I call this #1 although I don't even know yet if this is going to be a series, if it is, it will probably be an irregular and rather spontaneous one about the little things that annoy me about books - just as today's post in fact. It's not a new pet peeve of mine, but today I got something out of my book cabinets and there it jumped at me again.
Let me start with something a little (actually a lot) earlier and non-bookish, though. My siblings and I used to have stamp "collections". I can't tell you anymore where those stamps came from exactly and I say "collections" because we were enthusiastic, but didn't know that much, also they were quite small. My favorite stamp series were not those that had colorful pictures of animals, flowers, buildings, inventions or whatever. Those were pretty, but I was drawn to those with the same design in different colors. One of the extra benefits of having a pen pal in England who also sent little gifts sometimes was getting different stamps. The Machin series which ran from 1967 to 2022 was my favorite. So many pretty colors! I'm not the only one, there are whole videos on them, and when I just asked my sister about her favorite design, she didn't hesitate to name this one as well.
Public domain via Wikipedia
This wasn't just limited to stamps, though. I liked all the colors for shampoo bottles, chocolate bars, if I gave it more thought the list would grow for sure.
Now to the books. I'm sure you all know the stories about people going to a bookstore - probably not happening as much anymore now - and asking for two meters of blue or red books to complement the interior design of their living room. One of my fellow trainees at the library had been a bookseller before and told us that it had actually happened to her. It also happened that someone wanted an encyclopedia, but asked if it also came in a different color because it didn't match the couch.
Maybe you already know where this is heading. I'm absolutely fine with books looking different in my cabinets, it's a sign of the variety. But ... This are all books from Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series which runs from A to Y (as Grafton sadly couldn't complete it). I know there are only 24 books, that's because there are two novels in one of them.
If you go to her website, you have a list of the whole series ... and all the covers look the same. Oh, how I wish I had those! My books, however, well, you can see it for yourself.
I started out with the German translations, but not in order. I bought one book, liked it and then added others from fleamarkets or used book sites. So there are not only two publishers, but also different editions from one of those. They were also the ones who decided to print the titles in different directions and in different spots on the spines, change to a larger format from the letter O on, and then drop the series completely after R.
So then I had to change to the English editions and had to take what I could get my hands on first. The result is even wilder than for the German editions.
Do publishers even know what that does to a brain like mine?
A small warning beforehand - I have a complicated relationship with Agatha Christie which I talked about before. I'm not a fan of her style and despite having read quite a few of her books over my lifetime, I have given up for good now. I also said, however, that I like (most of) her plots and therefore prefer adaptations of her books. Not all of them and not all of them for the same reasons, though - and that brings me to the four Miss Marple movies with the wonderful Dame Margaret Rutherford.
They were my introduction to Agatha Christie as a child and it's always hard to beat cozy memories like a robust old lady fighting crime and still making you laugh. In fact, the movies are still on TV on holidays here, sometimes two at a time, but last Easter it was all four of them ... and although I have the DVD box set, I will watch them if I catch them on TV. Always. I love Rutherford's Miss Marple. Christie purists will no doubt be shocked - it seems to be an endless discussion which Miss Marple is the best - and of course they are right if they say that Rutherford is not at all like the Jane from the books and that the movies don't follow the books! Even Christie disapproved! Shame! I get it. Rutherford herself hesitated to take the role because of the topic. I can be a downright annoying purist myself about books and adaptations, but in this case I couldn't care less (and let's not forget Christie's dedication in "The Mirror Crack'd" - "To Margaret Rutherford, in admiration" - after the two women met). Just hearing the theme makes me happy.
As mentioned, there are four movies.
"Murder She Said" from 1961 is based on the book "4.50 from Paddington". In the book, Miss Marple's friend Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a murder on a passing train. The police can't find a body, so she turns to Miss Marple for help who sends Lucy Eyelesbarrow, a freelance housekeeper to Rutherford Hall where they suspect the body to be. Miss Marple is described as "an elderly, frail old lady" (elderly and old?). The movie ignores Mrs McGillicuddy and Lucy. Miss Marple witnesses the murder, searches the tracks together with the village librarian Mr Stringer (played by Rutherford's husband Stringer Davis) and takes a post as housekeeper at Ackenthorpe Hall to handle the matter in person.
"Murder at the Gallop" from 1963 is based on "After the Funeral". This happens in the book - after the funeral of Richard Abernethie, his sister Cora comments about him having been murdered. The next day, Cora is found dead and the family lawyer asks Hercule Poirot to investigate. That's right, it's a Poirot novel. In the movie, it's Miss Marple and Mr Stringer who witness the death of the old Mr Enderby and it's Miss Marple who finds Cora's body and then investigates at the "Gallop Hotel" where all the heirs are gathered.
Yes, I did complain about Angela Lansbury's Miss Marple smoking, but give me Rutherford's dancing Miss Marple anytime! 😍
"Murder Most Foul" from 1964 is based on the book "Mrs McGinty's Dead". After the conviction of James Bentley for killing his landlady Mrs McGinty, Superintendent Spence has doubts about his guilt and asks Poirot to look into it in the village where it happened. Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver is there as well. Oh, another Poirot novel. Don't worry, in the movie Miss Marple can solve the case just as well as he could. Here she's the one jury member who has doubts and therefore prevents a verdict. After finding information at Mrs McGinty's house that links to a theater ensemble, she decides to infiltrate it ...
Miss Marple auditioning with "The Shooting of Dan McGrew", a poem Rutherford also liked to recite in real life. I love her capes - they were hers, no costumes - and would love to have one. I'm not the only one!
"Murder Ahoy" from 1964 isn't based on any Christie book but is an original story. Miss Marple is on a board of trustees for the training ship "Battledore". One of the trustees has dropped dead in the middle of a meeting, and after discovering he has been poisoned, Miss Marple doesn't hesitate to check out the ship herself, in full naval outfit of course!
Mr Stringer had a little shock, but of course Miss Marple is prepared
A typical Christie Miss Marple? For me, that's undoubtedly Joan Hickson (who makes an appearance as the day help at Ackenthorpe Hall, by the way). The most fun Miss Marple? That's Margaret Rutherford by far. If you expect a Christie mystery and nothing else, the movies are not for you. Ignore the name Marple and you are in for a treat.
Although Rutherford was 72 when the last film came out, - one reason there are not more of them - she's not "an elderly, frail old lady". She has huge presence and she fills the screen. She's a stubborn and eccentric Miss Marple, not afraid to speak her mind and not easily intimidated by police, suspects or murderers. (Chief) Inspector Craddock - also an invention of the movies - doubting her over and over again only makes her more determined to solve the puzzles that he doesn't even recognize. After all she has read hundreds of mystery novels and is more than prepared. Her success confirms that. Why the police hasn't snapped her up as a counselor, I don't understand.
Mr Stringer who, despite not having as much courage as his fearless leader, never deserts her. Just as Rutherford didn't desert her husband insisting on having him play along her. No Mr Stringer in the books, the role was created specifically for Stringer Davis.
Throughout the movies we also get glimpses into Miss Marple's past life. She can do so much more than knit (which you only see her do once in all of the movies although the inspector almost sits on her knitting project once). Playing golf in the grounds of Ackenthorpe Hall: "I'll have you know that I won the Ladies' Open Handicap in 1921." Showing off her mother's vintage saddle at the Gallop Hotel: "Well, I've done some riding in my time. Junior Silver Spurs Brockbrook 1910." Analyzing the remnants of the dead trustee's snuff with the "Slogums Advanced Chemistry Set for Girls": "Strychnine." In a fencing fight with the killer on the "Battledore": "I was Ladies' National Fencing Champion in 1931."
Is it a wonder that men are falling for her left and right? I'm not joking, no spoilers this time, though.
Most people seem to agree that "Murder She Said" is the best of the movies and after that "Murder at the Gallop". Opinions vary about the other two. I too agree on the first two, but unlike others I prefer "Murder Ahoy" to "Murder Most Foul" which isn't bad, but not as charming in my opinion. Margaret Rutherford, however, is wonderful in all of them. As she says in "Murder Ahoy": "I am always myself. Hmpf." Who wouldn't believe that? Why don't you grab a hot beverage, a blanket, snuggle up on your couch and have a look for yourself?
Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot! My
posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if
you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.
Happy Labor Day!
Design by Walter Crane celebrating International Workers' Day May 1, 1889, public domain via Wikimedia
You may be confused now if you are in the USA, but many other countries celebrate Labor Day on May 1 inspired by the "Haymarket affair"
in Chicago in 1886 ... although that started on May 4, but of course
that's "Star Wars Day" now, think they knew that when chose May 1 for
Labor Day? 🤡 Do you celebrate "Star Wars Day"? Or are you a "Star Trek" fan? Okay, I notice I'm starting to ramble, so let's get going ...
Are you ready for the weekend? As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week. How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you. This week our spotlight is on Fit Foodie Megha.
Megha from Fit Foodie Megha says: "Welcome to Fitfoodiemegha.com, owned by Megha Chhatbar, who is obsessed with food. She is an honest food reviewer, ardent traveller and an enthusiastic painter who also loves reading, cooking, trying new cuisines and making good friends. Basically, FitfoodieMegha.com is your guide to good food, wherein, she has shared her personal experience by spending most of the time sampling the city's food offerings and reviewing restaurants. The dream is to expand the blog to the world of eating, hoping to travel and eat enough to share detail descriptions of the food any restaurant has to offer!"
Marsha from Marsha
in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing
her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging
because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case,
write!
Melynda from Scratch
Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we
homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I
cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the
chickens, and knitting!
Lisa from Boondock
Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.
Cat fromCat's
Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many
interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts,
books, old movies, collectibles or random things.
Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes
about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life
both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity,
confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.
Here are some of my picks from last week's link up.
Guidelines: This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted. Please
link only blog posts you created yourself. Please link directly to the
URL of your blog post and not the main address of your blog. Please do not
link to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube
videos/shorts, Instagram or Facebook reels, TikTok videos, or any other
social media based content. Please do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.
Notice: By
linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that the content is
your own property and give us permission to share said content if your
post or blog is showcased. We welcome unlimited, family friendly
content. This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps,
fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or
discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for linking up with us!
I know I had Douglas Fairbanks last week, but this short happened to leap my way - wow, what a bridge to the title 🥳 I have for you "The Mystery of the Leaping Fish" from 1916.
If you take a good look at the theatrical poster, you may be surprised. There are several hints there what the movie is about. "The 1916 Cocaine Classic"?? I guess before diving into the plot, we have to talk about a few things here. 1. This is a Sherlock Holmes spoof. We all know Sherlock has that unhealthy habit which Dr Watson does not approve of. The name "Coke" Ennyday, however, seems more like a joke on the "American Sherlock Holmes", Craig Kennedy, of whose existence I heard for the first time (but promptly put the first novel by Arthur B. Reeve in my vintage crime folder then). 2. 1916 was way before the Hays Code was enforced and even before the Hollywood scandals which first led to the studios to start self-regulating through recommendations Hays introduced in 1924. Dope was also mentioned in other films. 3. Cocaine has a long history of use - Coca Cola, for example, has its name for a reason after all - and only in the 20th century the perception of the drug and its medical uses started to change. The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act which regulated and taxed the use of opiates is from 1914. Unfortunately cocaine in Hollywood also has its history ... and its victims. 4. The story is by Tod Browning, the 1931 "Dracula" director who was known for horror and underworld dramas. "Freaks" is still haunting me, so I doubted this short would be able to beat that.
Now that we cleared that up, we can get to the plot. I need you to not even try to apply any logic to it because there isn't any. No, honestly, don't try.
We meet "the world's greatest scientific detective", Coke Ennyday. Yeah, he doesn't quite look like it, but we know the reason for that.
We even know it more when we see this. No, I don't mean the disguises, but the box standing in front of it. (And why does the servant remind me of Peter Boyle in "Young Frankenstein", only with a bellboy's uniform that is too small?)
Ennyday is needed by Town Constable Doolittle - because there is a man rolling in wealth with no visible means of support (Doolittle's words, not mine). Very suspicious.
Actually ... literally rolling in wealth which brings Scrooge McDuck to mind although this guy here doesn't swim in coins which looks a lot more comfy.
Guess what, he made all the money being involved in drug smuggling. No, no ... no, stop ... don't ask why they would send Ennyday of all people to check it out ... I told you, no logic! Ennyday drives to the coast and finds out that the drugs are smuggled via inflatable "leaping fish" (it says they were invented for this film, again, don't ask me, but they do make me think of flying fish and I think they could still be popular today).
Pink-wing flying fish, public domain via Wikimedia
Just 25 cents an hour to ride the leaping fish personally inflated by the "fish blower" girl (Bessie Love)!
To
make it short, using some of his amazing disguises - the meaning of amazing being open for interpretation - Ennyday finds out that the suspicious guy works together
with a young lady and some Asian (!!) guys who run the "Sum Hop
Laundry" (ouch ... but I learned a new slang word for opium) as a front.
Chaos ensues (plus some sampling of the smuggled goods by Ennyday and the fish blower fighting back very nicely when she gets kidnapped and one of the gang tries to assault her), but in the end all the villains are ready to get picked up by the police and there's a happy ending for Ennyday and the fish blower (it wasn't unusual for characters not to have a name then).
But is that the end of the film? No. Because next we are in the office of a scenario editor who tells Doug to give up scenario writing and stick with acting, so Doug and Bessie leave.
The End!
You
probably have questions now. I have questions. I doubt anyone has
answers, so here's a quote from Fritzi Kramer's blog: "I have some
advice: don't ask all these questions. Just sit back, relax and enjoy
this bizarre cult classic for what it is."
I have a bit of a thing for the strange or slightly bizarre, for example I'm a Monty Python fan and I love (some) weird cartoons. And like Fritzi also predicted - "it's not a good movie and it's not a good comedy", but I was "unable to look away for even one minute". I went "whoa" and "what the ..." and made noises. Then I remembered how I once watched a bad animal horror movie with someone and we seriously asked ourselves what the first production meeting for that movie had been like .. as in what did they have for, uhm, refreshments? I had the same feeling here. What was going on?
Lea Stans writes that "for the rest of his life Doug would pretend "The Mystery of the Leaping Fish" didn't exist". Yeah, I get that. I don't regret watching it. I'm just not done analyzing why yet.
This is an overview of the books I have finished in a month (not necessarily started
in the same month) and those I have read to Gundel (marked with 😸). I
will be adding a short explanation why I chose a book or how I found it
and possibly if it's a re-read candidate, but I'm usually not
going to add real reviews or ratings (Gundel also refuses to give
ratings). Should you want a little more information on a book you're interested in, though, just let me know. It's posted one day early as the Thursday is reserved for my silent movie posts.
"Catweazle" by Richard Carpenter, first published in 1970 😸
Catweazle is a sorcerer living in 11th century England. Chased by Norman soldiers, he escapes by jumping into a lake - and coming up in the 1970s! Luckily he meets the boy Edward, called Carrot, who does his best to keep Catweazle hidden and safe. Together they have some hilarious adventures while Catweazle tries to find a way back into his own time.
This was a re-read for a blog post. "The Alington Inheritance" by Patricia Wentworth, first published in 1958 (Miss Silver 31)
Raised by her mother's old governess, Jenny never even knew that her late parents had been married and she therefore is heiress to the Alington riches. Her distant cousin Mac and his mother are not ready to give up the money so easily, so when she overhears Mac's plan to marry her to keep control over it, Jenny runs away. It doesn't end there, though ...
More ear ringing for Liz on whose blog I came across Wentworth whose Miss Silver series fit right in with my vintage crime reading.
"The Art of Annemieke Mein: Wildlife Artist in Textiles" by Annemieke Mein, first published in 1992
Annemieke Mein is an Australian textile artists born in Holland. The book shows some of her works created in different techniques and from a variety of materials. She has added explanations about the inspiration and the artworks themselves.
I first learned about Mein thanks to a Style Imitating Art challenge post on Marsha's blog with the artwork "Whirlpool Frog" chosen by Salazar. Mein's art is fascinating and of course the book can only give you a small idea. I wish I could see some of it in person.
"O diese Rasselbande" by Rosemarie Ditter, first published in 1953
A story of school and friendship.
Re-read for a future blog post.
"Stan: the Life of Stan Laurel" by Fred Lawrence Guiles, first published in 1980
The biography of Stan Laurel, about his beginnings in vaudeville, his film career without and then with Oliver Hardy, and his private life.
One of the movie biographies on my list (there's also another one on Laurel and Hardy on it).
"Meet the Newmans" by Jennifer Niven, first published in 2026
Del, Dinah, and their sons Guy and Shep have been America's favorite family for 12 years - on screen in black and white. It's 1964 now and times are changing. Then Del has an accident and Dinah has to take over. Will it change the family, the real one and the one on TV?
A new entry on OverDrive. For me it was a quick and easy read and I could relate to some of the issues, but it had a lot of those which got wrapped up a bit too neatly and quickly for me in the end which was a pity.
"Poirot and Me" by David Suchet and Geoffrey Wansell, first published in 2013
David Suchet played Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in 70 episodes over 25 years - shorter ones, but also longer films. In this book he talks about how he approached the role and what Poirot means to him.
I'm not a fan of Christie's books, I'm not a fan of all adaptations, I'm not even a fan of all the 70 episodes, but a huge fan of David Suchet's Poirot, so this was really interesting.
"Steeple Folly" by M. E. Atkinson, first published in 1950 (Locketts 14)
The three Lockett kids are in quarantine because one of them had German measles (although it says diphteria once at the very beginning?). As Bill needs to cram for an important entry exam, they are sent to a village where a highly regarded tutor lives.What luck that this is where the Roberts children have written from to taunt the Locketts about their adventures! Time for a new adventure.
After writing a blog post about the first book, a childhood favorite of mine, I got myself the books I was still missing from the series. This is the last one.
"Why the Whales Came" by Michael Morpurgo, first published in 1985 😸
Like all the other children on the Scilly island Bryher, Gracie and her friend Daniel are not allowed on the side of the island where the mysterious and feared Birdman lives. Of course, they go there anyway and become friends with the old Mr. Woodcock who lives a quiet life in his cottage carving birds from wood. He warns them to never visit the island Samson which is close by because there's a curse on it. Then World War I begins and Gracie's father gets lost at sea ...
The book was a random find on the Internet Archive. "The Penguin Pool Murder" by Stuart Palmer, first published in 1931 (Hildegarde Withers 1)
Hildegarde Withers has taken her school class to the New York Aquarium. Little does she know she will be drawn into a murder case there, but she can't resist offering Inspector Piper her help.
The movie adaptations were mentioned in a silent movie blog I'm following, so I looked for Palmer's books as I had never heard of Miss Withers before.
"Magpie Murders" by Anthony Horowitz, first published in 2016 (Susan Ryeland 1)
When editor Susan Ryeland reads the manuscript for the latest Atticus Pünd mystery by bestselling author Alan Conway, she's surprised to see that the last chapter is missing. Then Conway is dead and Susan starts investigating.
I found the book easy enough to read although there's a complete book in a book, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that the author was really proud of all the little Easter eggs, references (which I usually enjoy), and hints. All that did for me, however, was that I didn't like any of the characters, that I kept wondering if the "Midsomer Murders" episodes I was reminded of came before or after this book, and that I don't feel the slightest urge to read any of the sequels.
"Darling Girls" by Sally Hepworth, first published in 2024
Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are not biological sisters, but living as foster children together in the house of Miss Fairchild has made them feel like sisters. When a body is found under the house years later, old childhood memories return. Whose bones are they and who put them there?
That was intense. I finished it as it was another recommendation along with my DNF and I didn't want to DNF this as well. I had expected a thriller, but it's not really although there was a murder. Reading about the memories of children being abused in the foster system got really hard for me after a while.
"When in Rome" by Ngaio Marsh, first published in 1970 (Roderick Alleyn 26)
While in Rome to investigate a drug ring, Roderick Alleyn joins one of Sebastian Mailer's tours with a quite illustrious group of tourists to learn more about him. During the tour Mailer disappears and later a postcard seller who had spat at him is found dead in the basilica they visited. Is Mailer not just a drug dealer and blackmailer, but also a murderer?
This
is still part of my vintage crime project for which I keep getting
books by Marsh and Allingham. The last two Marsh books are already on the way! "Going Gangster" by M. E. Atkinson, first published in 1940 (Locketts 5)
This time it's only Jane and Bill who have an adventure as Oliver is already in school while Jane keeps the reconvalescing Bill company for a week. They are dragged into this one by an old acquaintance, bound by a promise. She recuits their help in taking a girl from the school she hates back to her parents who are Romani (probably, with the book being from the 40s that's not the word that is used).
After writing a blog post about the first book, a childhood favorite of mine, I got myself the books I was still missing from the series.
"The
Three Investigators in The Secret of the Crooked Cat" by William
Arden (the books were published attributed to Alfred Hitchcock),
first published in 1970 😸 (The Three Investigators 13)
Why should someone want to steal a carnival prize? Does the crooked cat hold a secret and is therefore more valuable? Jupiter, Peter, and Bob soon learn that a carnival can be dangerous ground. I read this series a long time ago and am going through it again bit by bit after writing a blog post about it. This book is the thirteenth in the series.
"Mistresses : True Stories of Seduction, Power and Ambition" by Leigh Eduardo, first published in 2005
Eduardo tells the stories of eight famous mistresses from the 17th to the 20th century, from Barbara Villiers to La Belle Otero.
I stumbled upon this book because one chapter is about Marion Davies. It woke the interest in me for reading up one or the other person in more detail (not necessarily the women the book is about), but parts had more of a tabloid character for me - meant to shock the readers? I also wondered why these eight were chosen, it seemed a curious mix. "Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record" by Luca Messarra et al., first published in 2026 😸
Have you ever wondered about the preservation of materials in libraries and archives and the possibility to access the information easily? We often take for granted that physical and digital media are archived in some way, but is that really the case?
The Internet Archive had announced their book (CC BY 4.0) on Instagram and as a librarian I thought this was a really interesting topic. I'm not sure how interested Gundel was in it, but reading it to her snuggled up or next to me helped me concentrate on the chapters about media I knew not much or nothing about.
DNF:
"The Maid" by Nita Prose, first published in 2022 (Molly Gray 1)
Molly is a maid in a high class hotel. One day she founds one of the regular guests dead on his bed.
I followed a recommendation and really wanted to finish it to talk about it to a new friend, but DNFed at about a third because I sadly didn't
like the style or the way the protagonist was portrayed.
"Yesteryear" by Caro Claire Burke, first published in 2026
One morning, Natalie, a successful "tradwife" influencer, wakes up in a place that is her home but also isn't, with a husband and children who seem familiar yet not like hers, in an environment without technology and convenience.
I hadn't expected a second DNF this month. Maybe I'm missing something, but this just wasn't what I had anticipated and it didn't work for me for several reasons, so I gave up eventually although I had come pretty far.
Wait ... from my book cabinet? Yes, my friends. Today I'll talk about the book "Catweazle" by Richard Carpenter which was based on the scripts from the first series of the British cult TV show with the same name. Okay, I can't avoid it being a mix of both.
I actually used a vintage button for this bead embroidered brooch. I remember an online friend saying she didn't know she liked the man very much, but she liked the brooch. Of course she didn't know Catweazle.
But wait, I have no idea if Catweazle was as popular as in the UK or Germany or even known everywhere, so let me introduce him to you first.
Catweazle is a sorcerer in 11th century England. One of his great goals is being able to fly. One day Norman soldiers chase him out of his cave and in order to escape he's forced to jump into a pond.
Catweazle running from the Norman soldiers, but not without his familiar, the toad Touchwood
When
he comes up again, the landscape looks very different. He hides in a
barn and quickly learns that he has landed himself in the 20th century
when the son of Hexwood Farm's owner - Edward, called Carrot because of
his red hair - finds him.
Carrot with Sam, the farmhand
Understandably, everything is new and scary to
Catweazle. He thinks this time is full of sorcerers. On one hand, he'd love
to learn their magic - like Carrot's "electrickery" of the "little sun in a
bottle" (simply a lamp that's switched on) or the vicar's "telling bone" (a telephone) - but on the other hand he has problems getting used to so many new things and he doesn't always react very gracefully when they don't go his way (here's a video with "all the insults, name calling, derision & mockery" from "nettle face" to "spider spittle"). Luckily Carrot, who doesn't really believe the Norman story, by the way, can handle Catweazle quite well unless he runs off to get himself into a new pickle, but the sorcerer is also able to help Carrot with a few things, such as dealing with the overdrawn bank account for the farm or an annoying housekeeper and her son.
Catweazle sets up camp in an old water tower in the woods which belongs to the Army and calls it Castle Saburac after the spirit he claims led him there. When he's not out confusing people or hiding from them, he spends his time there desperately searching for a spell to return to his own time. A lot of his spells go wrong, but he's quite good at hypnotizing people into forgetting him, for example.
I won't be getting into the individual episodes of the TV show although it's tempting - how Catweazle removes an old curse, how he gets his magic dagger Adamcos back or why he steals broomsticks (and almost gets Sam in trouble by doing so) and so on. As the book is based on the scripts of the show, however, and really sticks very closely to them, I'll take a short look at the creation of the show. In a short documentary, Richard Carpenter tells the story of his brother-in-law who had a turkey farm - that's one difference between book and show, in the show you don't see a turkey - they visited, and on the way back they got lost and came to a gate with "Catweazle" written on it. Further inspiration came from this Hieronymus Bosch painting, to be precise from the figure in the left corner.
Carpenter
who had actually been an actor was so intrigued that he turned it into a
character himself. His friend, the wonderful Geoffrey Bayldon, had turned down the role of "Doctor Who" before which he wasn't sure had been the
right decision until he got offered the role of Catweazle which he wouldn't have been able to do as Doctor Who. Bayldon
brought his own ideas to the character, silly noises, mimics, movements,
he really became Catweazle and made him magic. The chemistry with the others was
great, especially with Carrot who spent most of the time hiding the magician from his father, Mr. Bennet, and everyone else, with more or less success.
Robin Davies got his hair dyed red for the role of Carrot
Spoiler
alert - Catweazle does make it home eventually, with his familiar Touchwood whose name is of course inspired by the
ancient habit of touching wood for good luck.
In
a time before
the Internet, yes, even before being able to record something from TV, the book must have been a great way to dive back into that magic, whimsical, crazy world of
Catweazle conjured up by the stories and illustrations when you didn't
get the chance to watch a rerun. I still say "Elektricktrick" from time to time (our version of "electrickery", there were a few changes to names and words) and I'm not the only one. There's a whole glossary on the official fan club's page. Carpenter researched the "occult & mythology" to add to the show's charm by using Latin words and ancient names. There are two series of "Catweazle" and two books, the second one is called "Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac". Carpenter also did novelizations of other shows he wrote for (one of them is my other favorite of his "Robin of Sherwood" which adds a magic layer to the Robin Hood legend). In the second series Catweazle comes back again, but alas, not to Hexwood Farm, and after the director had died, a third series was never realized. The
German translation to the books got published after the show made it to TV here and there was even a special edition in
2010 with a foreword explaining to children that this was their parents' world - no computers or cell phones and not even a TV set in every household. There's even a German movie from 2021. I didn't watch it and won't spoil my memory of Catweazle doing so, but it shows he's not forgotten. I got the English books a long time ago and still enjoy reading them ... although watching Catweazle is of course even better!
The fan club used to be very active - for example they commissioned a beautiful Catweazle bust,
had meetings with the actors at the farm where the show was filmed, and
there was a forum (which like so many has sadly fallen asleep). I
wonder how many people passed the magic dagger on to their children and
maybe even their grandchildren, but can kids of today still appreciate a
story like that? What do you think?
Salmay, Dalmay, Adonay!
Sources and more info (I visited more pages, but these two links have a lot of info):
