CS Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia

Fifty years ago today, the news bulletins were full of the assassination of President Kennedy, which understandingly overshadowed the death of CS Lewis.
Although I can remember Emergency Ward 10 being interrupted by the news reports about Kennedy, I hadn't yet heard of the quiet Oxford don who wrote those magical stories about Narnia.
Looking at my books now, I can see that my first one, The Magician's Nephew, was a 1964 reprint. They are now all looking a bit tatty, but very well loved because they've been read so many times. Some are covered in sticky-backed plastic, and others not; I can't remember why!
I do remember that I borrowed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from my friend and enjoyed it so much I didn't want to give it back, and the book you see in the photo is the replacement I bought with my pocket money.
I certainly read The Silver Chair and The Horse and his Boy as library books, not realising at first that they were about Narnia, but very pleased that they were.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was one of my favourites after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I bought it on a Saturday morning and went home and read it all in one go. I loved the idea of sailing to the islands and felt right there with Lucy on the poop deck feeding the hens!
So much of the land of Narnia lives on. Who hasn't tapped the back of wardrobe to see if it would melt away to snowy trees? Or watched the snow falling past an old fashioned lamp post, and imagined Mr Tumnus hurrying by with his parcels? Or thought about Edmund and the White Witch when presented with a box of Turkish Delight?
So let's not only remember the awful events in Dallas that day, but also give thanks for CS Lewis and his wonderful Chronicles of Narnia.
Which is your favourite book?

Poke Bonnets, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota

I may have a poke bonnet* on here, or it may be part of the covered wagon that I'm setting out in over the Prairies. I look quite happy despite the prospect of a bumpy overland trip in all weathers with all my worldly possessions packed inside.
This photo was taken on Wednesday, the last day of my holiday in Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota. We had sneaked into the children's education room at the Old West Museum, Cheyenne, and couldn't resist the photo opportunity! We had travelled over 2,500 miles, but we'd had an amazing time.

Our first stop was Maroon Bells. This is a mountain at the head of a lake on White River about twelve miles from Aspen, Colorado. Steep wooded slopes rise on each side decorated with the remains of winter snow. Copper-coloured water bubbles over boulders and around a beaver's lodge or home, just like in Narnia, and the mountain stands at the end, 14,000 feet high, its layers of rock highlighted with snow. It's been called "Bells" since 1965 when 8 people were killed climbing its slopes, but it was quite safe to walk along the path by the river in the icy wind, taking photos.

 We couldn't visit Colorado without taking John Denver's Greatest Hits to listen to, and we were pleased to find a Memorial Garden to him in Aspen, surrounded with the trees which give the city its name. It was a quiet sunny place, near the water which I'm sure he would've loved.









I'll tell you more about my holiday soon.

*(See Liz Harris's blog) where she asks if terms like 'poke bonnet' and 'buck fencing' should be used in her historical novel, set in Wyoming, or would bonnet and fencing do? I think that the historic terms add flavour and give a real feeling of the setting. What do you think?