Tuesday, February 02, 2016

I'm sorry about the delay. I had a wonderful time in London, much to tell you, some of it even knitterly. I got home in good order on Saturday, and found all in good order here. Then on Sunday I got ill – a 24-hour flu, I think, mitigated by the fact that I have had the flu injection. I'm better today.

I'll start at the end, for London. On Friday I went to the British Library to see the Alice in Wonderland exhibition, which I enjoyed enormously. It begins with Lewis Carroll's diary open to the page about the "golden afternoon" on which he took the three Liddell girls up the river and entertained them with the story of Alice. He records it matter-of-factly in a sentence: no notion that a classic of English literature had just had its first outing.

He later, I believe because Alice insisted, wrote it all out for her and illustrated it. When it came to be published, Tenniel used Carroll's illustrations and added a few of his own. It was the first book in which illustrations and text were integrated on the page.

In the 1930's, Alice Liddell had to sell the manuscript book due, we were told, to the need to pay inheritance tax. It went to America. In 1946 it came on the market again, and an anonymous group of Americans bought it and gave it to England, to thank everybody for standing up to Hitler. The Archbishop of Canterbury was called upon to receive the gift. Why not the King?

And then – naturally enough, with Iowa only three days away – I thought of the caucus race and wondered what the phrase might have meant in Carroll's day. The answer seems to be that "caucus" is a rather mysterious word, probably of American origin and indeed probably Algonquin. It means different things in different political contexts. The idea of a "caucus race" was Carroll's own invention.

I feel quite pleased about Iowa, but nothing like the exhilaration of eight years ago when Obama won. We were snowed in in Strathardle that Tuesday, on our way back to Edinburgh. It took all morning, and the intervention of a providential car full of strong strangers, to get as far as the village. I saved up the Iowa result to think about when we finally got to Blairgowrie and lunch.

Subsequent primaries this year should be nothing if not interesting. And at least Trump is no longer inevitable.

15 comments:

  1. Good to have you back Jean and glad you had a restorative break. I must try and catch that British Library exhibition before it closes; the British Library is a useful stopover when changing trains between Euston and St. Pancras. Good to know all the home planning paid off.

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  2. Syd T.2:34 PM

    Welcome home, happy the flu only had it's grips on you for 24 hours. And yes the primaries here in the states are quite interesting and thank heavens Trump is no longer inevitable!

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  3. So glad the trip was a success. The British Library is a top London attraction.

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  4. Anonymous3:11 PM

    Welcome back!
    Always good to read your posts in our morning.
    LisaRR

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  5. Good to see you back here. I spent a few happy hours on my first visit to London in the British Museum while waiting for my hotel room to be ready. Seeing Alice and seeing the Magna Carta were equally thrilling for me. I hope you are feeling much better.

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  6. welcome back. I'm glad you had a good time.

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  7. Happy you had a great time, and glad the flu was only a 24 hour one. I had it myself last month, and it took a week before I could walk normally again (it decided to settle in my feet and every joint movement was OW), but otherwise it was surprisingly mild.

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  8. Welcome home. So glad the trip went well (in London and back at home) and hope you are fully recovered soon. Had Perdita missed you?

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  9. So glad you are home...with news that it was all good, and hoping to hear it all eventually. How are those socks doing? Did you knit on them or were you so busy looking and gabbing that they remained sleeping in you satchel, unnoticed. welcome home. you were missed!

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  10. Good to have you back with us, Jean. Hope the flu's flown! First holiday instalment lovely - looking forward to Chapter 2.

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  11. =Tamar7:14 PM

    Very happy to hear all went well.

    Only modified rapture re politics.

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  12. Anonymous9:12 PM

    Welcome back, Jean! Thanks for the bits from the Alice exhibit. Looking forward to more holiday accounts. Iowa caucus - as a Canadian I try all over again to understand this aspect of the US system, always have to relearn (something like relearning cricket rules every summer when I lived in England). A younger family member has shared, on Facebook, a link to Vermont Public Radio's Lego explanation: http://gizmodo.com/how-the-iowa-caucus-works-explained-by-lego-1756071805 - must have a look before viewing our national broadcaster's political comedy piece on it this evening. In my country "caucus" is mostly commonly heard with reference to a party's group of elected members of the national parliament or provincial legislature.
    - Beth in Ontario

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  13. Hello from below - and welcome back. My father says to tell you he is most envious of your visit to the Carroll exhibition!

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  14. Anonymous11:40 PM

    So glad you had a great time and found all well at home.

    Beverly in NJ

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  15. It is good to have you back, I like to start my morning with you. I am so glad to hear that everything went fine and your flu lasted only one day. How I would love to spend a week in London!

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