More musings on Swallows and Amazons part 2
I've had a few thoughts about Peggy's children too.
The young Bradings
First of all, I should probably mention that I have Peggy Blackett marrying Jim Brading in September 1944, but that they first met at Nancy and John’s wedding at the end of August 1939. Jim is in his early thirties and Peggy in her mid/ late twenties by the time they marry and they see no reason not to start a family straight away. The Blackett sisters seem to have no trouble with fertility, and Susie is therefore honeymoon baby and thus only 3 to 4 months younger than Jane. Susie is actually Susan Margaret (Susan is Peggy’s choice, Margaret is Jim’s choice.) Susie is as outgoing and confident as you’d expect any mini-Amazon pirate to be, and sometimes this tipped over into outright bossiness and being a bit of a show off. Susie is generally and rightly regarded as being less responsible than Jane Walker, and slower to recognise her obligations as well as her rights as the older child. She is more inclined be bossy with her younger brother, James, who was born in November 1947. Susie is more likely to act on a whim rather than a conviction. Susie is a very pretty and innocent-looking child (blue eyes, blonde curls etc.) and this probably let her get away with more mis-behaviour with those who didn’t know her well. Like Jane, Susie (and Jamie) was doted upon by Granny Molly and had other grand-parental figures (including her father’s aunt and uncle) in their lives and saw them frequently when very young. Peggy and Jim live with Jim’s aunt and uncle for a while after the end of the war, although Peggy lives with her mother and Nancy for a few months between Susie’s birth and Jim leaving the Navy, and they don’t settle in a home of their own until after Jamie’s birth. (Too many Jims were becoming confusing).
Jim returns to his career as a chartered accountant, but there is also quite a bit of Brading family money. Susie and Jamie go to private day schools near their home, visit Beckfoot frequently, enjoy sailing on Goblin and learn to sail Amazon. When visiting the Lake, Susie is generally the Captain of Amazon and Jamie is First Mate, although this will sometimes change depending on who else is there. Jamie is an altogether quieter character than his sister. He is probably the most easy-going of the second generation. As Roger said once, he has to be.
Susie and Jamie have a lot of adventures with their parents aboard Goblin and spend plenty of their holidays at Beckfoot, but the close friendship between Peggy and Susan continues steadily on throughout their adult lives, and Susie and Jamie (and their mother) spend some time on the Broads every year and are counted as “honorary Coots” by the 2nd generation of the Coot Club. Young Bill Dudgeon is only a few months younger than Jamie, and the two of them are great friends. With so much encouragement in bird watching from both Dick and Tom, it is a hardly surprising that Jamie did his PhD thesis on an evaluation of the effectiveness of conservation measures in the preservation of the great crested Grebe. Although Jamie himself saw his ornithological career as academic, his unassuming manner, enthusiasm and willingness to endure discomfort for take after take when the birds weren’t cooperating led to an additional career in television. Bird Magic, sister programme to Animal Magic, was a much loved but comparatively short-lived programme in the early 1970s. It was generally broadcast immediately after Jackanory. The comparatively greater emphasis on location filming and wild birds made the production costs a lot higher and only one series was ever made. Still, for viewers of a certain age, Jamie Brading gently telling an anxious tawny owl not to “be such a galoot” is a minor treasured television memory. British Ornithology Weekly reported Jane Walker’s arrest as “Brading’s cousin arrested in Trafalgar square.” This is only time they have ever reported a totally non-bird related incident.
The young Bradings
First of all, I should probably mention that I have Peggy Blackett marrying Jim Brading in September 1944, but that they first met at Nancy and John’s wedding at the end of August 1939. Jim is in his early thirties and Peggy in her mid/ late twenties by the time they marry and they see no reason not to start a family straight away. The Blackett sisters seem to have no trouble with fertility, and Susie is therefore honeymoon baby and thus only 3 to 4 months younger than Jane. Susie is actually Susan Margaret (Susan is Peggy’s choice, Margaret is Jim’s choice.) Susie is as outgoing and confident as you’d expect any mini-Amazon pirate to be, and sometimes this tipped over into outright bossiness and being a bit of a show off. Susie is generally and rightly regarded as being less responsible than Jane Walker, and slower to recognise her obligations as well as her rights as the older child. She is more inclined be bossy with her younger brother, James, who was born in November 1947. Susie is more likely to act on a whim rather than a conviction. Susie is a very pretty and innocent-looking child (blue eyes, blonde curls etc.) and this probably let her get away with more mis-behaviour with those who didn’t know her well. Like Jane, Susie (and Jamie) was doted upon by Granny Molly and had other grand-parental figures (including her father’s aunt and uncle) in their lives and saw them frequently when very young. Peggy and Jim live with Jim’s aunt and uncle for a while after the end of the war, although Peggy lives with her mother and Nancy for a few months between Susie’s birth and Jim leaving the Navy, and they don’t settle in a home of their own until after Jamie’s birth. (Too many Jims were becoming confusing).
Jim returns to his career as a chartered accountant, but there is also quite a bit of Brading family money. Susie and Jamie go to private day schools near their home, visit Beckfoot frequently, enjoy sailing on Goblin and learn to sail Amazon. When visiting the Lake, Susie is generally the Captain of Amazon and Jamie is First Mate, although this will sometimes change depending on who else is there. Jamie is an altogether quieter character than his sister. He is probably the most easy-going of the second generation. As Roger said once, he has to be.
Susie and Jamie have a lot of adventures with their parents aboard Goblin and spend plenty of their holidays at Beckfoot, but the close friendship between Peggy and Susan continues steadily on throughout their adult lives, and Susie and Jamie (and their mother) spend some time on the Broads every year and are counted as “honorary Coots” by the 2nd generation of the Coot Club. Young Bill Dudgeon is only a few months younger than Jamie, and the two of them are great friends. With so much encouragement in bird watching from both Dick and Tom, it is a hardly surprising that Jamie did his PhD thesis on an evaluation of the effectiveness of conservation measures in the preservation of the great crested Grebe. Although Jamie himself saw his ornithological career as academic, his unassuming manner, enthusiasm and willingness to endure discomfort for take after take when the birds weren’t cooperating led to an additional career in television. Bird Magic, sister programme to Animal Magic, was a much loved but comparatively short-lived programme in the early 1970s. It was generally broadcast immediately after Jackanory. The comparatively greater emphasis on location filming and wild birds made the production costs a lot higher and only one series was ever made. Still, for viewers of a certain age, Jamie Brading gently telling an anxious tawny owl not to “be such a galoot” is a minor treasured television memory. British Ornithology Weekly reported Jane Walker’s arrest as “Brading’s cousin arrested in Trafalgar square.” This is only time they have ever reported a totally non-bird related incident.