Posted by Robert Hill on 12/08/99 from 129.11.153.35 via proxy proxy2.leeds.ac.uk:
In Reply to: Re: Update on The Walker Family Home Address posted by Iain Hobbs on December 08, 1999 at 08:36:40:
Three of the books, not two, begin with train journeys:
Coot Club, in which the D's go from London to the Broads via Norwich
and Tom Dudgeon leaps onto the train,
Pigeon Post, in which Titty and Roger are going to Windermere (not
named in the book) and Roger gets out at Oxenholme (called Strickland
Junction in the book) to let off a pigeon,
tP&tM, in which the D's make a similar jouney but let off no pigeons.
I would have thought that anyone who had deconstructed the books line
by line would have known that. I was the person who mentioned the last
journey and I was not getting confused with Coot Club. I said which
book I was referring to. Dick mentions the number of minutes he had to
wait while changing trains at Crewe.
Trains from London to Norfolk would not leave from St Pancras but from
Liverpool Street.
As David Shelton has said, there were through coaches from London to
Windermere in those days. "Portioned" trains were much commoner then.
There is no reason to be surprised unless you expect train service
patterns to remain unchanged across 70 years which have seen explosive
growth in other transport modes. In any case, AR adjusts geography,
he could adjust train timetables too.
You say "Harrogate and London are AR's usual locations to bring people
from". Are you suggesting that Harrogate is ever mentioned in the books
except in connection with the Great Aunt? If so, where?
You say "AR seems to mix his locations for where the D's and Swallows
come from." What is your evidence for this assertion in the case of
the D's?
It's true that for the Swallows there is an apparent town/country
contradiction but there are several ways of explaining that away.
I don't believe that there is firm evidence that the Walkers moved house
a lot - though in view of their father's job it wouldn't have been
surprising if they had. Though John and Susan learned to sail in
Falmouth, I don't think we know they lived there - they could have been
on holiday.
This is not to deny that there are some inconsistencies (either definite
or probable) in the books. I've pointed some out myself in the past.
I'll leave it to others to reply to the last part of your message.