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Good Reading : December 2012 - January 2013
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www.goodreadingmagazine.com good reading december 2012 / january 2013 26 writer’s city His face has appeared everywhere, from cinema screens to plates, mugs and even on hoodies. but finding the home of winnie-the-Pooh, one of the world’s most beloved bears, is no easy task. miTcHeLL jordan went off on an expedition in search of the haunts of the bear of Very Little brain and his friends. mostofus–ifwewerelucky–hada park or backyard to play in when we were children. But not Christopher Robin Milne, better known as Christopher Robin, son of beloved children’s writer A A Milne. He not only had a farmhouse away from the family home in London, but an entire forest nearby in which to play. Even to the eyes of a child, Ashdown Forest in East Sussex was no ordinary place. To a writer like his father, it must have been profoundly inspirational, because it was here that Milne set his two best known books, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, in the magical land of the Hundred Acre Wood, where a child and his toys could live in perfect harmony – even if there was a threat of Woozles and Heffalumps. As a long-time Pooh fan who still feels the magic of walking over the pine cone-covered earth in my mind, the chance to visit the setting for some of my favourite books was too strong to resist while I was in England. Yet there was also a time when I wondered if it would be possible. Despite Pooh’s prevalence in popular culture, information on how to reach the Hundred Acre Wood – sorry, Ashdown Forest – was difficult to find. From London, there was a train to East Grinstead, and then a bus to Hartfield. But to where exactly? No matter how much I read and scoured the internet, directions were elusive. In the first of his memoirs, The Enchanted Places, Christopher Milne wrote of how his family’s decision to buy Cotchford Farm in 1925 was a defining move in all their lives. ‘This seemed to emphasise our remoteness from London,’ he wrote. But in the small country town of Hartfield, locals were only too happy to help as I waited at the bus stop. ‘Hordes of tourists come out here everyday – especially the Japanese,’ one elderly local lady told me. One of those was a fellow traveller, Hitomi from Tokyo, who was waiting for PooHbeariLLusTraTionbyeHsHePard Finding Pooh This way to Poohsticks bridge. Log made into the home of Pooh, together with plastic to cover letters from fans. The modestly rebuilt Poohsticks bridge. PHoTograPHy:miTcHeLLjordan 26_27_writers_city_f.indd 26 11/11/12 11:46:42 PM
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