I know, this should really be on the specific book thread, but I wanted people to see it!

Just come back from what I thought must be the most un-Ffordian place on earth - the W. Dorset Coast. I guess finding out I was actually on the Jurassic Coast should have got my clumping cells vibrating (images of where/when the Next family used to go when Thursday was little and Col Next a free man kept popping into my mind, for some reason) But it gets better - little did I realise I was deep in Hardy country, and a stone's throw from Dorchester.

I've not read much of the great Thomas Hardy's work, but I honestly thought he was published in the early 1800's, not the 20th century! (well, that's when he pegged out, anyway) And then I saw it, everywhere I looked:
The Hardye Museum. Hardye Street. Ye Olde Hardye Tearooms.

I mean, where did the idea of putting an 'e' at the end of words in an efforte to makee them looke olde originate anywaye? It is so damn fake. But even if there was a time when this was found in written English it certainly wasn't at the end of the 19th century. Most likely it was round about the time the letter 'f' went missing, and Moll Flanders was sucking every man is sight.

You know what I think? The jokes went missing from the Thomas Hardy novels at the same moment a sudden influx of letter e's appeared. The key phrase that triggered this was someone saying 'You know, I'm sick of Starbucks. Isn't there anywhere round here we can get a nice cup of tea?' and suddenly, they had always been there. Olde Tea Shoppes, and totally unfunny stories about pregnant milkmaids. Oh yes - and the Thomas Hardye Antiquarian Book Store.

We're fighting back, though. Right now, sneaked in at 2 am on the 'Horse and Country' channel, it's ... The British Cheese Awards. Don't believe me? Check it out.
Subversive, or what?

Let me be quite honest... I'm totally lost on what you're trying to say.

I remember something in First Among Sequels about Hardy losing his sense of humor, but I haven't read any of his work so I'm not exactly qualified to comment. Personally, I think the olde lettere E can be pretty funny if you want something to look archaic, as long as you're not being serious about it. Remember that joke in Family Guy about Ye Olde Pube? (the joke is that he feels the writing doesn't feel authentic... so he erases the letter E at the end of the word old instead of the one that clearly doesn't belong. Hah, jokes)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2008 08:31PM by Planet Cool.

It didn't exactly take up a lot of space, but in FAS they are trying to find out where all the jokes in Hardy's novels have gone, among other things. I've not read much of his stuff (I usually wait for the televised versions) but funny he ain't. At one of his signings, Jasper called attention to the Hardy element, which is probably why it stuck in my mind - along with the fact FAS was the last thing I re-read before I went on holiday.

When I went to Dorchester, I discovered this was the inspiration for Hardy's Casterbridge. Add the fact I was a stone's throw from where the great man himself once lived, and that the farm next door to ours was the inspiration for one of his books, and it sort of brought the whole thing to life.

And then I discovered how late into the 19th century Hardy wrote his books, and how Dorchester had taken over the copyright to his entire life by sticking an 'e' at the end of his name to make it look olde (even though he was probably driving his first motor by this time, or at least a carriage without legs attached) and I thought ... crikey, I'd lose my sense of humour as well, I mean - corny, or what? I just felt that the 'centre for Dorset's heritage' would have a bit more class than that, to be honest.

I also found it odd that, no matter how hard I try, I never seem to be far from a Ffordian connection.

look, chances are the world's going to end at 8.30 tomorrow morning anyway, sucking us all into a bloody great black hole - the Thomas Hardye rock factory included - so if I'm rambling I don't care, alright?!

From this side of the world I suppose we should be grateful that Hardy was not from lancashire.

Coz then you would have:' Eee, Thomas Hardye'

Be thankful for small mercies and thanks for alerting me to Dorset. We must make a point of missing it next time we go across there.

So was there a Hardye Rock Cafe? Now that has got to be better than the "real" thing.

So was there a Hardye Rock Cafe? Now that has got to be better than the "real" thing.