Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Island by Joyce Stranger Wild Cat Island. For the first time in an age, I’m Into a book. I’ve got that particular feeling – a strange, dazed sort of weightlessness that is instantly recognisable, but so rare nowadays. And it’s brilliant to have it back. I’m reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , by Mary Ann Shaffer and Anne Burrows - romping through it would be more accurate, since I only started it today. It’s only a little book, but it is so wonderfully evocative, of an era and a place and a set of characters you feel you know , that I felt like I was in that world. And I know that I won’t want it to end, which is my measure for a good book. Not the style of the writing or the fame of the author or the, *shudder*, originality of the story. Just the creation of a world which I don’t want to leave. I think it’s one of the reasons why I struggle with many “classics”. It’s not that they’re not good, or that I don’t recognise the quality of the writing; it’s just that they’re written differently to how I like my books. For me, something like Dickens is Observation , not Immersion , and while I am happy to Observe, it’s nothing on that feeling of knowing a world or a set of characters so well that you carry them with you when you put the book down, like holiday memories. It’s not losing yourself, quite – rather, losing your surroundings. You are there – that’s what makes it so good. All my favourite books are like that – my real favourites, the ones that are dog-eared and decayed. Coming Home , by Rosamund Pilcher, was like that; The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets , by Eva Rice; David Eddings’ Belgariad and Mallorean . And every time, it’s a wrench when they end. So yes, glee and happiness, and I can’t wait til I have the time to read again… Four more work days! Four! Then freedom! Friday, 29 May 2009. Finals Filler: Look at my old university isn't it GREAT? hahahaha oh CAMBRIDGE, never change! This Monday, 1st June, at 8.15am in the Chapel, there will be a celebration of Holy Communion according to the Book of Common Prayer 1662 in LATIN. All are welcome to attend this service, which is our right (under the rules noted below) and for which we are keeping the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (transferred from 31st May). The Rule: Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion XXIV. Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a Tongue as the people understandeth. It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the Primitive Church to have public Prayer in the Church, or to minister the Sacraments, in a tongue not understanded of the people. Canon B42 of the Church of England : Authorized forms of service may be said or sung in Latin in . Chapels and other public places in university colleges and halls. Uh-maaaaaaazing. I love the defensiveness of LOOK WE CAAAAN SPEAK IN LATIN LOOK LOOK. Also that this is quite a lot of what my exam is about on Monday. Brilliant. :D. PS My exam today was fine. Could have been better (I think my essay was pretty bland and unnuanced which is irritating because I know I can do better) but it wasn't a disaster and that's all that matters! Wild Cat Island. Wild Cat Island is a small wooded island located in the south east of The Lake and somewhat separate from other islands. Its main features are: a tall pine, a clearing where tents can be pitched, a landing place (a small beach) and a Secret Harbour. Name [ edit | edit source ] Nancy said "It is called Wild Cat Island. Uncle Jim called it that, because it belonged to us. That shows you whose island it is" (SA10). In the winter, the island becomes Spitzbergen : Titty says ‘ "It's Spitzbergen . just for now, but you can see what a splendid place it is when it’s Wild Cat Island" (WH13). The island is called Yamaneko-jima in the Japanese translations. See also wikipedia:. Native prototypes [ edit | edit source ] Wild Cat Island appears to be a combination of several actual islands in both Coniston Water and Windermere. Peel Island is the location of the Secret Harbour and also has a small campground and rocky edges. Ransome wrote that he had taken features from Peel Island and Blakeholme on Windermere. He also suggested that Ramp Holme had contributed features to his composite island. He wrote in his Autobiography of a trip with the Collingwood girls to: Peel Island, the island that had mattered so much to me as a small boy, was in the distant future to play its part in some of my books, and is still, in my old age, a crystallising point for happy memories. First steps on Peel Island. One of the key locations in Swallows and Amazons is the secret harbour on Wild Cat Island. It’s also one of the relatively few cases where the real-world original is easily and unambiguously identifiable; it’s on Peel Island in Coniston Water. Peel Island from the shore at High Peel Near. I wrote in Exploring Arthur Ransome’sLake District that: ‘To see the harbour properly you need to approach from the water. For many fans of the books, this is the most thrilling moment in their explorations of Ransome country.’ However, despite many years (decades, if I’m honest) of exploring the southern Lakes, this particular thrill was one I hadn’t experienced until I was already working on the book. I suppose it’s interesting, if not surprising, that my early and enduring love for Swallows and Amazons and the rest of Ransome’s lake country novels never turned me into a sailor. Opportunities didn’t exactly fall into my lap but I could have tried harder… however, up until 2007, my only experiences on the actual waters of Windermere and Coniston had been on commercial services – the Coniston launch and the Gondola, Windermere Lake Cruises and the ferry. You can see pretty much all of both lakes that way, but you don’t get to set foot on any of the islands. And I knew that I couldn’t do an honest job on the book without at least setting foot on Peel Island. Time was running out and I hadn’t located a friendly seafarer with a dinghy. But I did have some friends who owned sea kayaks. So there we were one bracing day at the end of January 2007, unloading kayaks from the roof of Jonathan Westaway’s car in the car-park just north of Brown Howe on the west shore of Coniston. (Brown Howe itself was used as Beckfoot in the 1974 film). There was a brisk breeze and the waters of the lake were distinctly choppy. For some odd reason no-one else seemed to be out on the lake… From there to the harbour on Peel was only about a kilometre. Not far to paddle, but I’m no expert. And as soon as we moved out of the shelter of the trees, it became clear that the wind was stronger than we’d realised, and also almost exactly side-on – on the beam, I guess the proper sailors would say. Sea-kayaks are long, but quite narrow. In spite of this they are allegedly stable. But put me in one and the combination is rather less stable. We were just about opposite Low Peel Near when the inevitable happened and I capsized. My first thought was to be extremely glad that I’d got my camera in a waterproof case (I’d actually imagined beforehand that I might take a few shots from the water). My second thought was … well, not exactly ‘shiver my timbers’, but all the letters of what I did think are in there and in the right order. Surprisingly, I actually remembered being taught to roll when I was in the Scouts, a very long time ago. I say I remembered it, but I couldn’t put it into practise, so it was time for Plan B: exit the boat. I did at least stay calm and executed this manoeuvre in an orderly manner, and with a good deal of help from my expert adviser I was fairly soon back in the boat. Of course I was now wet through. Paddling did help to warm me up a bit and we got to the harbour without further ado, but I must admit my thoughts as we slid onto the little beach were not so much about what a great thrill it was finally to be there and more along the lines of, “better not hang around too long.” Still, we were there and we needed to explore and get a few photos. Kayaks in the secret harbour. The harbour itself is exactly right, even if narrower than it appears in Ransome’s drawing in Chapter 4 of Swallows and Amazons. The rest of the island, however, was more of a surprise and not particularly like I’d imagined it. It’s smaller than it should be, for a start; once you imagine a few tents somewhere in the middle there isn’t a lot of space for all the other things that happen there. As the photo below shows, there’s a ridge of rock along each side of the island with a low, fairly open space in the middle; there are a few scattered trees but very little undergrowth. Of course the vegetation may have been significantly different when Ransome was writing Swallows and Amazons 75 years ago, or when he first visited the island either as a boy or as a very young man, certainly more than a century back. There certainly isn’t the nice little sheltered bay with a shingle beach that became the ‘landing place’ (as distinct from the harbour) – check the map at the front of Swallows and Amazons . The middle of Peel island. Apparently when they made the film of S&A in 1974 the crew created a landing place of sorts by dumping a load of shingle – this is related in Sophie Neville’s The Secrets of Filming Swallows & Amazons . It must have been at the northern end of the east side of the island, where the rock wall peters out, not in the middle as shown in the book. Even with this artificial aid, the landing place in the film is much smaller than the one suggested in the book. Of course it’s no secret that Wild Cat Island as a whole is one of Ransome’s composite creations. It’s generally recognised that the other main model is Blake Holme in Windermere. However, Blake Holme is even smaller (in length if not in area) than Peel Island, and is also extremely close to the shore – where there is now a busy caravan site. On Peel, that chilly January day, we soon found our way to the northern end of the island. There’s no lighthouse tree, but it does provide a good lookout up the length of Coniston Water. It was also very open to the north-west wind and in my wet clothes I really felt it. Timbers properly shivering, it was time to go. Fortunately the return trip went smoothly and I was soon changing into dry clothes in the toilet block at the car park. After loading up the kayaks onto the car we set off in search of Americanos and bacon butties. Kayaks ready to leave the secret harbour. Many thanks to Jonathan Westaway for pilot/navigator/rescue services and to Julia for lending me her kayak. The Wild Cat | 1923-1945. The Wild Cat operated in Hersheypark from 1923 to 1945. It was manufactured by Philadelphia Company and The Wild Cat was the first roller coaster designed by Herbert P. Schmeck. This article is about Hersheypark’s first roller coaster, The Wild Cat, which opened 95 years ago. If you are looking for information on Wildcat, a roller coaster Hersheypark installed in 1996, click here . The Wild Cat was the first roller coaster in Hersheypark. It opened on June 16, 1923, and was closed on September 9, 1945. Here is a look at the history of Hersheypark’s first roller coaster, which had three names, many riders, and was the beginning of the career of a classic roller coaster designer. “A Ride Over The Tree Tops” After the end of World War I in November 1918, the 1919 season was one everyone was excited about. The year went well for Hersheypark, and plans were in the works to add a number of new rides to Hersheypark in the early 1920s, including a roller coaster. However, the Hershey Chocolate Company experienced significant financial instability which forced the company into receivership in early 1920. While the company was in receivership, Hersheypark management was unable to enact their plans to add new rides (planned rides included a Whip, which wasn’t installed until 1937). Due to the financial instability that the Hershey Chocolate Company experienced in 1920, no new attractions were able to be added to Hersheypark. The Company didn’t get out of these financial issues until 1922, and that gave park management the freedom to consider and buy new rides. Because 1923 was the 20th Anniversary of the town of Hershey, there was no question Hersheypark would be at the center of this celebration. (Oddly, management also decided that the 1923 season would be Hersheypark’s 20th anniversary, even though nothing was built on the park’s property until late summer 1905 and the park didn’t formally open until 1906.) Park management was interested in installing a roller coaster as part of these celebrations, especially after the financial difficulties the town experienced in the previous two years. On January 18, 1923, the new roller coaster was announced. The roller coaster was to be an “out and back” roller coaster, manufactured by Philadelphia Toboggan Company, and hopefully opened on the first day of the 1923 season, May 30 – Memorial Day. An article in The Hershey Press, titled “Hershey Park To Have a Coaster” said: We have good news to impart to the red-blooded amusement seeking young man and woman. Hershey Park is going to have a thriller in operation this coming season – “A Ride Over the Tree Tops.” The Figure 8, or Switchback, or “A Ride Over the Tree Tops,” whichever you choose to call it will be in operation on Decoration Day [another name for Memorial Day]. –The Hershey Press, January 18, 1923, page 1. Figure Eight was a common name for a roller coaster at the time, although it really referred to a different kind of coaster from the one that was actually installed. An example of a Figure Eight roller coaster can be seen in this article about the Figure Eight roller coasters at West View Park. This article indicates the original name for the roller coaster was “A Ride Over the Tree Tops.” There were a few other roller coasters with a similar names, though they were in reference to flying through clouds rather than above the trees. A few examples of this style of name which existed at the time are: Chase Through The Clouds – Willow Grove Park, in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, originally called Giant Racing Coaster, renamed to Chase Through The Clouds in 1920. This coaster operated from 1911 – 1923. Race Through The Clouds – Idora Park, in Oakland, California, opened in 1913 – c1923. Trip Through The Clouds – Electric Park, in Detroit, Michigan, operated 1915 – 1924. Rocky Point Park in Warwick, Rhode Island, had a roller coaster called Round the Treetops which operated from 1912 until circa 1938 (it was more than likely destroyed in the 1938 New England hurricane which critically damaged Rocky Point Park). Philadelphia Toboggan Company. Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) was a well established manufacturer of roller coasters, carousels, and other rides, established in 1904. Prior to this point, Hersheypark never had a relationship with PTC, as they had only installed four rides – two carousels, a miniature railroad, and a toboggan slide. This was the beginning of a long relationship between the two companies. Park management was not interested in owning a roller coaster due to risk and liability associated with roller coasters; however, they were interested in bringing a coaster to the park. In late 1922, Hersheypark agreed to a contract with PTC. Hersheypark rented the land the coaster occupied to PTC, who in turn, owned and operated the roller coaster. Notably, Hersheypark’s first coaster was also the first roller coaster designed by famous designer and future PTC president Herbert P. Schmeck. In April 1923, PTC was searching for laborers and carpenters to construct the roller coaster at Hersheypark. A classified advert from The Evening News, Harrisburg, PA, April 6, 1923, on page 28. Construction. The roller coaster was constructed at a cost of $50,000. The station of the roller coaster was to be built on the hill by the bowling alley building and the main pavilion. As of 2017, this is the location of the Hershey Triple Towers. The coaster would then go through a tunnel and then up the lift. The track would turn and go through several hills before it would turn around in a large curve and go back toward the station. A map of Hersheypark showing The Wild Cat. The roller coaster crossed Spring Creek twice. Today, this area of the park is colloquially known as Trailblazer Hollow. You can see people watching the roller coaster from a bridge over Spring Creek. The area where the coaster is today would be where the Trailblazer Theater is, as well as parts of and Trailblazer. The roller coaster was given a name – The Joy Ride. The name was placed on the front of the roller coaster station. This name rarely appeared in any advertisements for the park or in articles in newspapers. The name most often attributed to The Joy Ride was “Giant Roller Coaster,” even in the local newspaper, The Hershey Press . Hersheypark opened for the new season on May 30, 1923 – Memorial Day. However, construction delays pushed The Joy Ride’s opening into June. The roller coaster was scheduled to debut the weekend of the 20th Anniversary celebration for the town of Hershey. The Joy Ride opens. Advert in the Harrisburg Telegraph, published on June 12, 1923, on page 14. Note at the very bottom, a list of attractions including the “Roller Coaster.” For this weekend, Hersheypark was decorated with Japanese lanterns all along the banks of Spring Creek, from the dance hall and Carrousel at the west end, to The Joy Ride at the east end, while colored lights were strung throughout the rest of the park. On both days of the event, The Bach Choir – with the Moravian Trombone Choir and Philadelphia Orchestra – performed in Hershey Park Convention Hall, while Creatore’s Band played in Hershey Park Band Shell. The Joy Ride opened on the first day of the Celebration, June 16, 1923. Rides on the roller coaster were offered for free, though women were not permitted to ride until the afternoon. Marion Murrie, the daughter of the president of the Hershey Chocolate Company, was the first woman to ride The Joy Ride that afternoon. The Wild Cat returning across Spring Creek. This photo is courtesy of the Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society. The opening day was quite successful, but there was discussion on whether or not to operate the roller coaster the next day due to it being a Sunday. Management decided to operate the roller coaster on June 17, though other rides, such as the Carrousel, remained closed. Over 50,000 people were in the Hersheypark on June 17, because it was the main day for the 20th Anniversary celebration (an estimated amount of automobiles was figured at around 10,000). The Wild Cat returning to the station. This photo is courtesy of the Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society. Renovation into The Wild Cat. The roller coaster would be renovated by PTC in 1935 and renamed The Wild Cat. The ride was reprofiled to go faster. Published in the Elizabethtown Chronicle on May 24, 1935, page 1. One of the operators of The Wild Cat was Ralph William Marquet, who also operated the , and later, . In an interview with the Hershey News in 1956, he spoke of his time operating the park’s first roller coaster. Every day, just before putting the [Wild Cat] into operation, [Marquet] sends one of the trains around the track for a test run. On this particular day, [Marquet] was amazed to find a passenger seated in the back seat of the supposedly empty train. “The guy told me he climbed up the superstructure and boarded the car as it slowed down going around a turn,” [Marquet] recalled with a chuckle. — Hershey News, April 5, 1956, page 2. World War II. When the United States entered World War II, the United States government began rationing materials such as rubber, various metals, and gasoline, while other materials such as wood were mainly directed to the war effort. Because The Wild Cat was removed at the end of the 1945 season, there is a myth that the roller coaster was removed because the roller coaster was not regularly maintenanced due to World War II. Rationing during World War II, United States Office of Price Administration, 1943. This is not the case. While they were not able to do complete maintenance on the ride, they were able to keep the ride in working condition. By 1945, all rationing had ended in Pennsylvania, and the war ended in September. Toward the middle of the 1945 season, PTC began expressing interest in building a new roller coaster to replace The Wild Cat. Hersheypark management was interested in the concept. Both PTC and Hersheypark wanted to construct a more impressive roller coaster – and that became Comet, which is still in Hersheypark today. To present day. After The Wild Cat was removed in 1945, the former station area was unoccupied for one season. In 1947, the space was filled by a new PTC ride, Cuddle Up. In 1978, the Cuddle Up was replaced by a newer version of the Cuddle Up – Hersheypark themed this ride after the Minetown theme, so the ride was named Coal Shaker, with coal shaped cars. Coal Shaker was replaced with three kiddie rides (Convoy, Dinosaurs-Go-Round until 2005, Frog Hopper after 2005, and Red Baron). The kiddie rides were relocated in 2016 to make way for Hershey Triple Tower which opened in 2017. Modern view of The Wild Cat’s station location, where the Hershey Triple Towers operate. The original Turnpike, installed in 1960 (removed after 1973), Dry Gulch Railroad, installed in 1961, Monorail, installed in 1969, Trailblazer, installed in 1974, and Storm Runner, installed in 2004, also occupies some of the space where The Wild Cat stood. The Cat is Back! In 1995, Hersheypark announced “The Cat is Back!” when they announced a new . The park named the roller coaster Wildcat, after The Wild Cat. This was the history of The Wild Cat, Hersheypark’s first roller coaster. To read some Throwback Thursday posts, click here. Two for Joy Paperback – 7 December 1984. The author has trained and shown dogs for years and written lots of fiction about animals and the country life. This factual account of her dogs Janus and Puma contains lots of good observations, lessons learned and practical advice. Despite the title I am afraid this is a very sad book, as Joyce's beautiful Alsatian dies and anyone who loves dogs will be in tears. Her books are always worth reading and contain no padding or exaggeration. Try also Three's Company and Three's a Pack about her own dogs; Walk in the Dark and Walk a Lonely Road about working dogs. Stranger writes about country life so try Never count apples, The January Queen, Rex, Rusty, Chia, Zara, Khazan, The Stallion, Wildcat Island and more.