Cricket Term chapters 7-9
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trennelsHaving said there was a lot in the last three, I think there's almost more in these!
Chapter Seven – Dolphins and Nemesis
Ginty-and-Monica sitting on the grass in ‘the fag-end of an evening’, discussing poetry and music. Ginty’s love of A Shropshire Lad and Monica’s of Vaughan Williams – who of course set some of the former. Ginty as chameleon as ever, agreeing that one really ought to spend some time helping in refugee camps and only afterwards wondering how she would fit it in with Patrick and Oxford and show jumping. Before we hear anything about Lawrie, the other news of the Play is good, however much Ginty wishes otherwise – and cannot stop herself asking. Isa’s suggestion that Ginty would be better, with Lawrie unable to flame amazement – which at least makes Ginty able to pull off her diving somersault.
Patrick’s letter also makes this a good day, being ‘satisfactorily private’ – though I find it hard to imagine Patrick writing good love letters, as himself anyway. Possibly it was from Rupert. And then the great news that she and Monica are in the swimming team, and certainly the first reference to periods I remember coming across in a children’s book, when they work out that they won’t ‘be cursed’ on 30th June. Prancing about ‘absurdly happy, happily absurd’ – it’s one of the most attractive moments Ginty has in the whole series, I think. And when Latimer compliments her, accepting it with ‘grace and charm’ – and astonishment, because Latimer so clearly prefers Karen. (At this point I wonder what Latimer made of the news about Karen’s marriage; we have no insight into this until the end of the book when she has had plenty of time to absorb the news.)
Lois has managed to make the end of the ban on using cricket pitches as obscure as possible, but Nicola is never going to be caught on that.
Chapter Seven – Dolphins and Nemesis
Ginty-and-Monica sitting on the grass in ‘the fag-end of an evening’, discussing poetry and music. Ginty’s love of A Shropshire Lad and Monica’s of Vaughan Williams – who of course set some of the former. Ginty as chameleon as ever, agreeing that one really ought to spend some time helping in refugee camps and only afterwards wondering how she would fit it in with Patrick and Oxford and show jumping. Before we hear anything about Lawrie, the other news of the Play is good, however much Ginty wishes otherwise – and cannot stop herself asking. Isa’s suggestion that Ginty would be better, with Lawrie unable to flame amazement – which at least makes Ginty able to pull off her diving somersault.
Patrick’s letter also makes this a good day, being ‘satisfactorily private’ – though I find it hard to imagine Patrick writing good love letters, as himself anyway. Possibly it was from Rupert. And then the great news that she and Monica are in the swimming team, and certainly the first reference to periods I remember coming across in a children’s book, when they work out that they won’t ‘be cursed’ on 30th June. Prancing about ‘absurdly happy, happily absurd’ – it’s one of the most attractive moments Ginty has in the whole series, I think. And when Latimer compliments her, accepting it with ‘grace and charm’ – and astonishment, because Latimer so clearly prefers Karen. (At this point I wonder what Latimer made of the news about Karen’s marriage; we have no insight into this until the end of the book when she has had plenty of time to absorb the news.)
Lois has managed to make the end of the ban on using cricket pitches as obscure as possible, but Nicola is never going to be caught on that.
Lawrie and Miss Kempe; isn’t it a bit late for Miss Kempe to be doing this? Does she really think Lawrie is so good she won’t need direction? Lawrie remains stubborn inside that she is going to do Caliban, whatever Kempe says. I do like the image of her as ‘Mr Toad being lectured by Mr Badger’, and the difficulty of being Talked To by a teacher. They briefly connect over Ariel not being twee, and then Lawrie loses interest again. For those who know the play, what do you think of Tolkien’s elves - I presume this is what Kempe means - as a good model? I sort of see it but am not wholly convinced. (And though I love Tolkien, I have a lot of sympathy with Lawrie over the goblins eating the ponies!) Slight sidetrack: thinking about Lawrie as Ariel I was reminded of Sorrel playing the part in Streatfeild’s Curtain Up. She of course didn’t particularly want to play it either, but when asked about her conception of the part, says ‘It’s something not real at all, like the wind; you’ve caught it, and it does everything you ask, but all the time is simply longing to be up in the air again where it belongs’. Which of course goes down brilliantly with her Uncle Francis, Prospero and director, and doubtless would have with Kempe as well.
Then to rehearsal, and Kempe losing her patience, and Nicola trying not to listen; I love her reflections on Nicholas Marlow being cast as a Mariner on the first night and the way it calms Kempe down. And the hint of classroom discussion; do we think Miss Keith overheard and told Cromwell after that about the problems? I suppose it’s also possible that Miss Keith has no idea which pupil the Marlows are thinking of withdrawing, so until that point had not imagined Mrs Marlow would have let any of them know. Although presumably you have to give notice for a specific girl not ‘one of our daughters will be leaving’.
Janice being her wonderful cool self and not showing any sign of what she knows, much to Nicola’s gratitude.
And Tim and Nicola together again, giggling helplessly over Miss Keith ‘wearing briefer-than-briefs for Lawrie and Nicola’. An image that lingers, and not in a good way.
Tim thinks Kempe should give the part to Nicola. How badly would Lawrie react to that? And Miranda trying not to say how much she wants it. Do people agree with Tim that it’s can’t not won’t with Ariel? Or a mix of the two – doesn’t want to, and so can’t find her way into the part.
Who is beautiful? Tim, Esther, and Miranda all agree Ginty. Nicola's first thought is Esther, but too embarassed to say with her sitting there, so suggests Jan Scott, for Miranda's benefit surely. Which leads into the story of Jan writing back to Kempe to say she didn’t want to act and had never liked it since the Seconds - the performance that Miranda described on the roof at the start of term. It does sound from the letters and the discussion about beards and wigs as though Kempe was planning to cast Jan from quite early on, so Val Longstreet was probably in no danger of being given the part. ‘So Miranda was able to ask quite easily, “And is she any good?”’
Tim already planning how she will do St Joan when they’re in the Sixth so that Lawrie can do the Dauphin. ‘She needs odd parts.’ I think we've discussed what parts Lawrie might play before, but more suggestions welcome. Ariel is surely quite odd, but obviously not in the right way. (As I've said before, I do think Kempe is to blame for the miscasting.) Tim thinking that she might have to cast Pippin – unlike Nicola with the cricket team, she's not quite resigned to having to choose people she doesn’t like.
And their future lives, and Nicola admitting that she wants to sail round the world. And indeed what a waste that she can’t go into the Navy properly, except that as the books got closer and closer to the present day perhaps she could.
Nemesis
Upper V.B defeated the Seconds in the second round – which does imply that Upper V.B had a first round match. I think perhaps Forest didn’t sit down with a piece of paper and work out how the tournament was set up. Also it does seem clear that the Seconds and Thirds always play each other in the first round, though my guess is that the other matches may be more randomly selected. And the school mood turns against Upper V.B when they squashed the Seconds flat, and we discover that Lois Sanger is desperate to win the Dorm Cup. I do like Miranda and Pippin plotting a sabotage ring on the sidelines of the story. And Ann at odds with her form, happy to withdraw but not to play to lose. And so Upper V.B. play the Sixth and get rattled by the school being against them – and the Sixth do have two major assets in Lois and Jan (and once again fielding is important).
Chapter Eight – Casualty
Starting with Lower IV.A’s match against Lower V.B., won in a wonderful quickfire description of the last over, and the not-quite run out.
Val Longstreet finally being the one to say to Lois that ‘it really was rather adolescent to be so obsessive about winning’ – she can say it, because unlike the others she hasn’t been thinking it for years.
The swimming match, and more superstitions. Nicola and Ginty in a moment of accord about not drowning the clover leaf. And Ginty doing brilliantly for once, and her family supporting her – Nicola clutching the clover leaf locket so hard she cuts her hand and falls prey to Matron. And panics rather over what's going to happen, what with Peter's descriptions of the awful agony he got into with his splinter from TTA (though Peter's cut obviously got infected, which is going to be quite a lot more unpleasant that Nicola's fresh one). Then 'back from nightmare to a genuine emergency'; it's got to be right for the cricket final. Everyone else (except Lawrie) fears the same, but Jan offers more gremlin lore 'Refuse to believe they can throw that particular spanner and it makes life much more difficult for them'.
A night in the San, and almost conversion to Dickens in the night, interrupted by Matron. Crommie's Choice turns out to have included The Master of Ballantrae along with Dombey & Son. Heart of Midlothian/Redgauntlet we know about, and Mill on the Floss and Henry Esmond are the final two. Any other ideas?
'To sit at the Sixth-form table, behind a barricade of text books and below the bracket clock which chimed the quarters in a series of quick bright tings...' I love this image and always have.
Lawrie loses Ariel, by demonstrating Caliban to the rest of the cast - who are, 'on the whole, impressed'. It does seem clear that Lawrie could act Caliban. She didn't 'consciously intend' defiance, insult and disparagement, which I think leaves it that on some level she did. And Miranda seizes her chance, having clearly been working on her interpretation - perhaps all term, as soon as she realised that Lawrie didn't want Ariel. And another minor superstition, Miranda's this time, watching for bats before the bell tolls.
Lawrie works herself up to making another bargain with Them Up There - if Cromwell said anything to her about this after the Christmas Play, it plainly didn't take. Interestingly this is clearly much more of a sacrifice than her place on the netball team - she doesn't want to do Ariel, but she doesn't want to give him up either. And she acquires additional undeserved merit by being unable to tell Nicola and therefore keeping the secret.
Miranda gets hammock time while the rest are in chapel on Sunday mornings, to lie and savour her pleasure. And avert the evil eye by thinking of things that might go wrong, which leads to her guessing that Nicola is anxious about something.
Chapter Nine - The Prosser
A scar for Nicola - 'Nelson, Hornblower, Ewen Cameron' - and bigger than Peter's. And the great Exam Trap for Heffalumps. I wonder if Forest ever experienced something like this? I recall spending bits of time at school being explained at about the format of different O-levels, and practice papers, but no deliberate catching out. Miss Cromwell enjoys her speech so much. 'It was your inattention to me and your slap-dash carelessness on the day.' Really, she must have had a lot more fun with this year's Lower IV.A than in the years when her form did take the Shield.
Nicola in fact missed Crommie's talk, and it seems a bit rich to suggest that the rest of the class should have passed it on, rather than Miss Cromwell herself. But she cleared the fence and wins the Form Prize, and gets to do her Danny-Kaye-as-Walter-Mitty impression (thinking of the end of RMF), 'any chap could have done the same'.
The form discuss Meg Hopkins's father until Jan clamps down on it, for Meg's or Nicola's sake or both.
And Ann is leaving Guides, and doesn't terribly mind, which is interesting, and there's a rare warm conversation between the four sisters about it, ending with the relief of discovering that she won't be returning her Guide badge.
I love Nicola's imaginings on the bus about everyone's thoughts entwining and getting muddled, and the oh-so-recognisable joy of a good second-hand bookshop. And when she finds the edition of the Iliad, of course that is what she will choose. 'terribly special and prize-like', definitely.
The news of Marie's death, shocking Nicola into silence, and 'She wasn't... enough of a person to die. Just as, last Christmas term, she'd hadn't been enough of a person to mind she hadn't been told about the switch for the match. Only they'd been wrong about that too.'
Lower IV.A. channelling their shock into writing a form letter, while Nicola reflects that what she'd like would be Marie alive and somewhere else. Miranda being brisk and sorting everyone out with a well-phrased letter that contains no lies. And then finding that Lawrie is even more unfeeling than Tim and just wishes no one had bothered to tell them.
'Generally, at this stage in the term, time lagged intolerably; now... the days seemed jet-propelled.' The shape of the book neatly echoes Nicola's thoughts here, with most of the term going by in the space of a couple of chapters, while the first and last few days of the term take up much more space. Here, we've reached Speech Day, and the moment when Nicola will find out whether she has won the Prosser and will be staying at Kingscote - only Mrs Marlow is late. I like the detail that Nick and Lawrie are put out rather than worried, while Ann and Ginty are worried rather than put out. Lawrie's a lot more concerned that Them Up There have not yet fulfilled their bargain and taken out Gerry Hume.
Kay getting on quite well with the Dodd children, and Nicola receiving her prize, with the embarrassment of not in fact being able to read the Greek, and the shock of realising the Prosser is going to be awarded right then. 'Me! It is!' then snatched away to give to Lawrie. Who despite having no idea what's going on, 'bobbed an admirable curtsey'. Of course, it saves a set of school fees anyway, but nonetheless I'm with Nicola, 'at the moment she had no singing in her'.
Looking forward to your comments!
Then to rehearsal, and Kempe losing her patience, and Nicola trying not to listen; I love her reflections on Nicholas Marlow being cast as a Mariner on the first night and the way it calms Kempe down. And the hint of classroom discussion; do we think Miss Keith overheard and told Cromwell after that about the problems? I suppose it’s also possible that Miss Keith has no idea which pupil the Marlows are thinking of withdrawing, so until that point had not imagined Mrs Marlow would have let any of them know. Although presumably you have to give notice for a specific girl not ‘one of our daughters will be leaving’.
Janice being her wonderful cool self and not showing any sign of what she knows, much to Nicola’s gratitude.
And Tim and Nicola together again, giggling helplessly over Miss Keith ‘wearing briefer-than-briefs for Lawrie and Nicola’. An image that lingers, and not in a good way.
Tim thinks Kempe should give the part to Nicola. How badly would Lawrie react to that? And Miranda trying not to say how much she wants it. Do people agree with Tim that it’s can’t not won’t with Ariel? Or a mix of the two – doesn’t want to, and so can’t find her way into the part.
Who is beautiful? Tim, Esther, and Miranda all agree Ginty. Nicola's first thought is Esther, but too embarassed to say with her sitting there, so suggests Jan Scott, for Miranda's benefit surely. Which leads into the story of Jan writing back to Kempe to say she didn’t want to act and had never liked it since the Seconds - the performance that Miranda described on the roof at the start of term. It does sound from the letters and the discussion about beards and wigs as though Kempe was planning to cast Jan from quite early on, so Val Longstreet was probably in no danger of being given the part. ‘So Miranda was able to ask quite easily, “And is she any good?”’
Tim already planning how she will do St Joan when they’re in the Sixth so that Lawrie can do the Dauphin. ‘She needs odd parts.’ I think we've discussed what parts Lawrie might play before, but more suggestions welcome. Ariel is surely quite odd, but obviously not in the right way. (As I've said before, I do think Kempe is to blame for the miscasting.) Tim thinking that she might have to cast Pippin – unlike Nicola with the cricket team, she's not quite resigned to having to choose people she doesn’t like.
And their future lives, and Nicola admitting that she wants to sail round the world. And indeed what a waste that she can’t go into the Navy properly, except that as the books got closer and closer to the present day perhaps she could.
Nemesis
Upper V.B defeated the Seconds in the second round – which does imply that Upper V.B had a first round match. I think perhaps Forest didn’t sit down with a piece of paper and work out how the tournament was set up. Also it does seem clear that the Seconds and Thirds always play each other in the first round, though my guess is that the other matches may be more randomly selected. And the school mood turns against Upper V.B when they squashed the Seconds flat, and we discover that Lois Sanger is desperate to win the Dorm Cup. I do like Miranda and Pippin plotting a sabotage ring on the sidelines of the story. And Ann at odds with her form, happy to withdraw but not to play to lose. And so Upper V.B. play the Sixth and get rattled by the school being against them – and the Sixth do have two major assets in Lois and Jan (and once again fielding is important).
Chapter Eight – Casualty
Starting with Lower IV.A’s match against Lower V.B., won in a wonderful quickfire description of the last over, and the not-quite run out.
Val Longstreet finally being the one to say to Lois that ‘it really was rather adolescent to be so obsessive about winning’ – she can say it, because unlike the others she hasn’t been thinking it for years.
The swimming match, and more superstitions. Nicola and Ginty in a moment of accord about not drowning the clover leaf. And Ginty doing brilliantly for once, and her family supporting her – Nicola clutching the clover leaf locket so hard she cuts her hand and falls prey to Matron. And panics rather over what's going to happen, what with Peter's descriptions of the awful agony he got into with his splinter from TTA (though Peter's cut obviously got infected, which is going to be quite a lot more unpleasant that Nicola's fresh one). Then 'back from nightmare to a genuine emergency'; it's got to be right for the cricket final. Everyone else (except Lawrie) fears the same, but Jan offers more gremlin lore 'Refuse to believe they can throw that particular spanner and it makes life much more difficult for them'.
A night in the San, and almost conversion to Dickens in the night, interrupted by Matron. Crommie's Choice turns out to have included The Master of Ballantrae along with Dombey & Son. Heart of Midlothian/Redgauntlet we know about, and Mill on the Floss and Henry Esmond are the final two. Any other ideas?
'To sit at the Sixth-form table, behind a barricade of text books and below the bracket clock which chimed the quarters in a series of quick bright tings...' I love this image and always have.
Lawrie loses Ariel, by demonstrating Caliban to the rest of the cast - who are, 'on the whole, impressed'. It does seem clear that Lawrie could act Caliban. She didn't 'consciously intend' defiance, insult and disparagement, which I think leaves it that on some level she did. And Miranda seizes her chance, having clearly been working on her interpretation - perhaps all term, as soon as she realised that Lawrie didn't want Ariel. And another minor superstition, Miranda's this time, watching for bats before the bell tolls.
Lawrie works herself up to making another bargain with Them Up There - if Cromwell said anything to her about this after the Christmas Play, it plainly didn't take. Interestingly this is clearly much more of a sacrifice than her place on the netball team - she doesn't want to do Ariel, but she doesn't want to give him up either. And she acquires additional undeserved merit by being unable to tell Nicola and therefore keeping the secret.
Miranda gets hammock time while the rest are in chapel on Sunday mornings, to lie and savour her pleasure. And avert the evil eye by thinking of things that might go wrong, which leads to her guessing that Nicola is anxious about something.
Chapter Nine - The Prosser
A scar for Nicola - 'Nelson, Hornblower, Ewen Cameron' - and bigger than Peter's. And the great Exam Trap for Heffalumps. I wonder if Forest ever experienced something like this? I recall spending bits of time at school being explained at about the format of different O-levels, and practice papers, but no deliberate catching out. Miss Cromwell enjoys her speech so much. 'It was your inattention to me and your slap-dash carelessness on the day.' Really, she must have had a lot more fun with this year's Lower IV.A than in the years when her form did take the Shield.
Nicola in fact missed Crommie's talk, and it seems a bit rich to suggest that the rest of the class should have passed it on, rather than Miss Cromwell herself. But she cleared the fence and wins the Form Prize, and gets to do her Danny-Kaye-as-Walter-Mitty impression (thinking of the end of RMF), 'any chap could have done the same'.
The form discuss Meg Hopkins's father until Jan clamps down on it, for Meg's or Nicola's sake or both.
And Ann is leaving Guides, and doesn't terribly mind, which is interesting, and there's a rare warm conversation between the four sisters about it, ending with the relief of discovering that she won't be returning her Guide badge.
I love Nicola's imaginings on the bus about everyone's thoughts entwining and getting muddled, and the oh-so-recognisable joy of a good second-hand bookshop. And when she finds the edition of the Iliad, of course that is what she will choose. 'terribly special and prize-like', definitely.
The news of Marie's death, shocking Nicola into silence, and 'She wasn't... enough of a person to die. Just as, last Christmas term, she'd hadn't been enough of a person to mind she hadn't been told about the switch for the match. Only they'd been wrong about that too.'
Lower IV.A. channelling their shock into writing a form letter, while Nicola reflects that what she'd like would be Marie alive and somewhere else. Miranda being brisk and sorting everyone out with a well-phrased letter that contains no lies. And then finding that Lawrie is even more unfeeling than Tim and just wishes no one had bothered to tell them.
'Generally, at this stage in the term, time lagged intolerably; now... the days seemed jet-propelled.' The shape of the book neatly echoes Nicola's thoughts here, with most of the term going by in the space of a couple of chapters, while the first and last few days of the term take up much more space. Here, we've reached Speech Day, and the moment when Nicola will find out whether she has won the Prosser and will be staying at Kingscote - only Mrs Marlow is late. I like the detail that Nick and Lawrie are put out rather than worried, while Ann and Ginty are worried rather than put out. Lawrie's a lot more concerned that Them Up There have not yet fulfilled their bargain and taken out Gerry Hume.
Kay getting on quite well with the Dodd children, and Nicola receiving her prize, with the embarrassment of not in fact being able to read the Greek, and the shock of realising the Prosser is going to be awarded right then. 'Me! It is!' then snatched away to give to Lawrie. Who despite having no idea what's going on, 'bobbed an admirable curtsey'. Of course, it saves a set of school fees anyway, but nonetheless I'm with Nicola, 'at the moment she had no singing in her'.
Looking forward to your comments!
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Re: Marie Dobson/anti-semitism
Date: 2015-02-02 07:58 pm (UTC)Re: Marie Dobson/anti-semitism
Date: 2015-02-02 08:43 pm (UTC)