Was Enid an apothecary?

[pete9012S]

Was Enid a literary apothecary ?
Can reading cure us and REALLY make us better?

Im sure on this forum we already know that idea that literature can make us emotionally and physically stronger goes way back to Plato……
"One sheds one's sicknesses in books," DH Lawrence once wrote - good books, anyway - are a form of therapy. "Prose not Prozac" is the prescription. Literature not lithium.

Its also true to say that an increasing number of people are being referred by their GPs to the local library, where they'll find shelves or "reading pharmacies" set aside for literature deemed relevant to their condition.
(I often go to the library without being sent by my doctor and always feel uplifted mentaly and physically on my return home.)
I for one certainly feel that great literature Enid so generously provided can make us morally better, by kindling "our own best self".
But the idea that books can make us emotionally, psychologically and even physically better goes back to the ancient world………….

It's no coincidence that Apollo is the god of both poetry and healing; nor that hospitals or health sanctuaries in ancient Greece were invariably situated next to theatres .

Does anyone remember in the bible the story of David calming Saul:
"And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him."
This is surely the other great therapeutic power of literature - it doesn't just echo our own experience, recognise, vindicate and validate it - it takes us places we hadn't imagined but which, once seen, we never forget. When literature is working - the right words in the right place - it offers an orderliness which can shore up readers against the disorder, or lack of control, that afflicts them. necessary, and are too clamorous to grant the space to contemplate and withdraw.

As we all well know Enid was drawn to storytelling and writing to be taken to those heavenly places,and we her faithful readers join her there when we read her work.

Another most consciously renovating or therapeutic writer is Ted Hughes –
Ted defined poetry as "nothing more than a facility for expressing that complicated process in which we locate, and attempt to heal, affliction - whether our own or that of others whose feeling we can share. The inmost spirit of poetry, in other words, is at bottom, in every recorded case, the voice of pain - and the physical body, so to speak, of poetry, is the treatment by which the poet tries to reconcile that pain with the world."
When Hughes describes poetry as consisting of "things we don't actually want to say" but "desperately need to share", he is talking as a writer, not a reader. But the inseparability of reading and writing is something which Proust acknowledges when he defines the book as a "sort of optical instrument which the writer offers to the reader to enable the latter to discover in himself what he would not have found but for the aid of the book". It's often said that books "take us out of ourselves", but in reality the best literature is surreptitiously taking us inside ourselves, deeper than we might have expected or chosen to go.

Enid, like the worlds great writers also allows us to discover ourselves not just through fleeting childhood but for the whole of our cognizant lives

Regards
Pete

[Gary]

You make some valid points in this post Pete,although most of what you post is a bit of a joke,I do agree with you,that books have a tremendous power to change our mood and make us feel better!!!!!

[pete9012S]

most of what you post is a bit of a joke

Cheers Gazzer!

[Moonraker]

Pete could easily have The Joker as his username! Good to have you back, Pete!

[pete9012S]

Cheers Nigel,what are you having!

[Gary]

With so many younger ones using this site,lots of whom being under age,it may be wise not to set a bad example regarding alcoholic beverages,even in jest.....

[Moonraker]

So are you saying a love of real ale is setting a bad example? Goodness me, I must be a wicked person!

Pete, I tried to make the picture bigger to read the pumpclips, but it was too pixellated! There appears to be two handpumps, so I would definitely choose an ale from one of them!

Cheers, Pete!

[pete9012S]

I tried to make the picture bigger to read the pumpclips, but it was too pixellated!

Is this pic any better?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnoflint/2983559879/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Think you would like this pub,its one of my faves.lovely coal fires in winter.....here's the view from the outside:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/philcilcain/829566263/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


(Sorry Gary if I'm treading on your insensibilities! ? )

[Moonraker]

Looks a great hostelry, Pete. I've not had any Mansfield beers, can't make out the two on the left, so I'll have a pint of each except for the Scrumpy Jack - not a cider lover!

[Gary]

Perhaps Pete I could draw the young ones attention to this excellent website,just to balance things out???????

http://www.sonsoftemperance.abelgratis. ... ktails.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More excellent info here;

http://www.sonsoftemperance.abelgratis.co.uk/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lucky Star]

I hardly think a small thumbnail picture of a bar is going to turn any of the younger members into alcoholics. Children can legally visit pubs up till a certain time of evening anyway. Some ice drink recipes on that site though.

[Moonraker]

Gary, what is your problem?! There is no need to peddle temperance propaganda! The British pub is a wonderful institution where families can gather for enjoyable times. Of course over indulgence produces harmful behaviour, but as with all pleasurable activity, you mustn't let the actions of idiots colour the beneficial joys of sensible participation. The important thing is to promote an occasional visit to a charming public house as an enjoyable experience. It is our heritage, and to sample British (and foreign) beers in convivial surroundings is nothing to be ashamed of, or to hide from children. If our young friends such as Abi and Icey should venture to Old Thatch, I shall be proud to sit with them in the charming Spade Oak, next door.

[Gary]

Moonraker,I appreciate that you no doubt drink in moderation.I was referring to the deplorable state our country is in due to the sad effects of over drinking and was simply asking Pete to think of the possible consequences of some of his ill judged humour and the negative effect it might have on the younger generation.
Its hard to treat this problem lightly after reading articles such as this recent one from the Daily Mail.

Alcohol abuse 'costing Britain £6bn a year'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -year.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Moonraker]

If you have to resort to The Daily Mail to back up your arguments, you have a slim case, Gary! Yes, the UK suffers from the effects of binge drinking, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. I can speak from experience, as I am out there to pick up the pieces. The culture of many young people is to get as 'hammered' as soon as possible. Starting with cheap supermarket lagers, they then go on, necking shots and other high alcohol drinks until they are totally inebriated.

This sad state of affairs has nothing to do with responsible drinking, British beers and public houses, any more than cars driven by idiots that cause devastation in our roads can be blamed at the door of all drivers and petrol stations!

All of this has nothing to do with our love of real ale. Indeed, cheap supermarket chemical fizz is the fuel of choice for most of these binge drinkers.

To drink responsibly and to savour and appreciate the years of tradition that go into the brewing of our wonderful ales has nothing to do with binge drinking. To bring children into responsibly run and managed public houses is all part of their education, and the pub must not be portrayed as an 'adults only' establishment, where men and women get drunk. The pubs I frequent are family establishments which are run in a friendly and professional manner.

To imply that these pubs and discussions of our national brew will put children on the road to ruin is preposterous and ridiculous.

Scare stories from The Daily Mail are best wrapped around fish and chips. Or is a plate of fish and chips leading children into a world of obesity and I'll health?

[pete9012S]

I've only been back five minutes and I feel in need of an apothecary!
Care to join me Gary,on the house? (non alcoholic of course!!)



ps Gary,it is possible for Pete & Gary combos to get on together!

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/my-kitchen-rules ... -gary-qld/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;