Posted by Tim Johns on September 26, 1996 at 10:28:49:
In Reply to: Re: Re: stop knocking Susan, landlubbers! posted by Kathryn Lawrence on September 26, 1996 at 01:51:27:
In reply to KL: no, I never learned to sail a dinghy. Nor, as it
happens, did I learn to skate (WH) or keep homing pigeons, dowse for
water, or smelt copper pyrites (all in PP). On the other hand, I soon
discovered when I first read the series 50 years ago that I had
certain skills that the Swallows and Amazons apparently lacked, such as
the ability to set up proper latrine arrangements when camping.
I realised also that if I found I could do only badly what they did with
such casual competence the books might lose some of their magic (I never
felt quite the same again about the Hull and Whitlock series
after discovering at a local riding school that I disliked ponies as
much as they seemed to dislike me). Are there other TARS who were
happy to let the S's A's and D's do the sailing for them, while they
developed open-air interests of their own (in my case, cycling,
walking and solo camping)?