Tuesday 12 January 2010

The Narnia Page Part Two

So, Narnia. The lamp-post in Sunday's photo is right outside our front door. It's a new one, pretending to be an old one, and for that reason I've always treated it with some suspicion. But The Small One likes it and still hopes that Mr. Tumnus might appear if she hangs off it for long enough. It was her idea, really, to stage a photo. So we waited for snow and we are pleased enough with the result to plan the page which is sitting on my desk right now.

But I want to show you another lamp-post. This one really is old; and, (we fancy) might actually have had a visit from the Faun himself. It's my Mum's story, in truth; not mine, and it came to her while she was reading one of those big biographies she loves.
"Sian," she said, "do you have a copy of that photo of you and your sister in the snow in the garden of our old house?"
I have. and here it is:

There we are, around 1969 I guess. Have a look at the top of the picture and you will see a Victorian street lamp. It was on the pavement beyond our garden; and the woods you see behind were on the other side of the road. Now, what if I were to tell you that those woods followed the curve of a long drive up to a big house. You can see it here:

In that big house there once lived a loving family often visited by two young boy cousins. The boys had no mother of their own, so they came to play often from their own home only a short walk away. It's not hard to imagine them stepping out down that driveway on their way home in the evenings, through the trees, their path to the road marked by the light at the end shining from the lamp-post. And what if I were to then tell you that that little boy, Jack, grew up to write this:
She began to walk forward, crunch, crunch over the snow and through the wood towards the other light. In about ten minutes she reached it and found it was a lamp-post. C.S. Lewis. The lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
You might imagine, I like to think, that you had caught a glimpse of the original lamp-post. What do you think?

Today I'm Living...Dentists. They are very, very nice people. Thank you everyone who wished me well. It's much appreciated.


21 comments:

Maria Ontiveros said...

Beautiful writing! We just watched Narnia (the movie) recently. I loved the story as a child and have loved reading it to DD; DS has no patience for fantasy).
Rinda

humel said...

So glad you're feeling better x

There's a lamp-post of that style outside a church I know - with trees around it - and CS Lewis visited a family local to that church at various times in his life - so there's a local story that it helped to inspire him too. I went to see it recently during the snow and it certainly looked very Narnia-esque :-)

PS You were a very cute kiddie! (And you're still cute, obviously....)

catrin said...

I don't think i ever knew that!! See what you mean about me and Evo looking kind of similar!

Anna said...

Lovely photos. I always think of Narnia when I see the lamp posts on St Giles in Oxford. :)
So glad you're feeling better! Nothing worse than toothache.

Alana said...

You write such beautifull stories, they have me sitting on the edge of my chair waiting to see what you are going to say next. Have you ever thought of writing a book yourself?

Tinkertaylor said...

Really enjoyed your post, you really have a talent for telling the story. thanks for sharing

JO SOWERBY said...

what a g8 story. we didn't have a lamp post but my grandpa was a vicar and they had a big old victorian vicarage with a basement and massive attic with rooms you could hide in. there were trunks and dressing up boxes with loads of 1940s and 1950s clothes so we could imagine living the past.
Jo xxx

Cheri said...

So if I read this right, C.S. Lewis is your cousin? Or did I misunderstand? Either way, cool story and definitely love the lamp posts!

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Great story, Sian! And the pictures are adorable. :o)

scrappyjacky said...

Another great story,Sian....I wonder how many of those lamp posts are left?
So glad the dentist did his job well.

Luna Art said...

Love the narnia photo, has a real magical feel to it, captured to perfection. The writing on your blog is beautiful, it had me enthralled!

Ruth said...

What a great post (pun intended!) ... it's obvious that the tree in your childhood photo is the Narnia lamp post! My DS likes to play Peepo by jumping out of the cupboard in our bedroom, and I often imagine that he might one day just manage to push his way through daddy's shirts to Narnia ...

Will said...

Well I'd say you were right.

Jennifer Grace said...

I love the narnia books, used to read them by torchlight under my duvet when I was young and supposed to be asleep!
I can understand why the small one wants to hang around and wait for Mr. Tumnus to appear, I've been trying to find a way into narnia ever since! Lovely photo of her 'Lucy' pose!

Amy said...

I'm so glad your sore tooth hasn't prevented you from sharing another wonderful story .... you seem to have quite a few 'connections' Sian - don't they say there are only 6 degrees of separation?
Now .... go and slurp some soup and rest your mouth!

Sandra said...

Its just such a pleasure reading your blog - a real joy. Loving the photos too

Amanda said...

You always have such wonderful and interesting stories Sian. I love the photos they have to appear in a LO soon. Beautiful photo in part one too.

Lizzie said...

Great story-telling, Sian! So that means your mum used to play with the Lewis boys? You wouldn't have, as they were about 30 years older than you... so it must have been your mum?
And that just might be the Tumnus Lamp.. wonderful!

Glad you have been to the dentist at last. I hope you feel a lot better now.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful story-telling, Sian. Especially for One-With-Toothache... Hope it's getting better. :) x alexa

Angela said...

Great story Sian. And I always enjoy and old photo so thanks for sharing two of them x

Liberty :) said...

Glad you are feeling better. I almost didn't comment cos I felt like a daft dimbo, but are you saying you are related to CS Lewis?? Apologies if I'm being a weirdo! Love the tale anyway!

Glad you like Wicked Wednesdays. I was getting a bit fed up of them weekly, but like doing them occasionally! :)

See u soon xx sort of!

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