Trippers

[pete9012S]

I looked up the expression 'day-tripper' on wiki. It said...

A day-tripper is a person who visits a tourist destination or visitor attraction from his/her home and returns home on the same day.
Contents



Definition

In other words, this excursion does not involve a night away from home such as experienced on a holiday. Thus the day trip or daycation can be a very popular form of recreation and leisure for families who care for young children or people who are too frail to travel easily or who own pets, or for whom the logistics and cost of a night away from home may be prohibitive.
History

In Medieval days a destination for such days out would be religious (to a nearby shrine) or commercial, for example to a seasonal fair. Later, in England, visits to stately homes by those who regarded themselves middle class became frequent and it was the tradition to reward the butler or housekeeper with a tip for providing access to their employers' home. As such homes were meant for show it is unlikely that the owning family would object, provided they were not in residence at the time.

The arrival of the railway excursion, often using Day Tripper tickets, in the mid 19th century saw the blossoming of a distinctive day-tripper industry. Trippers also travelled in their thousands by paddlesteamer or steamship to the many piers around Victorian era seaside resorts. The General Slocum excursion was an example.

Cycling became a very popular day-tripper activity, especially amongst urban and suburban workers from the mid-1880s onwards.

Coach and charabanc outings followed as the internal combustion engine became reliable enough to get the paying customers out and back again. Works outings and church or chapel excursions were extremely popular until the 1970s.

While all of the foregoing still exist, the modern day-tripper experience is usually by motor car as a result of the growth of car ownership. Also, airlines such as Palmair promote day trips.[1]

[Moonraker]

My dog is good during the summer and winter!

Have I only met him in autumn and spring, then?

[Poppy]

She did seem to mention 'Trippers' an awful lot, especially in The Famous Five. Never in a good way, that is, which I agree is rather stereotype.

[pete9012S]

Merged with an older thread.

Enid was so right about her attitude towards litter and its proper disposal.

Just take a good look at the accompanying picture - shocking.
Why can't all bags be made out of paper or completely biodegradable materials.
I would pay a bit more if it meant keeping the planet clean for our children's children's children's children!!






Larger pic:

http://tinypic.com/r/v30tbk/8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Courtenay]

The aluminium can, plastic beverage holder (read: six-pack rings) and especially the disposable nappy are the most shocking! I'm sure if Enid were around today, she would write even more stories with environmental messages than she did during her lifetime. As a child I just enjoyed her stories and took them for granted, but now I'm older I admire all the more how much she cared about children knowing right from wrong and learning to care for others and the world around them.

[Poppy]

That's really interesting, thanks Pete. Several authors in the 30's and 40's seemed conscious about the disposal of litter, etc, in their books; for example, Arthur Ransome - I'm not sure which book or anything, but he definitely mentioned something about trippers and their litter.
Some of the things there and the years quite surprise me; for example, the tin cans and the aluminium cans. We regularly litter pick our street; we are part of a Neighbourhood Watch team and a Partnership.
I would definitely be for all items to be fast-decomposable. The only thing about Paper bags is when it rains, it makes things very difficult! We have the material shopping bags now which are good, and I would recommend. We are really sick of seeing litter in the streets - it would be great if people thought about the environment before being lazy and just dropping their rubbish. It's just like leaving it for somebody else, who cares, to come along and pick it up for them.

[deepeabee]

I really dislike litter. I hate going for a walk in the country and seeing someone's disgusting mess left or even just walking down the road there is often litter. I was always brought up, like the children in Blyton books, to pack my litter up and take it home. I still do.

Every year the SCUBA club my husband belongs to go on a beach clean up in Porth Ysgaden on the Llyn peninsular and it's amazing how much rubbish is found on this very small beach miles from any urban area.

Here is a horrible headline I saw a while ago...http://www.realnews24.com/gray-whale-di ... tic-trash/

[Anita Bensoussane]

Like others here, I wouldn't dream of dropping litter. People who do so are disgustingly selfish and uncaring.

Another problem is dog-owners who don't clear up after their dogs. We went for a walk in a beautiful country park today, taking a picnic with us, but the beauty was spoilt somewhat by piles of dog dirt here and there.

[pete9012S]

Why did Enid Blyton seem to dislike them so much? When were they very first mentioned in print by her?

(was it perhaps in The Secret Island,way back in 1938 - where trippers are mentioned no less than thirty two times!??)

I have found an earlier reference to Trippers from 1937 in Enid's work.
Can anyone find an earlier reference?
I would be interested to learn when she used the expression for the very last time in her books too.

The Little Brown Duck
No. 32
Date: August 20, 1937

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/mag ... ?magid=283" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Benny went to see the ducks every day. They grew and
they grew. Nobody knew about them until August Bank
Holiday came.

Then a motor-coach brought some trippers
from the towns; and three big boys, wandering along by the
stream-side, saw the little brown duck with her brood of
ducklings.

And what do you suppose they did ? Well, you will
hardly believe it, but they picked up stones and began to
throw them at the little duck family.

The little brown duck quacked in alarm. Her ducklings swam close to her in terror.
The stones fell thick and fast around. One little duckling was
hit, and quacked in pain and fright.

Possibly Enid's first mention of Trippers - doesn't portray them in a good light..

[Courtenay]

Possibly Enid's first mention of Trippers - doesn't portray them in a good light..

Does she ever??

[pete9012S]

Smuggler Ben also includes a 'dislike against trippers.' Ben not letting the children come to his cove and beach.

Yes, Loony - although Smuggler Ben himself (1943) dislikes Trippers:...

" Hey, you there! Keep out of this cove! " The children stopped. "Why should we?" said Alec. " Because it belongs to me," said the boy. " You keep out of this. It's been my cove for years, and no one's come here. I won't have you trippers coming into it and spoiling it." "We're not trippers! " cried Hilary indignantly. " We're staying at Sea Cottage for a whole month." " Well, you're trippers for a month then instead of for a day! " said the boy sulkily. " Clear off! I tell you. This is my own place here. I don't want anyone else in it. If you come here I'll set on you and beat you off."

...He doesn't at first realise that Alec and Hilary also view them with disdain!

They came from the big seaside town not far off where many trippers went. The children watched them fly past, the white spray flying into the air.

[Fiona1986]

There's a poem "Little-Place" in Real Fairies (1923) which talks about trippers without using that word.

This summer I went out alone, to play in Cuckoo Wood,
For now that I am eight years old, my Mummy said I could;
And, oh! I found a lovely place, all carpeted with moss,
And through the middle flowed a brook that I could jump across.

It goes on to how the child played there every day, seeing robins and rabbits and butterflies.

And then, one summer’s day, I found some other people there,
And orange peel and paper bags were scattered everywhere.
My little brook was muddy brown, the buttercups were dead;
And all the birds and butterflies had taken flight and fled.

The child tries to reclaim the special place, burying the rubbish and so on, but to no avail.

It looked the same, but oh! it had a different feel–
The feel those people left behind, with paper bags and peel.

And then I knew that Little-Place belonged to me no more,
For never would it feel again as it had felt before.
And when I said good-bye and went, the tears ran down my face,
Because I knew I’d never come again to Little-Place.

That's not the whole poem, obviously! But it reminds me very much of the trippers she writes about in later books like The Secret Island.

I'm lucky that my library has a (possibly first edition) copy of Real Fairies in the children's stacks.

[pete9012S]

Ooooh yes - thanks Fiona. Enid is definitely describing the detritus Trippers leave everywhere they roam.
What an early reference from 1923 too.

I may be wrong, but that intriguing poem you mentioned looks like it has never appeared in any other book except Real Fairies going by the Cave's info?

First edition: 1923
Publisher: J. Saville
Illustrator: not illustrated
Category: Poetry Books
Genre: Mixed
Type: Poetry and Song Books

Little-Place
Poem: Specially Written

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/boo ... al+Fairies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Fiona1986]

If you want the poem in full just let me know and I'll nip down to the stacks on Thursday for the book.

[pete9012S]

Sounds great Fiona if it's not too much trouble, thank you.