Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

pete9012S wrote:
Image
A classic pic of George and Tim by Eileen Soper

Image
Betty Maxey's take on the same scene..
Regarding the two illustrations above, I much prefer Eileen Soper's depiction of Timmy as he has light and shade and texture and looks very real. Betty Maxey's Timmy seems flat and stiff by comparison (I'm talking about that particular picture - he looks better in some of her other illustrations).

However, I prefer Betty Maxey's depiction of George (in that scene) because the angle of her head and her facial expression convey a great deal of emotion. The face of Eileen Soper's George is somewhat lifeless (in that particular picture). Also, George's posture looks a little more natural in Maxey's illustration. I think that's helped by the 1960s shirt and flares though, which George of the 1940s obviously wouldn't have worn! They flow and drape, creating quite an elegant outline.
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Moonraker »

Courtenay wrote:Shouldn't that be doyenne? :wink: (I know it's politically incorrect to use gendered nouns nowadays in English, but doyen / doyenne is French and all their nouns are gendered...)
I think you've answered your own question, here!

Whilst strictly correct, we are discouraged from using the feminine versions of nouns, today. For example, most actresses prefer to be called actors and female orchestra conductors are not referred to as conductresses. An exception seems to be waitress - I haven't heard of a waitress asking to be called a waiter.
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Courtenay »

I've heard "waitstaff" and even "waitperson" being used instead of waiter / waitress, which just sounds bizarre... :shock:
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by pete9012S »

For a second, I thought I had clicked into the English Grammar, Spelling and Vocabulary thread by mistake!
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Daisy »

:lol: Pete! Reverting to the topic, I always wondered how much ointment would actually penetrate Timmy's furry chest! The Maxey illustration does make that idea slightly more likely - that Timmy might benefit from the medication!
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by pete9012S »

Image

Good point Daisy. I always found George putting oil on Tim's chest very endearing and and logical - from a child's point of view.
'What were you doing in here?' asked her father. 'You know you children are forbidden to come into my study.'
'I know,' said George. 'But you see Timmy had a dreadful cough, and I couldn't bear it. So I crept down about one o'clock and let him in. This was the only room that was really warm, so I sat here and rubbed his chest with the oil Mother uses when she has a cold.'

'Rubbed the dog's chest with camphorated oil!' exclaimed her father, in amazement. 'What a mad thing to do! As if it would do him any good.'
'It didn't seem mad to me,' said George. 'It seemed sensible. And Timmy's cough is much better today. I'm sorry for coming into the study. I didn't touch a thing, of course.'
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Daisy »

Diverting a bit from the main topic: does anyone else remember a parody sung to the tune "John Brown's body.." where there is a line "And they rubbed him with camphorated oil"? The chorus went "camphor-amphor-amphorated..(repeat twice more) and ending "and they rubbed him...etc."

Thinking more about this, the verse started "John Brown's baby's got a cold upon his chest." :)
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Moonraker wrote:
Courtenay wrote:Shouldn't that be doyenne? :wink: (I know it's politically incorrect to use gendered nouns nowadays in English, but doyen / doyenne is French and all their nouns are gendered...)
I think you've answered your own question, here!

Whilst strictly correct, we are discouraged from using the feminine versions of nouns, today. For example, most actresses prefer to be called actors and female orchestra conductors are not referred to as conductresses. An exception seems to be waitress - I haven't heard of a waitress asking to be called a waiter.
That's because women have recognised that the male form of the words are better, lol! :lol: :twisted:

I've always found it a bit daft in a way, as they are only words, and 'actress' immediately tells us we are talking about a woman. I personally don't see what's wrong with that...but that's another discussion entirely! It sort of seems a bit of a backward step for women to feel better because they are referred to by a 'male' version of a word...

Funny we still call a Lioness a Lioness and not a Lion... :wink:

Talking of the illustrations, I have to admit Soper's Timmy is always better than the scrawny mutt Betty Maxey depicts. I do agree that George looks 'better' in the illustration Anita cites though. She looks much more real and her expressions are more lifelike.

I must admit I was amazed in Pete's quote that Enid had used the word 'doyen' - and then I looked the passage up! :roll: :lol:
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Rob Houghton wrote:Funny we still call a Lioness a Lioness and not a Lion... :wink:
I read a newspaper article this morning which mentioned the Duchess of Cambridge and her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Rob Houghton »

I guess she should really have been called The Duke of Cambridge and her daughter Prince Charlotte... :wink:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by pete9012S »

Image

Look how another artist depicts the Famous Five - it's easy to imagine looking at Timmy in this pic just how scared and frightened Junior must have been when Tim came after him!
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Wolfgang »

It looks as if the artist is Jean Sidobre. He illustrated the French editions of the Famous Five for quite some time. It seems the Dutch seemed to have taken the cover from the French.
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by sixret »

Nice cover.
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by pete9012S »

Image

Thank you wolfgang. Is this the same artist?
You certainly wouldn't want to tangle with Tim without a revolver!
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Re: Timmy - Timothy - Tim in the Books?

Post by Courtenay »

:lol: I always thought the dog who played Timmy in the 1990s TV series looked too skinny to be threatening, but this version takes the cake!

Love George's pink jumper and short shorts in the first cover illustration, although the outfit rather clashes with the idea of her dressing like a boy... :shock:
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