In Summer when the days are long, perhaps you'll understand my song...

Dearest Emily,

In Summer, when the days are long,

  perhaps you'll understand my song.

In Autumn, when the leaves are brown,

  take pen and ink and write it down.

In Winter, when the fields are white,

  I sing this song for your delight-

In Spring, when woods are getting green,

  I'll try and tell you what I mean.

Humpty Dumpty's 'Song that he does not actually sing' to Alice

This week at The Bookroom, I began putting together some thoughts for my 'Tea-Time Talk' today at Dimbola. I realised that it is actually a year to the day when it all began!

It was a Thursday, in July, and the good old trustees at Dimbola were sparring. The war this time was about plans for increasing the tearoom and gift shop turnover. This is my area and committee, and our chairman put forward a fab new design and revamp centred around Lewis Carroll's 'Mad Hatter'.

Someone commented that our Julia could be the 'Queen of Hearts'! Someone else said - 'Oh no she couldn't!' Someone else said 'Oh yes she could!', and so it went on in trusty trustees style. In one ear but not quite out the other for me. Something was ringing bells...

That night I went home and read 'Alice' and then 'Through the Looking Glass' and the bells got louder.

The clues were there in Tenniel's illustrations. It was said of John Tenniel that he could see a photograph, or someone, just once, and then cariacaturise them. Well, there it was...

So, 'by Autumn when the leaves were brown, I took pen and ink and wrote it down' and 'by Winter when the fields were white, I wrote this blog for your delight!' 

And, 'In Spring, when woods were getting green, I tried to tell you what I mean!'

And this Em, was the most fun bit...

My last chapter was aimed at showing the landscape that I can see, where I walk every day, and how I perceive what Dodgson saw, which, without being here and seeing with an eye that's focussed on its prey for a view, was a tough call.

I started out with a blog-post idea, and set off plus dogs and camera to see if I could achieve my aim.

Upon my return I dug out a local war department map from 1909, to show how the landscape was parcelled up, and wrote...

'On a war department map of the time, just to the left of the Bay, is 'Plumbl'ys Hotel where Dodgson stayed for three weeks in the summer of 1864. Dodgson was known to be a keen walker- often covering 20-30 miles a day. Farringford can be seen in the middle of the map, surrounded by trees and meadows, defined by hedges and trees. Just to the bottom of the estate is a plot surrounded by woodland that Emily Tennyson ( and Tweedles Dee and Dum ) coined 'The Wilderness'.

If one takes a diagonal route up from Plumbl'ys and over the Down through the Wilderness and onwards some more- one reaches 'The Needles' and then The Needles Hotel at that time, where we know Dodgson had friends staying. That he took this route more than once is also known- as it is a walk of outstanding natural beauty, plus it means that you get a good vantage point for the Farringford Estate- and from what I have learned about Dodgson, it's highly likely he tromped around here quite a bit.

I've been convinced that this particular scenery was where Dodgson placed his story since we moved here last year- and it was the scenery that gave me my first clues. The Wilderness is mentioned in the book, and each precise Tenniel illustration sums up the woodlands and copses succinctly for me.

I photographed some views from the High Down, with tree in front depicting our modern chess-board layout. These intersected with views from the front of Farringford up towards the same view in my minds eye and I hoped I could translate my thoughts successfully.

So, I came back and ended my day with a ritual of 'colouring-in' a Tenniel. I sit looking out over the Bay as I do this. I had almost finished, when looking up at the view, and down at the illstration- there in the right hand top corner, was the very Bay I was looking at out of my window!

Thank-you Tenniel- who gave my brain its first clues, who now helped me validate my theory!'

And so we carry on Emily, one book to bed, but more and more discoveries!

Until next time- off to do my talk! Your ever-loving Grandmother, GiGi xxx