beckfoot in one form or anothe exists. That we have not found Beckfoot is interesting but merely an unsolved riddle.
I will not stop you drinking pale ale, if I am allowed to drink my Guiness is my way of looking at different things that interest different people. I mean my brother thought I was an idiot for adopting Catriona and building the Mary Anne. Jock I am sure your opinion on both things is different to David's unless I have severely misjudged you.
The central theme of these whole books is water, without fresh water the stories would not exist in any form. Try setting these stories in Tennant Creek.
Or more cynically they are about two Mothers having abreak from their children. In the S's case Susan is the surrogate mother to the group and the Amazon's are just old enough to look after themselves.
Bob Blackett was killed off so that the real father of whoever was the model for the B's would not be in the story - maybe he would have sued.
AR created his world from a real world. It shows. We can live in the fantasy but still think about the reality. - Go and look at the Lakeland Cam pictures for today and the snow. Pure WH.
JMN