Tag Archives: The Wind in the Willows Quotes

The Wind in the Willows

In Henley-on-Thames there is a River and Rowing Museum that has an exhibit devoted to The Wind in the Willows.

2014-07-14 road to Henly day113The Wind in the Willows is a charming children’s book written by Kenneth Grahame and published in 1908.

Mole and Ratty
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing –
half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

The book tells the story of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Mr Toad and their adventures of the riverbank. Beneath the surface, his animal society is used as a vehicle for social comment with the story representing the passing of the old world and coming of the new.

2014-07-14 road to Henly day11

2014-07-14 road to Henly day111“The river, which plays a central role in the book, is thought to have been inspired largely by the Thames from Cookham to Pangbourne where Grahame lived for much of his life. A permanent exhibition at the Museum uses 3-D models, theatrical lighting and audio guides to recreate the story, while a display in the River Gallery looks at the life of Kenneth Grahame and the development of the book. This display includes a selection of the Museum’s Wind in the Willows collection including a first edition produced by Methuen in 1908.”

2014-07-14 road to Henly day112Have you ever been on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland?

Mr_Toad's_Wild_RideThe ride is of course influenced by this Children’s Classic. “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is a dark ride at Disneyland Park. It is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on the park’s opening day in 1955.” I need to get back to Disneyland and take a ride again now that I’ve read the book and walked along the River Thames.

 

I read The Wind in the Willows for the first time in 2008 and that same year Dear and I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market where I saw and purchased this teapot by Sadler from their Classic Stories series.

I don’t want to totally ignore the fact that this was a River and Rowing Museum so I will show you a couple photos from the larger part of the museum.

road to Henly day11 103

2014-07-14 road to Henly day114It was interesting to read about the Rowing history and to see the old Blazers and Olympic uniforms worn.

Do you like to mess about in boats? I have enjoyed canoeing on a lake and we tried Kayaking which was fun. If I can see the shore I don’t mind being in a boat but I’m not fond of being on water without a shoreline in sight.

A Walk Along the Thames

While we were in Henley on Thames we had some wonderful walks.

road to Henly day11 051

 

 

road to Henly day11 120

road to Henly day11 125These canal boats were so interesting and varied. We liked this one since it was named “Katie”. We saw it putt away later in the day…

road to Henly day11 048

We had several fun encounters with these three ladies as we walked along the banks of the river.

road to Henly day11 130

road to Henly day11 131

road to Henly day11 133

road to Henly day11 138

road to Henly day11 141

road to Henly day11 142

You could really feel the inspiration behind The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. We found the Wind in the Willows museum along this stretch of The River Thames along with a Rowing Museum and I’ll share the photos soon.

“This has been a wonderful day!” said he, as the rat shoved off and took to the sculls again. “Do you know, I’ve never been in a boat in all my life.”

“What?” cried the Rat, open mouthed: “Never been in a – you never-well, I-what have you been doing, then?”

“Is it so nice as all that?” asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leaned back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him.

“Nice? It’s the only thing.” said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leaned forward for his stroke. “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing.”

The first time I read The Wind in the Willows was as an adult and just a few years ago. If you’ve never read it I would highly recommend it.

In the spirit of the tales in this book I will share the saga of the hotel we stayed in while in Henley-on-Thames in a future post. We only had one night in Henley and we were glad to check out of the hotel but we could have explored the lovely town for another day. Maybe in the future we’ll re-visit with a better choice of lodging.

Hope you all had a nice weekend. We did here at this old house.

It Was the Best of Times…

…it was the worst of times.

I’m diverting from my regular “Cheers” posts slightly today for a little reality check when traveling.

We are now in Henley on Thames after traveling for 2 hours this morning. We are staying overnight in the city instead of the country. Our hotel seemed idyllic on-line, situated on the river Thames. What they don’t show you is the one way 2 lane street below our window which seems everyone needs to use to get out of town, including buses. So I sit on my bed and look out and see rowers and quiet boaters go by along the river while listening to buses and diesel vehicles rumble down the street below our window.

road to Henly day11 155Don’t feel sorry for us because there is so much beauty to enjoy it overshadows the noise of the city. I’m thinking I’m more of a country mouse with a city near by kind of person as opposed to living in the middle of the city kind of person. The photo above  is the view out our window while I’m sitting on the bed.

P1050473When I stick my head out the window and look down this is the view of the two lane road that the trucks and diesels rumble along with the compressed air from the brakes being released. You know that loud swishy noise.

Time will tell if we are able to sleep tonight. No air conditioning so we have the window open. They have equipped the rooms with fans and maybe that will work like “white noise” for us tonight.

P1050469That’s our room above with the window open.  Now that you’ve seen the worst of it I will leave you with some of the best. Henley on Thames really is a lovely little city to visit. The town shops and restaurants are very nice. They just got done with a regatta this past weekend. We visited the rowing museum today and they have a wonderful area illustrating 3 dimensional scenes from “The Wind in the Willows”. I’ll have a post or two about all the good things this city has to offer.

P1050470

road to Henly day11 138

See, I’m a happy camper walking along the river Thames thinking about The Wind in the Willows. 

An aside…stop reading if you don’t care to hear about my love for soccer and skip down to the next paragraph. I’m also wearing my Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer shirt celebrating their win over the Portland Timbers last night with Clint Dempsey scoring a goal fresh from his return from being Captain of the U.S. World Cup Soccer team. I know most of you don’t really give a rip but I need to keep things historical for my memory bank to make it easier to remember the timing of my travels. Now back to some great Grahame quotes!

“All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

road to Henly day11 127 “Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing!”

And yes, we are off to our last lodging spot tomorrow for two nights and then we will fly home on Thursday.

We are hoping the heat wave in the Seattle area will be mostly over by the time we arrive home on Thursday. Dear is already making plans to sleep in the cool basement if it’s still blazing hot! How’s the weather where you are?