Posted by Ed Kiser on July 27, 2011 at 18:01:02 user Kisered.
PP CH1
"There's the lake!" Titty and Roger cried together.
PM CH2
Dot and Dick were on the train when Dot said:
"...Dick! There's the lake! We're nearly there."
In SD, there was that sad feeling that because of the
accident with SWALLOW, they would be turning their
backs to the lake and having to make do somewhere on
the mainland.
SD CH36 (the last lines in the book, having returned to
WCI) "Pouf!" said Susan, raking the sticks together in
the fireplace. "Isn't it a blessing to get home?"
There was that excitement of BEING THERE, at the lake,
and even more so, at Wild Cat Island.
In SA, it was all so new, that the nostalgia was not
there at the start, but as it went on, they felt they
would have to be coming back to WCI every year.
In WH, where the point of view was essentially as the
D's saw it, the lake and its island were all new to
them, but they sensed the attraction that Spitzbergen
(WCI) had for the others, as they picked up the pace
and were more urgent about hurrying to get there, as if
drawn by the magnet of those previous adventures that
the D's did not really know about.
The affection these characters felt about the place at
the "Lake" were well established, but really never felt
in the same degree about Secret Water or Pin Mill.
So it was very fullfilling for me to suddenly
experience a "Ransome Moment" that reflected this
thrill of "being there at the lake." It all happened on
Lake Windermere at the Low Wood Hotel. There is a
marina just down across the lawn from that hotel with
its assortment of small craft, yachts, sailing boats,
Next to that marina was a set of jetties to help with
loading and unloading passengers to/from the small
craft. There were a few kayak single occupant light
craft powered by the double ended paddles flashing like
windmills as the glided across the light ripples of the
lake. Then as I watched, down from the Watersports
Centre came two young girls, one about 12, the other
around 10, to step into the very edge of the lake there
beside the landing hard, with their bare feet actually
in the water. The older one then bent over and dipped
one hand into the lake, swished it about a bit, then
came up with it and showed her wet hand to the smaller
girl who then also bent over and dipped her hand into
the Lake, as if it was some ceremony marking the
realization that "We are really here, at the Lake."
They then turned and ran back up towards the hotel.
No, they were not wearing red knitted caps, but I
dearly wished they had been.
It was a very special moment for them, but an even more
special moment for me.
Where was I? Sad to say, I was not physically there,
but I was watching from my home in Kentucky, viewing
all this from the "Lake District WebCam" at:
http://www.elh.co.uk/watersports/web_cam.aspx
Those two girls gave me a reminder of the magic in that
place, and in the place that Ransome created from words
for us all, a place that is so real and dear to our
hearts, with youthful people full of the zest of it all
to share with each of us as we again dive into those
marvelous tales of now, so long ago.
It was indeed a "blessing to get home."
Ed Kiser, Kentucky