Did you read the Mr. Men, or Little Miss, books when younger, or tell the stories now to a formative generation? With their colourful bodies and distinctive personalities the Mr. Men were an instant hit when published in 1971. They were a godsend during our car journeys from the UK to Brittany in the summer. Translated into myriad languages, the title of the German version has a certain je ne sais quoi about it.
The people walk upon their heads,
The sea is made of sand,
The children go to school by night,
In Topsy-Turvy Land.
The front-door step is at the back,
You’re walking when you stand,
You wear your hat upon your feet,
In Topsy-Turvy Land.
(Courtesy of H.E. Wilkinson)
Readers are transported to an eccentric world where everything is turned upside down and inside out. Wilkinson invites us to explore the fantastical landscape of Topsy-turvy Land, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary and the rules of reality are happily demolished.
Enid Blyton captured the imagination of children, and still does after a century! In her tale of The Magic Faraway Tree children can climb to the top and go through a hole in the cloud to a different land each time, Topsy Turvy of course being one. Last year it was announced that the story would be filmed, adapted into the modern day. Apparently it will ‘tap into 21st century children’s post-pandemic anxiety’, whatever that means!
This is set, curiously, in ‘Arabia’, the origin of Islam. How did it arrive here? Well, Samuel Zwemer was an American missionary whose efforts at sharing the Christian gospel were, unsurprisingly, not always successful. Topsy-Turvy Land was the first of two illustrated children’s books written by him and his wife. The work aimed to attract young adults to missionary work. There is no order to the chapters and “you can begin to read it anywhere.”
This sign, which looks as if it could have been displayed during the French Revolution, (Citizens rise up…) appeared on the roundabout at the entrance to our town when the Gilets jaunes were active before Covid. The “yellow vests” blocked roads and caused traffic chaos on Saturdays. The demonstrations stemmed from anger over rising diesel fuel prices and taxes. The town’s two gendarmes joined them for coffee.
The world has turned topsy-turvy say angry French farmers. In a campaign to draw attention to what they say is their increasingly precarious way of life they have turned thousands of road signs upside down.
The head of one farmers’ union said “Where we come from, if someone tells us to do one thing one day and then the opposite the next, we say we’re walking on our heads. That’s where this idea came from.” Farmers’ specific grievances, cost of farm diesel, late payment of EU subsidies, bureaucracy and competition from imports are not new. Madame and I know, from having lived in rural France, that life can be tough for farmers, especially for those who live on their own.
This is a mild reaction from the farmers; it’s not always so.
Last year French farmers protested in Paris, vowing to block roads and drive tractors to the presidential palace, because of low prices, high taxes, and red tape. Inconvenient yes, but not as obnoxious as dumping manure in front of government buildings in Toulouse.
On a less contentious note a musical period drama came to our cinemas 25 years ago featuring Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner – Topsyturveydom. It’s a witty and entertaining dramatisation of the partnership between Gilbert and Sullivan and focusing on The Mikado, which made their fame and fortune. In it the Prime Minister of Topsyturveydom describes his country as a land “where everything is conducted on principles the very reverse of those” in England. The people are born elderly and grow younger until they become infants.
The other night, from cares exempt,
I slept—and what d’you think I dreamt?
I dreamt that somehow I had come
To dwell in Topsy-Turveydom!—
Where babies, much to their surprise,
Are born astonishingly wise;
With every Science on their lips, And Art at all their fingertips…….
…..and so on!
In about the same era there was a craze for topsy turvy masks. These have a face one way and, when turned upside down, hey presto, you have a different one. The origin of these is shrouded in mystery. Some claim they were linked to the Roman god Janus, who is depicted as having two faces; one facing the past and one facing the future and has given his name to the expression ‘two-faced’. Maybe……..
Did you know that there is a galaxy out there somewhere called NGC 1313, otherwise known as Topsy Turvy? It has a diameter of about 50,000 light years.
You learn something new every day.
freefromlockdown.com
Another Down Under Diary
Another Down Under diary 