Fathers and Time.

Dearest Emily,

Without allowing my Pagan soul too much reign in this post, I begin with a curious tale...
Back in 2007, my lovely friend Lotty and I were persuing a quest in button-making. We wanted to take a mould off of an old 1950's button, cast it in resin and encapsulate the Weardowney logo inside it.
Lotty and I were oft at this quest, inspired by my Father ( your paternal Great-Grandfather Derek ) who was a plastics manufacturer and technical designer at a time when plastics were booming as a 'new' material. Sadly my Dad died too young, and I still miss him greatly.
Do you remember I told you it was he who brought me to Freshwater Bay first when I was seven, and that I had forgotten this, until my Auntie reminded me at our wedding? Dad had loved Freshwater and Yarmouth particularly, and maybe that's why it felt so like 'home' to me the first time Grumpa and I came here in 2005.
Anyhow, I had a few design bees in my bonnet, and Lotty is fab for working away at those bees.
We didn't achieve success though. Busy organising Grumpa and GiGi's up-coming wedding ( at Dimbola and Farringford ) the project was shelved, as we couldn't centre up the logo. Being a 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' sort of person, I promptly binned the failure.

This was in Marylebone at the old Weardowney HQ. We have moved house four times since then.

Fast forward to now. Two weeks ago, at Dimbola Towers before all the snow, I've nipped outside for a cheeky gasper and my eye catches something on the pathway, just to the left of the bush on the right as you go up the stairs. It is my failed sample button!

I suppose there are lots of ways it could have got there. The most likely is that though I thought I had binned them all, one came down to Dimbola with me, around the time of my wedding. Curious serendipity had it work its way out of the land and onto the path-way in front of me that day.
Which ever way Em, to me is a special talisman that again reminds me of my Fathers influence on my life, and now I carry it with me always.

Alice Liddell, who influenced Dodgson to write his first childrens book- 'Alice in Wonderland' was one of seven children. Henry Liddell, Dean of Christ-Church Oxford was their father, who effected many changes there. Bringing his whole family to live at the Deanery, the previously masculine domain now entered a new phase where children played out on the lawns and accompanied their parents to Oxford tea-parties, punting and social gatherings. Our Dodgson first met them on one of his new-fangled photographic sessions at the Cathedral in 1856, a year after he bought his first camera. Befriending the family, the children became over the next five years his favourite photographic subjects, play-mates and Dodgson as the storyteller, made up fantastical stories for their delight.

Dean Liddell, pictured above seemed happy with the children and his Wife's association with Dodgson- at least up until 1865 when the first publication of 'Alice in Wonderland' appeared.
However, our Dodgson had a problem with some of his peers at Oxford. One particular issue he had was that the then Greek Professor- our Benjamin Jowett, had suddenly been granted a massive stipend of £500 a year. Dodgson penned his spite in two mock-mathematical essays, one being  'The Dynamics of a Particle' which though published anonymously was well-known as Dodgson's work.
Part of Henry Liddell's Greek/English lexicon had included the below under the same title.

πλάσμα , ατος, τό,

A. anything formed or moulded, image, figure, “πλάσματα πηλοῦ” Ar.Av.686 ;κήρινον . . οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅ τι π. as it were a piece of wax-work, Pl.Tht.197d, cf. 200c,Sph.239e ; of figures made by bakers, Men.113 : pl., cakes of incense, POxy.2144.29(iii A.D.).

b. the body, as fashioned by the Creator, PMag.Par.1.212.

II. counterfeit, forgery, “π. ὅλον ἐστὶν ἡ διαθήκη” D.45.29.

b. figment, fiction, “πλάσματα τῶν προτέρων” Xenoph.1.22, cf.Arist.Cael. 289a6, Str.1.2.36, J.BJ1.1.2, Plu.Thes.28, etc. ; of a story which is fictitious but possible, opp. “ἱστορία” 11 and “μῦθος” 11.3, S.E.M.1.263, Aus. Prof.21.26, cf. Ph.1.528.

c. pretence, Phld.Vit.p.38 J., Plu.Mar. 43.

2. delusion, Phld.Lib.p.56O.

Who knows exactly what their wars were Emily, but Dodgson did fall out with Liddell big-time.
The Dean, who was always late ( for his very important dates- his lectures ) on account of his having to cross two quads after leaving home at the Deanery, as he never quite got it together to organise a key to the next building that would shorten his journey.
His white haired scurrying figure was a regular scene at Oxford, and quite possibly how Dodgson described him to Tenniel...

Loosely-based Em, one Daddy immortalised in a Rabbit, and I've made mine into a button today!
Anyhow, back on topic. As our study is about 'Through the Looking Glass' and not Alice right now- I'd best explain our White Rabbit moment.
In 'Through the Looking Glass' we meet two characters who morph our Rabbit with the Hatter, and then divide them again. So I needed to show you first, where I thought the White Rabbit had originated. We'll visit his morph-dom later my sweet.
Time for work now- off to Dimbola for me!

Until next time Em,

Your ever-loving Grandmother, GiGi xxxxx