Editing Ed

"Boxer, swimmer, writer, fisherman, postman...what else?"

So commented cousin Lynn in response to my Facebook post nearly 4 years ago on what would have been Grandad's 100th birthday. 

This series has (obviously!) highlighted Grandad's writing, with maybe a few pictures of him demonstrating his other talents too. 

When I started I intended to publish the pieces without any changes. Perhaps inevitably, as they were all written in the 1970s and 80s, passage of time has meant some of the language used isn't so suitable for today's audience.  A writer-friend suggested I could just go with the original text and a footnote pointing that out. 

In the event, over the course of two years and 50,000 words, I found myself editing Ed, making some light adjustments, changing or removing a word or two here and there, as needed. One or two merited heavier deletions or re-writing whilst trying to retain the spirit of the originals. In a couple of instances I've switched the order round to make for a better overall flow (14 and 15 swapped places, and number 40,  Life In Paddington, was originally at 38).

I also completely dropped two pieces which research suggested weren't entirely original: "The Parents Charter", for one, which is well known and can be found much anywhere.

More notably, a piece of poetry entitled "I'm Fine Thanks", which is to be found on a number of internet sites. Authorship seems debatable, some sites attribute no author, a couple of sites suggest a name or two, offering it as being penned in the early 1950s. My hypothesis is that Grandad did author it, and that all the versions on the web are actually lifted from his original Harrow Post publication, and subsequently mis-attributed. Why not?

We're also lucky enough to have a piece, unseen since 1979, "Hoist By His Own Petard", that wasn't in Jennie's original People Are Funny compilation, courtesy David who salvaged it from an original Harrow Post. If any more surface I'll publish them here. 

Despite being 35-45 years old, most of the themes - the silly through to the serious - still hold good and remain relevant:  irrational fears and phobias, holidays vs  home, ghost tales, giving up smoking, poverty, unemployment and homelessness, multiculturalism, thriftiness, success and failure, stoicism in adversity, family and growing up. 

That Ed, and, err, this ed. 1971.

Whilst I quickly got fed up with typing - to the point I typed the whole lot over several weekends months ago just to get it done - in the main I found the articles a fascinating read and insight. This was the first time I'd studied them properly, or seen them at all since I was in my teens. I've also added a little research to provide some background and extra touches for some stories, in particular those covering growing up in Paddington, and trawling to find relevant family photos, to accompany what previously had been text-only publications. Hopefully additions for the better.

Thanks to you for stopping by for a read. Unsurprisingly, views have mainly been from the UK and Canada, but a sprinkle from unexpected countries. Peru, anyone?

From an early peak, views have come down in number but average about 16 per post. A couple of notable successes, albeit not exactly viral sensations: "Life In Paddington" got 220+, after I shared it with a Paddington-related Facebook group. "The Oomy Goolie Bird", for no reason I can fathom, also has some 200+ views, and counting. Go figure.

I hope Grandad would be pleased to be back in 'print' and being read again.

There is one final article left which will be posted shortly. I'll see you around.

JH
Jan. 2020