Locus Focus is a meme hosted every Saturday by Enbrethiliel at Shredded Cheddar. "We all know of books that make their settings come alive, and this meme is a chance to write about them and share them with others." Visit her blog and link up!I'm a day late as I was away on a trip yesterday, but here's my Locus Focus for this week:
the 100 Acre Wood from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh.I love Winnie-the-Pooh and not only because Winnie's best friend is a pig. In Milne's stories the 100 Acre wood sounds like such a magical place. A place where anything can happen.
I'd love to visit 100 Acre Wood and have a picnic with Piglet, play a game of Pooh-sticks with Pooh, hear Owl spouting dubious wisdoms, listen to Eyeore's laments, hunt woozles or just take a nice stroll through the beautiful forest.
It seems the last part of my wish could become true as 100 Acre Wood was based on Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England. "The forest is a large area of tranquil open heathland on the highest sandy ridges of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty situated 30 miles (50 km) south of London."
The landscapes depicted in E.H. Shepard’s illustrations for the Winnie-the-Pooh books are directly inspired by the distinctive landscape of Ashdown Forest, with its high, open heathlands of heather, gorse, bracken and silver birch punctuated by hilltop clumps of pine trees.
Hmmm... So I might visit Ashdown Forest some day, but somehow I do not think it will be that magical place I see in my mind's eye when reading about all the adventures of Pooh and his friends.
7 comments:
Oh, hooray! I can just imagine bouncing around there, now... (I know Bats don't bounce, but seeing a Tigger they'd want to...)
+JMJ+
You mean the 100 Aker Wood, right? ;)
I confess that I didn't get into Milne's books, but I can sing the original Disney theme! It's very sweet and nostalgic, and I imagine this setting as a more innocent Neverland.
Which reminds me . . . Do you know Kenny Loggins' song Return to Pooh Corner? He wrote it for his son, who was at just the right age to appreciate Pooh, while Loggins himself had just realised how far he had wandered from the childlike world of Pooh.
It really is a magical setting, yet very homey and welcoming.
I knew of the Disney books and films as a kid and not so much the actual classics, but still I found in them that magic.
@Belfry Bat: you could flutter around
@Enbrethiliel : I don't know that song, but wil certainly look it up. I myself still haven't left that world and probably never will.
And I love the original Pooh books. The disney version is fun too, but those original drawings and stories have an extra special feel for me, but that may be because I read them before seeing the disney version.
"Hallo, Pooh", said Piglet.
"Hallo, Piglet. This is Tigger."
"Oh, is it?" said Piglet, and he edged round to the other side of the table. "I thought Tiggers were smaller than that."
"Not the big ones," said Tigger.
oh! such a lovely choice! I wish I had some more time to follow this meme.
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