Robert Houghton wrote:I'm quite surprised at the photo of Elizabeth castle - to me that's even less like my own personal image of Kirrin than Corfe is. It just proves that although Enid says she put this castle and island into a book, she was only really pandering to people's insistence that Kirrin was based on a real place...and I'm still 100% sure that Kirrin was an amalgamation of several castles and islands Enid had known.
I dunno... to me - minus the buildings below it, as Cathy said - it looks satisfyingly like my own childhood mental image of Kirrin!
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
Julie2owlsdene wrote:There are many little off shore islands around Jersey, I think that Enid had spotted one of these, and maybe saw a ruin of some sort on the island. An old fort or something, and her own imagination then turned it into Kirrin Island and she replaced the building with a ruined castle. If you read Enid's letter kindly posted by Tony, she says it was an island off Jersey which she liked to visit and you could only get there by boat. Enid's own imagination I think did the rest.
I agree with both you, Rob and Anita, Julie. People really should remember that Kirrin was a product of fiction (as was Peterswood). Many influences, of course, but not a real place.
Anita Bensoussane wrote:I agree with Julie that the Jersey island and castle probably only sowed a seed in Enid's mind, and that she wasn't trying to replicate them (or indeed any other island and castle) when she created Kirrin.
Enid's account of visiting the lighthouse is very atmospheric, with some striking pieces of description.
Yes I really enjoyed that too, although I'm probably slightly biased. Allegedly I was conceived on Jersey and my parents always spoke fondly of the island. In the 1980's a horse called Corbiere won the Grand National and my mother had a nice little windfall from it.
"Stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence like poor Julian in the Famous Five!"
Francis wrote:Bodiam Castle would make a great place to live - you could always draw up the drawbridge if someone unpleasant comes along! Thanks for the link, Nigel - it sure beats Blue Peter.
Francis, I've been to Bodiam Castle in 1981 and walked up the tower. Great place!
Chrissie
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"For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake."
Alfred Hitchcock
