Posted by Ed Kiser on February 09, 2017 at 08:40:04 user Kisered.
In Reply to: Re: Britain's Lost Waterlands posted by John Nichols on February 09, 2017 at 05:02:40:
John - Ed here, enjoying a big glass of tea - Very Cold with ICE made by freezing the tea itself, so the melting does not dilute the drink. It has a twist of lemon to spark the flavor, but I dare not foul the drink with any thought of adding "milk" as that would not be my cup of tea.
In job assignment overseas that took me to London (the IBM offices there) I noticed the drink dispenser in those offices offered only one thing, tea, and the milk came with it with no option to the contrary. I once spoke to one of the IBM gentlemen working there about the tea and asked him why is there milk in this tea, wo which he responded, "To drink tea, without milk, would be terribly uncivilized." Well, that explains that...
It reminded me that in our beloved Ransome stories, it is of primary importance that a local source of milk be found so they could have their tea. Sometimes the tea would be used in their cereal "Force" but mostly it was for the tea. There were a few exceptional moments when for some reason they had to take the tea without the milk, but they seemed to brave through with no loss of life resulting.
Observing this custom was just one of the many rewards of reading Ransome's so very realistic stories. As a reader, I felt I was a part of the party; I was there with them. The language was a bit different, but then that was just part of the adventure, exploring those tid bits of differences in vocabulary and in the spelling.
Some words needed help from the Tarboard members to understand, and I am grateful for their explanations. I never would have understood what "MIDDEN" was without someone's definition. That word was used in describing the GA, as: "Girt auld hen 'at wants to be cock o' t' midden." (PM CH6) There were dialect words, like "YIN" (Jacky talk) meaning "one."
It was a fascinating education I got from those books, and not just how to sail. There are many that can say they learned to sail just from reading these books, and I am glad to among them. Building a campfire, hanging a pot over it, signalling, Never tried guddling for fish, but an interesting idea that is. Tried to use a devining rod but nothing happened. Sigh... At least I tried.
With my daughter living next door, I get to enjoy a "Ransome Moment" when I see a light in a bedroom window, flashing Morse, to which I immediately respond. Oh, there is the cell phone of course, but somehow Morse made it very special. It brings back that magical moment when Nancy happened to see, far away at the northern end of the lake, the flashing of the letters, "NP" and she understood. Now that was communication. When I read that moment, I feel like cheering with both arms raised high, as if celebrating the making of a Touchdown (American Football.) But then, that is what Reading these Stories does; it makes me want to cheer - and give thanks for giving me such delights.
I need to pour more tea into the ice tray to prepare more cubes. This glass here just finished that last lot.
So, to my fellow Ransome world adventurers, I lift my glass and say,
"CHEERS"
Ed Kiser, Kentucky USA [ kisered@aol.com ]
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