"There's more to life than ponies, surely?"
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#1: "There's more to life than ponies, surely?" Author: RóisínLocation: Ireland PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 7:19 pm
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It was Alex that saw this article - all credit to her Very Happy

The article source is here. CS stuff in bold. Did anyone but me think of Grizel while reading it? Shocked

Quote:
This sporting life

There's more to life than ponies, surely?

Sarah Hughes
Sunday May 6, 2007
Observer Sport Monthly

From the jolly hockey players of Mallory Towers to Josephine Pullein-Thompson's horse-mad heroines, girls' fiction is full of sporting dreams. No Fifties schooling was complete without a solid physical education and the importance of team spirit is a feature of the boarding-school novels of Angela Brazil and Elinor Brent-Dyer. In the latter's Chalet Girl series, being bad at games was shorthand for being the sort of girl who will end up in very sticky circs sooner rather than later. Other notable books include Tim Kennemore's Fortunate Few presents a world where gymnastics is bigger than football and Julie Welch's entertaining Those Glory, Glory Days is the real-life tale of how a childhood love of Tottenham Hotspur inspired Welch to become the UK's first full-time professional female sports journalist. It was later made into an equally enjoyable film, as captured in the photograph below.

Yet if girls' fiction is full of plucky sports-mad heroines, something peculiar happens when those girls grow up. There are many excellent sports novels with male heroes - from David Storey's This Sporting Life to Bernard Malamud's baseball classic The Natural - but where are the equivalents by and about women?

There are a few notable exceptions. Lionel Shriver's Double Fault is an eloquent look at the breakdown of the marriage of two professional tennis players, destroyed by rivalry; Bill Broady's haunting debut Swimmer is about a Commonwealth gold medallist's struggle to cope with her success; Heather Lewis's House Rules combines equestrianism, heroin and abuse to disturbing effect. These novels are adept at describing their sporting milieus, yet not one captures the joy of the sport in question, preferring to show how sporting excellence destroys the women involved.

Far better to turn instead to three films that say something about sport and competition without insisting that every female athlete ends up miserable and alone. Bend It Like Beckham gives us a largely angst-free version of women's football; Blue Crush follows the career of a teenage surfer; and A League of Their Own is that unlikely thing, an entertaining film about women's baseball that also happens to feature Madonna.

Failing that, then, it's back to basics with Jilly Cooper's bonkbuster Riders. Say what you like about her heroine, Fenella Maxwell, but, ultimately, she gets both an Olympic equestrianism medal and the right man.

#2:  Author: francesnLocation: away with the faeries PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 7:37 pm
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I really wish journalists would get their facts right...they should be forced to read all 60-odd books (and related stories) before they make sweeping statements like that.

#3:  Author: LexiLocation: Liverpool PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 7:52 pm
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It's not a very good article, is it?

I'm quite tempted to quote the poem from one of the Jill books by Ruby Ferguson about nothing in life being more important than horses Very Happy

I'm sure I've got books where the heroine is good at sport but ends up happy, I just can't think of them off the top of my head. International Velvet is one and I'm sure the others will come to me.

#4:  Author: skye PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 9:22 pm
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It does seem like nonsense doesn't it? I don't remember Joey being particularly athletic or horsey as a girl.

My personal view is that when they grow up most women are too busy working, keeping house or having children (especially in Joey's case!) to have the energy for games.

Maybe that's why those women who are successful in sport have more difficult experiences. A man can be a sports god and not have to concern himself with anything else, whereas a woman still has to fulfill all her other functions of being Super mum, Super housewife, fantastic cook, be absolutely impeccably dressed, perfectly made up at all times, fashionably slender, and a sex goddess in the bedroom!

#5:  Author: ElleLocation: Peterborough PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 9:23 pm
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Lexi wrote:

I'm quite tempted to quote the poem from one of the Jill books by Ruby Ferguson about nothing in life being more important than horses Very Happy




I don't know the poem, but my initial response to the title was 'Don't be stupid, of course there isn't'.

#6:  Author: LexiLocation: Liverpool PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 9:40 pm
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I've found it, in Jill Has Two Ponies and I am in total agreement with it Very Happy

Quote:
There are more important things in life than horses
At least that's what Miss Fox would have us know
She never went for rides on autumn mornings
Or felt the thrill of riding's lovely glow

There are more important things in life than horses
But if your pony loves you, you don't care
They can keep the things they seem to think important
And when they dish them out I shan't be there

There are more important things in life than horses
There are more important things in life than food
But somehow when I'm eating or I'm riding
There's nothing else in life seems half so good.

#7:  Author: ElleLocation: Peterborough PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 9:43 pm
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I like that!

#8:  Author: Alison HLocation: Manchester PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 9:57 pm
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skye wrote:
It does seem like nonsense doesn't it? I don't remember Joey being particularly athletic or horsey as a girl.


I've never really thought about it before, but that's yet another way in which Joey changes when she's older ... she's shown as being a brilliant swimmer in Coming of Age and Joey & Co and I think that there're also references to her being good at tennis, but when she's at school she never seems to be into sports very much at all. Nor do the other 2 "heroines" - OOAO is good at lacrosse and Len is OK at tennis and good at winter sports, but they aren't stars of the school sports teams in the way that people like Darrell Rivers are.

I don't see where that comment about being bad at games at the CS meaning you'll come to a sticky end comes from!

#9:  Author: KateLocation: Ireland PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 10:01 pm
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The only girl that even vaguely fits with is Eustacia and her performance at games isn't mentioned or seen as a big deal. Evelyn in Challenge isn't keen on games, but she doesn't come to a sticky end although she's sort of tutted at.

#10:  Author: TaraLocation: Malvern, Worcestershire PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 10:54 pm
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What total rubbish. EBD's attitude to games is very different from most of her contemporaries' and much less morally weighted. There's lots of stuff that is purely fun (wash tub races etc) and a whole load of one-person activities like skiing where all the 'team' element which is so strong in most books becomes irrelevant. She does have her odd 'blow-by-blow' matches, but rarely - I don't honestly think she was very interested herself.
I could write an essay (having written a chapter about it in my thesis), but won't, but the way in which women fit (or don't) into the very masculine moral framework symbolised by games is fascinating, too.

I agree with Frances that any journalist who makes such unfounded and inaccurate statements ought to be forced, not only to to read all 60 books, but to eat them afterwards!

As for adult sportswomen, they still tend to be derided as not 'proper' women, and it was much worse in the past. Grrr.

#11:  Author: Kathy_SLocation: midwestern US PostPosted: Wed May 09, 2007 12:21 am
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Tara wrote:
I agree with Frances that any journalist who makes such unfounded and inaccurate statements ought to be forced, not only to to read all 60 books, but to eat them afterwards!

Please have him/her eat vast quantities of inaccurate newsprint instead! I'm sure there are CBBers who'd make better use of the books....

*First dibs on Future, Jane, Redheads, Adrienne and Two Sams*
(And yay that GGBP will be printing Prefects this year.)

#12:  Author: Loryat PostPosted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:38 am
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Alison H wrote:
skye wrote:
It does seem like nonsense doesn't it? I don't remember Joey being particularly athletic or horsey as a girl.


I've never really thought about it before, but that's yet another way in which Joey changes when she's older ... she's shown as being a brilliant swimmer in Coming of Age and Joey & Co and I think that there're also references to her being good at tennis, but when she's at school she never seems to be into sports very much at all. Nor do the other 2 "heroines" - OOAO is good at lacrosse and Len is OK at tennis and good at winter sports, but they aren't stars of the school sports teams in the way that people like Darrell Rivers are.

I don't see where that comment about being bad at games at the CS meaning you'll come to a sticky end comes from!

It is rubbish, but actually Joey is mentioned as being good at sports, especially tennis and skating, at school. But lots of other heroines aren't. The only games-centric heroine I can think of is Kat Gordon. And the Bad Triplet, Margot, is the one who ends up being Games Pree. Plus, Joan Baker is good at sports and she definitely gets her 'come uppance'. It is not at all like Mallory Towers or St Clare's where the heroines are all good at sports and Gwendoline not liking them symbolises her 'badness'. Very badly researched!

#13:  Author: MiriamLocation: Jerusalem, Israel PostPosted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:05 pm
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Quote:
I agree with Frances that any journalist who makes such unfounded and inaccurate statements ought to be forced, not only to to read all 60 books, but to eat them afterwards!


What a waste of good CS boks that would be! smug

Really there was not so much focus on team games except when the school was in England/Wales. And I think that while being good at games wasn't the most important thing, and general enthusiasm for games and excercise and fresh air generally was important. It is in that area that Eustacia really falls down. Edna Purdon is also criticized, not particularly for being bad at skiing, but for complaining about it afterwards instead of taking the rough with the smooth. Con, on the other hand, is often mentioned as not being particularly good at games, but she enjoys them and does her best (and is a Maynard Wink ) so she is not criticized for her lack of achievement.

#14:  Author: TamzinLocation: Edinburgh PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2007 9:29 am
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Lexi wrote:
I've found it, in Jill Has Two Ponies and I am in total agreement with it Very Happy

Quote:
There are more important things in life than horses
At least that's what Miss Fox would have us know
She never went for rides on autumn mornings
Or felt the thrill of riding's lovely glow

There are more important things in life than horses
But if your pony loves you, you don't care
They can keep the things they seem to think important
And when they dish them out I shan't be there

There are more important things in life than horses
There are more important things in life than food
But somehow when I'm eating or I'm riding
There's nothing else in life seems half so good.


Absolutely fantastic! I'm going to learn this poem and quote it to all the people who moan that I never have time to do anything because I always have to consider my horse first. Very Happy

#15:  Author: Loryat PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2007 9:44 am
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It's the 'doing your best thing' that I don't like. I know all CS pupils are supposed to do their best at everything they turn their hand to, but I seriously think even the atmosphere of the CS would fail to make my try my hardest at games (or indeed anything, but especially not games)!

#16:  Author: alicatLocation: Wiltshire PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2007 12:22 pm
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I absolutely disagree!

one reason I liked the CS books so much as a child was that they didn't stress about team games and eing in the team and beinggood at games didn't automatically make you one of the ruling clique - not like Mallory Towers et al and my real life school

plus of course they did exciting sports like ski-ing

and the fun games they did at sportsd day would have been so much better than the grim athletics we did


having said that, in these very PC non-competitive sports days, my own kids long for 'proper running races' at their primary school sports and pour scorn on the 'fun' races they do, where everyone ends up with a prize so no-one gets depressed because they're a loser!

#17:  Author: TamzinLocation: Edinburgh PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2007 9:15 pm
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Loryat wrote:
It's the 'doing your best thing' that I don't like. I know all CS pupils are supposed to do their best at everything they turn their hand to, but I seriously think even the atmosphere of the CS would fail to make my try my hardest at games (or indeed anything, but especially not games)!


As someone who never saw the point of striving for excellence at games I was no good at I have to agree. I hated games at school, expecially team games and bitterly resented the assumption that I should care about them at all. I actually once laughed in a PE teacher's face when she told me in tones of great portent that I should be careful or my PE Report would make sorrowful reading as I couldn't have cared less what PE teachers had to say about my lack of skill or my unwillingness to particpate despite being useless. I also knew my parents wouldn't care either. The sad thing is that the PE teacher thought it was so important.

I am actually appalled at the way we were taught Games and PE at school. Those who were no good were scorned no matter how hard they might try (unlike the CS I might add). To be honest I would have preferred a twice weekly aerobics class for the exercise value but instead it was all about learning the arbitrary rules of some team game. I just never could see the point as I could never understand what those who were good at team games seemed to pick up so effortlessly i.e what they were actually supposed to be doing vis-a-vis their team-mates. Anyway if I had been remotely good at and interested in any of the sports offered at school I would have pursued it seriously outside school. Frankly it would have been more useful if they'd taught us to drive.

I don't think the CS is a bad offender in this respect as excellence at games is not the be all and end all of life in the school. But the girls are all expected to do extra practice outside lessons as a matter of course and to always play their hearts out whether good at the game or not. To have the Games prefect (Margot is a particularly bad offender but they all do it to a greater or lesser extent) on your back for skipping a practice session scheduled on top of class games/PE and in your free time to boot is verging on cruel. Why were all CS pupils expected to practice a sport outside of the timetabled lessons? If pupils would rather spend their limited free time doing something else then they should not be forced to practice sports for which they have no aptitude and no hope of significant improvement - it is thoroughly disheartening to attempt to do so. Likewise you shouldn't be told off for not doing your absolute best every time you do participate. I recall some CS pupils being told off for being lazy at particular practice sessions - there are a myriad of reasons why a normally active teenage might feel less able to throw herself into her games.

#18:  Author: BookwormsarahLocation: Cambridge, UK PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 12:19 pm
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How completely random, I was thinking of 'The Fortunate Few' this week, having not thought of it in years, but couldn't remember the name or the author. I was going to post on the CBB to see if anyone else had heard of it, and I find it in a section of the forum I don't normally read!

Swerving back on topic... I loved the fact that with the CS you didn't get the endless descriptions of lacrosse matches in most books, and that not liking sport wasn't seen as Terribly Bad Form. On the other hand, not liking rambling/walking was Really Quite Shocking Laughing

#19:  Author: MiaLocation: London PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 1:31 pm
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Bookwormsarah wrote:
Swerving back on topic... I loved the fact that with the CS you didn't get the endless descriptions of lacrosse matches in most books, and that not liking sport wasn't seen as Terribly Bad Form. On the other hand, not liking rambling/walking was Really Quite Shocking Laughing


Oh have you read uncut Ruey though? There's a whole, neverending chapter of a lacrosse match in that! I found it a little trying, and I love lacrosse!

#20:  Author: BookwormsarahLocation: Cambridge, UK PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 7:41 pm
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Mia wrote:

Oh have you read uncut Ruey though? There's a whole, neverending chapter of a lacrosse match in that! I found it a little trying, and I love lacrosse!


I did - I think it is the only cut I wholeheartedly agree with!

Did they cut any of the tennis from Wrong? I've only read the HB.

#21:  Author: LesleyLocation: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2007 9:38 pm
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Didn't they also have a scene in one of the later Swiss books where a class were penalised because all they cared about was sports - to the detriment of their schoolwork? Seem to remember Miss Ferrars taking over the class in an effort to wake them up!

#22:  Author: RóisínLocation: Ireland PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2007 9:45 pm
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There's a lot I agree with in your post Tamzin - my own PE teacher in school didn't take much interest in the class at all and we just used it as a session to doss in. If you weren't in the hockey team, or the camogie team, she took not the slightest notice of you. They were about the only two sports we played I think.

I remember the lacrosse match in Ruey - and isn't there also fairly long descriptions of tennis matches in the Blossom/ Kathie books?



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