In which Pooh comes to the rescue

Illustrations © Ernest H. Shepard

“[S]tories are a huge comfort when things are bad.”

— Judith Kerr

One summer, we stayed at a holiday home in Cornwall whose entrance was alarmed. So whenever one of us came in or went out, a piercing two-toned signal was emitted. 

'Hey guys,' it would proclaim, 'the door has been opened!'

Every. 

Single. 

Time. 

Mildly irritating at first, after a day or two, the sound became less intrusive, until, by the end of the week, the alarm’s announcements were barely noticeable. 

Until the wee hours of our final night’s stay, when - Boo-beep!

I woke up suddenly with a sinking feeling to the announcement that someone (or something) had just opened the front door! 

Did I forget to lock it?

Had I dreamt it? (No - it had awoken my wife, too). 

I lay in bed, straining to hear movements, praying that it was not an intruder of Hostile Intent. But all I could hear was the tom-tom beating of my heart as it pounded in my chest and head.

I was terrified - but my family needed me. I crept out of the bedroom and looked in on Levi (six at the time), who was still sleeping soundly next door. Noah was upstairs, so safe - for now. With no plan of action, I sneaked through the dark house, terrified of what I might find. There must be somebody there, raced my thoughts, because somebody must have opened the door.

The house was open plan and vast, with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked Sennen Cove by day - and potentially hid intruders behind their great swag of curtains at night. What would happen if I confronted someone - or worse, someones? I picked up a pair of scissors from Jane’s sewing pile and pulled and poked at the curtains.

I found no one - but the door had been opened for sure. I concluded the sound of the alarm must have scared the intruders off. Unless… Think, think, think. What would I do if I were the intruder? Next to the front door was a side door that led into the garage. Conceivably, someone could have ducked in there - so I locked it just to be safe.

My head was buzzing. High on adrenaline, I got into bed next to Levi. I needed to calm down, but how? Glancing at the bedside table between us, I noticed Levi's bedtime story: The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne.

Here was my remedy - my mean of escape to somewhere altogether less scary.

 

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.

"Pooh!" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?"

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you."

- The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

 

I read until dawn.

 

From Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne | Illustration © 1926 by Ernest H. Shepard

 Experiencing Winnie-the-Pooh is (for me) like gathering a soft quilt around my shoulders. The beloved Bear of Very Little Brain and his friends are a source of comfort and joy.

From time to time, I dip into one of the books and regroup with the old gang. Those marvellous illustrations by Ernest Shepherd alone delight me. And in recent years, I’ve returned to the audio versions for a little pick me up (usually when I’m painting my illustrations).

Why do I find the tales of the One Hundred Acre Wood so comforting? For starters, they remind me of snuggling up with Dad as a child. In the safety of his arms, I would listen as he brought the books alive, each character receiving a different voice. (Just like when Willie Rushton read it on Jackanory.) In later years, I rediscovered the joy of the stories when we bought the audio version for Noah (read by another Jackanory legend, the wonderful Bernard Cribbins). It was pretty much on a continual loop for about three years - so now all those added memories join the nostalgia mix and add to the feel-good factor.

Then there's Pooh himself, so grounded and unflappable - how could you not feel the calm of his presence in moments of uncertainty? 

 

“Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”
“Supposing it didn’t,” said Pooh after careful thought.
Piglet was comforted by this.

- Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A.Milne

 

A.A. Milne wrote Winnie-the-Pooh post WW1. (Milne suffered injuries severe enough in the Battle of the Somme to be sent home an invalid). The stories, and musings of Pooh, evolved from the games that he played some years later in the woods with his son, Christopher (and his now-infamous collection of stuffed animals). This unique combination of experiences led to the great sense of love and peace that flows throughout the Pooh books - and makes them even more poignant.

 

“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.”

- Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A.Milne

 

As Lucy Mangan notes in her memoir, Bookworm, the Hundred Acre Woods ‘offered sanctuary, a quiet, idealised rural retreat from horror.’  

 

From The House At Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne | Illustration © 1928 by Ernest H. Shepard

 

In short, the Hundred Acre Woods were (and remain) a happy place to escape to. Just as I did on that night in Sennen Cove.

 In the morning, I had to relive my fear of the previous night and check in the garage.

Gingerly, I opened the door and swung it open abruptly to catch my prisoner off guard.

But there was no intruder - human or Heffalump.

We were safe.

And the moral of this story? Find yourself some good and faithful friends who are there for you through life’s ups and downs - someone to hold your hand when you are feeling overwhelmed.

Create a positive history for your kids through connected story time (my Good to Read recommendations should help with this).

And finally - don’t forget to lock your doors at night.

 

From The House At Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne | Illustration © 1928 by Ernest H. Shepard

 Good to Read

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, ill. by Ernest H. Shepard (Methuen 1926)

The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne, ill. by Ernest H. Shepard (Methuen 1928)

Good to Listen To

Winnie-the-Pooh / The House at Pooh Corner - read by Bernard Cribbins

Dramatised Pooh stories featuring Stephen Fry, Judi Dench, Jane Horrocks et al

Sources Lunch with…Judith Kerr by Tim Adams (The Guardian, 16 Dec 2018) How to connect with your children and enrich both your lives (telegraph.co.uk, 18 Sep 2017)Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, ill. by Ernest H. Shepard (Methuen 1926)The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne, ill. by Ernest H. Shepard (Methuen 1928)BOOKWORM | A MEMOIR OF CHILDHOOD READING BY LUCY MANGAN (VINTAGE 2018)