CCL Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 58 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: The main thing I didn’t like was how they made Winnifred out to be a bit catty, when she was a sweet child and friend of theirs in the book Yes! That also really annoyed me. In the book Nanna is very fond of Winifred. I agree with you about the actor playing Mr Simpson, I think it was Marc Warren. I always rather liked that actor. Here’s a coincidence- I belong to a Facebook group that discusses the books of Antonia Forest, and there was a post today about…Ballet Shoes and the 1970s BBC version! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 I’ve never forgotten how Winifred has to go on stage because Pauline has been behaving badly backstage. I used it to point out to our dds that they must never behave like that. I’m pleased to say that they never did and it was appreciated by the professionals that they occasionally were onstage with as they were always asked back. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 (edited) 3 hours ago, CCL said: Here’s a coincidence- I belong to a Facebook group that discusses the books of Antonia Forest, and there was a post today about…Ballet Shoes and the 1970s BBC version! I can't see 70s-era Marlows watching it! Pomona probably would, if it was transmitted during the holidays. The Cricket Term is one of my favourite books. Ever. Edited April 22 by Sophoife Added last paragraph 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCL Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 6 hours ago, Sophoife said: The Cricket Term is one of my favourite books. Ever It is absolutely wonderful, isn’t it! Nice to ‘meet’ a fellow aficionado! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 1 hour ago, CCL said: It is absolutely wonderful, isn’t it! Nice to ‘meet’ a fellow aficionado! @DelphiumBlue is in our hood. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 22 minutes ago, Sophoife said: @DelphiumBlue is in our hood. Apologies for crashing the party but am also a huge Antonia Forest fan and hence very excited by this thread - although Autumn term is my favourite, mainly because of the Christmas play 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 @Lindsay ah, The Play! Yes, one of my favourites, too, but cricket, Jan Scott and Nicola growing up somewhat do it for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 @Sophoife It's a close-run thing! And the Nicola-Tim growing apart and then 'coming back together' to arrange the carol service in the Attic Term is so subtly done. They are such quality novels, disguised as 'standard' school stories. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 3 minutes ago, Lindsay said: @Sophoife It's a close-run thing! And the Nicola-Tim growing apart and then 'coming back together' to arrange the carol service in the Attic Term is so subtly done. They are such quality novels, disguised as 'standard' school stories. They don't really come back together, they're just grown-up enough to be able to work together. I love the whole series, home and school. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCL Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 ‘End of Term’ is my favourite school-based book and ‘The Ready-Made Family’ my favourite non-school book. How lovely to see more Forest aficionados here! I do apologise for having derailed the thread, by the way. If anyone is interested, the complete 1975 BBC version of Ballet Shoes is on YouTube. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollylamb1 Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 22/04/2024 at 10:29, alison said: Not quite sure what this is doing here but if they sent me that offer for a date I *could* do (tonight clashes with Melissa Hamilton at the Ballet Association) I might well be tempted to take them up on it Sorry think I posted this in the wrong place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 Ballet Shoes on film, a discussion. 1975 v 2007 versions (with comments underneath) https://pargoletta.livejournal.com/126261.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCL Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 That was a really interesting discussion, thank you @Roberta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelphiumBlue Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 Thank you for posting the link to that fascinating and still relevant discussion …. lots of bells ringing for me , finding out why all those BBC serials seemed so flat and of course, the empowering aspects of Ballet Shoes. Funnily enough have been discussing that theme recently with ref to other books of our childhood. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 (edited) I loved this one also. (Article from 2018) "The 1941 novel – a sort of Ballet Shoes for the theatre" The Swish of the Curtain: an anarchic children's classic rises again Pamela Brown’s madcap 1941 tale of stagestruck children inspired the likes of Dame Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins to start acting. Now it’s stepping back into the limelight https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/may/31/the-swish-of-the-curtain-an-anarchic-childrens-classic-rises-again?CMP=share_btn_url And of course the 'Maddie' sequels "Brown wrote four sequels: Maddy Alone – 1945 Golden Pavements – 1947 Blue Door Venture – 1949 Maddy Again – 1956 Publication Until recently The Swish of the Curtain was the only one of the "Blue Doors" series to have been republished after the 1970s. However, The Swish of the Curtain (2006), Maddy Alone (2007), Golden Pavements (2009) and Blue Door Venture (2011) have been republished by Longwater Books, and Maddy Again was finally reprinted in 2012. As this last book in the series was not published for many years, copies of it had previously become very rare and valuable, and very hard to find. Most recently, Pushkin Press have republished all the titles in the Blue Door series." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swish_of_the_Curtain "It was begun in 1938 when the author was 14 but was not published until 1941" Edited April 25 by Roberta 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 5 hours ago, Roberta said: I loved this one also. (Article from 2018) "The 1941 novel – a sort of Ballet Shoes for the theatre" The Swish of the Curtain: an anarchic children's classic rises again Pamela Brown’s madcap 1941 tale of stagestruck children inspired the likes of Dame Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins to start acting. Now it’s stepping back into the limelight https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/may/31/the-swish-of-the-curtain-an-anarchic-childrens-classic-rises-again?CMP=share_btn_url And of course the 'Maddie' sequels "Brown wrote four sequels: Maddy Alone – 1945 Golden Pavements – 1947 Blue Door Venture – 1949 Maddy Again – 1956 Publication Until recently The Swish of the Curtain was the only one of the "Blue Doors" series to have been republished after the 1970s. However, The Swish of the Curtain (2006), Maddy Alone (2007), Golden Pavements (2009) and Blue Door Venture (2011) have been republished by Longwater Books, and Maddy Again was finally reprinted in 2012. As this last book in the series was not published for many years, copies of it had previously become very rare and valuable, and very hard to find. Most recently, Pushkin Press have republished all the titles in the Blue Door series." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swish_of_the_Curtain "It was begun in 1938 when the author was 14 but was not published until 1941" Another series that I devoured like sweets! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 I think I know the Blue Door books by heart... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 40 minutes ago, bridiem said: I think I know the Blue Door books by heart... Me too. I actually bought the reprint series a few years ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 Wonderfully enthusiastic reviews on Amazon! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Swish-Curtain-Pamela-Brown/dp/0955242800#customerReviews "If you like vintage children’s books I thought this was a charming example, good-natured, amusing and a wonderful glimpse of life in the late 30s – although the attitudes towards class are quite striking at times. It also set off a curious craving for cocoa, chips in newspaper and ‘lashings’ of tea and cake. The book’s been in and out of print since the 40s and was recently re-published by Pushkin Press, it was the first in a series and Pushkin is slowly bringing out the rest endorsed by Eileen Atkins and Maggie Smith." "A wonderful story of growth, accepting and using your differences, as well as your strengths and to fight for what you want in life. Just DO NOT forget to have fun while doing it." I can actually still recall the moment I picked this book down from the school library shelves, and began reading. That was it, I was hooked! I read a great deal of it (as I spent so many lessons doing with other books) on my lap under the desk as I couldn't put it down. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 On 23/04/2024 at 22:47, Roberta said: Ballet Shoes on film, a discussion. 1975 v 2007 versions (with comments underneath) https://pargoletta.livejournal.com/126261.html I think some of the 1975 series is on YouTube. I watched some of it a few years ago and thought the child actors were pretty good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 14 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: I think some of the 1975 series is on YouTube. I watched some of it a few years ago and thought the child actors were pretty good They were, but Posy was not at all as I'd imagined her to be (petite, curly hair, mercurial) so I found it difficult to get past that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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