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The Wind in the Willows - ch. 9

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 My reading of the ninth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's beautifully lyrical "The Wind in the Willows" (1908). I love the sophistication of language, delivered confident in the assumption that children would understand it - back in the day when things were not dumbed down. Anyway, the story moves on to Mr Rat and his encounter with both the call of the seasons and a seafaring Rat filled with tales of the briny deep. Went for a wander down by the River Gipping this afternoon, just to get in the mood for Grahame's story.

The Wind in the Willows - ch. 8

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 My reading of the eighth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's classic "The Wind in the Willows". Mr Toad makes a daring prison break in a scene guaranteed to inspire thoughts of criminality in anyone listening to it!

The Wind in the Willows - ch. 7

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 My reading of my favourite chapter (the seventh one) of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's classic "The Wind in the Willows". Here a baby otter goes missing and, on the adventure to find him, the friends encounter Pan Himself - in a scene that still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up even after multiple readings. I do wonder if this scene came to Grahame as some kind of dream of visionary experience - to me it feels like a genuine spiritual encounter and it sits quite strangely in the wider story.

The Wind in the Willows - ch. 6

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 My reading of the sixth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's book "The Wind in the Willows". In this part of the story an intervention is staged to deal with Toad's obsession with cars - and the miscreant goes totally off the rails.

The Wind in the Willows - ch, 5

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 My reading of the fifth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's fantasy "The Wind in the Willows". In this chapter, Mole experiences the irrevocable call of home, drawing him back to his tunnels and the gentle joys that they hold. Apologies for the execrable 'singing', but that's field mice for you.

The Wind in the Willows - ch. 4

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 My reading of the fourth chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's story "The Wind in the Willows". Mole finally gets to meet with Badger in his home deep in the Wild Woods.

Wind in the Willows - ch. 3

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 This is my reading of the third chapter of Kenneth Grahame's wonderful 1908 children's story "The Wind in the Willows". In this chapter Mole gets wanderlust and decides to brave the Wild Wood. I love the lyrical description of plants as the seasons change - very reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's nature poetry, filled with the same love of the green realms.