Posted by PeterH on May 24, 2006 at 13:03:12 from 86.130.130.110 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: Frank's Horse and Copyright posted by Jock on May 24, 2006 at 01:53:59:
for some reason that I can't put my hand on I have always assumed that the carriage belonged to Beckfoot and only the horse and driver were borrowed or hired
I have always assumed - oh haven't we all - one of the perils of ultra-textual speculation... The text is there - we really must all consult it. Nancy and Peggy on horseback is a nice idea, but it ain't there. BTW I bought a near complete set of the Puffin paperback Ransomes in an Edinburgh Charity shop last week - the ones with the coloured-in AR drawings on the cover.
Where was I? Ah yes - the carriage could have been kept at Beckfoot, but this would surely have been uneconomic and a literal 'waste of space'. The horse would still have to be fetched and returned afterwards, and if the horse why not the carriage also? It would make no difference to the driver's time. As has been pointed out, a carriage can't just be parked and neglected - it needs maintenance - brakes checking, harness and tack oiling and polishing etc. And horses get used to the vehicles they draw.
Incidentally, and ironically, it is probably as easy now to hire a horse-drawn carriage in the UK as it was in 1930. Many firms offer this service - for weddings.