[COMPLETE] No More Parades by Ford Madox Ford - dc

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Sunrise2020
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Post by Sunrise2020 »

It rained cats and dogs tonight. Made me feel companionable with Tiejen‘s in his dripping hut.
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Susanne
TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

Sunrise2020 wrote: May 26th, 2021, 11:14 am It rained cats and dogs tonight. Made me feel companionable with Tiejen‘s in his dripping hut.
Well I sure hope your weather doesn't continue to mirror happenings in this novel, or you could be in deep trouble!

I have just uploaded section 05: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_05_ford_128kb.mp3 (39:28)

Here in Australia we've been blessedly protected from COVID thanks for pretty tight border lockdowns, though the takeup of vaccination opportunities has been a little disappointing, prompted partly by hesitation on accepting an Astra-Zeneca shot (the main vaccine currently available here) over concerns related to the rare clotting side effect, and also partly by lack of vaccine supply until recently. As it happens, I've had my first Astra-Zeneca shot, and am waiting for the due time to elapse before I have my second. However, there's recently been a mini outbreak of cases here in Melbourne, prompting a pretty hard lockdown for at least the next seven days. All pretty mild stuff compared to what the rest of the world is going through, but causing a lot of sighs and groans here at the moment, in some quarters at least. Fortunately my wife and I won't be too much affected, but it is tough on families with children at home, particularly. Schools and universities will be closing in-person classes except for children whose parents/caregivers have no alternative but to send them to class. Really quite nice to have Librivox as a distraction from all this!!
Sunrise2020
Posts: 995
Joined: August 28th, 2020, 5:41 am
Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Post by Sunrise2020 »

PL of section 5 is fine.

Over the last few months I admired how Australia and NZ have dealt with the pandemic. I thought the governments' approach of tight border controls and hard lockdowns was much more effective than the half hearted measures in Europe and elsewhere. Here the numbers are slowly coming down after too many deaths and suffering. Vaccines are in short supply and less than 50% of adults have had their first shot. I volunteer in an organization for the intellectually disabled who had been given priority in the vaccination campaign. Fortunately that was extended to those who work there. Two weeks ago I got my second shot. The first one had been Astra Zeneca and the second one Biontech. I'm happy and feel more secure now. It's also the reason why I feel safe to travel to Spain next week.
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Susanne
TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

Sunrise2020 wrote: May 27th, 2021, 11:03 am I volunteer in an organization for the intellectually disabled who had been given priority in the vaccination campaign. Fortunately that was extended to those who work there. Two weeks ago I got my second shot. The first one had been Astra Zeneca and the second one Biontech. I'm happy and feel more secure now. It's also the reason why I feel safe to travel to Spain next week.
Good on you for your volunteering! I was always pretty useless on that level through my working life, but in my retirement I've found a lot of satisfaction in volunteering. In my own case, I'm webmaster for an organisation called Parent-Child Mother Goose Australia, a small, no-frills not-for-profit organisation that offers training and resources in how to run support sessions for vulnerable parents or caregivers of young children, particularly in circumstances where "normal" parent-child bonding may be impeded by such factors as parental depression, social dislocation or perhaps by the child having a disability. My wife has long been a trainer in this program (which was originally developed in Canada), so now it's an interest we share.

I've just uploaded section 06: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_06_ford_128kb.mp3 (19:32). Got into a little hole with this one, as I originally read Lord Beichan's name to rhyme with "lichen", then realised from an explicit cue near the end of the section that it must sound more like "Beechan", so had to patch those mistakes. Do let me know if I missed any "lichen"-like pronunciations when I did my repairs.
Sunrise2020
Posts: 995
Joined: August 28th, 2020, 5:41 am
Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Post by Sunrise2020 »

TheBanjo wrote: May 28th, 2021, 2:11 am
Sunrise2020 wrote: May 27th, 2021, 11:03 am I volunteer in an organization for the intellectually disabled who had been given priority in the vaccination campaign. Fortunately that was extended to those who work there. Two weeks ago I got my second shot. The first one had been Astra Zeneca and the second one Biontech. I'm happy and feel more secure now. It's also the reason why I feel safe to travel to Spain next week.
Good on you for your volunteering! I was always pretty useless on that level through my working life, but in my retirement I've found a lot of satisfaction in volunteering. In my own case, I'm webmaster for an organisation called Parent-Child Mother Goose Australia, a small, no-frills not-for-profit organisation that offers training and resources in how to run support sessions for vulnerable parents or caregivers of young children, particularly in circumstances where "normal" parent-child bonding may be impeded by such factors as parental depression, social dislocation or perhaps by the child having a disability. My wife has long been a trainer in this program (which was originally developed in Canada), so now it's an interest we share.

I've just uploaded section 06: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_06_ford_128kb.mp3 (19:32). Got into a little hole with this one, as I originally read Lord Beichan's name to rhyme with "lichen", then realised from an explicit cue near the end of the section that it must sound more like "Beechan", so had to patch those mistakes. Do let me know if I missed any "lichen"-like pronunciations when I did my repairs.
How wonderful that you and your wife share such an important common interest. I always wondered why it's taken for granted that parenting comes naturally while for just about everything else that's important in life one needs a degree or permit.

You caught all the Beichans but can you please check at about 14:44 where you repeated "So, at half-past one Tietjens sat on Schomburg the coffin-headed....

And how is one to imagine what a "coffin-headed" horse looks like?
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Susanne
TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

Sunrise2020 wrote: May 28th, 2021, 7:58 am You caught all the Beichans but can you please check at about 14:44 where you repeated "So, at half-past one Tietjens sat on Schomburg the coffin-headed....

And how is one to imagine what a "coffin-headed" horse looks like?
Thanks, Susanne. I'm glad you caught that boo boo!
I have uploaded a corrected version of section 06: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_06_ford_128kb.mp3 (19:22).
The new version is about 10 seconds shorter. Please do a spot check around to 14:20 to 14:50 mark.

As for the "coffin-headed" horse, yes, I remember that threw me the first couple of times I came across the description. But then it occurred to me that if you look a horse "in the face", as it were (see here for an example of the view I'm thinking of: https://photodune.net/item/front-of-the-horse-head/24695989) then yes, you might say that you were confronting a shape whose outline is similar to that of a six-sided coffin lid. I would have imagined, though, that this description could apply equally well to almost any horse, whereas Tietjens seems to view Schomburg's head as having a rather distinctively coffin-like appearance. Given that this is a live horse being ridden by a soldier near the front line in a war, the reference to "coffin" here is rather startling, and sombre, as if reminding us that actually we're in the presence of a grand funeral.
Last edited by TheBanjo on May 29th, 2021, 2:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

I have uploaded section 07: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_07_ford_128kb.mp3 (45:25)

Maybe it's just me, but I think this has to be some of Ford Madox Ford's funniest, darkest writing about relations between the sexes. "Fifty Shades of Khaki"?
Sunrise2020
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Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Post by Sunrise2020 »

TheBanjo wrote: May 28th, 2021, 5:50 pm
Sunrise2020 wrote: May 28th, 2021, 7:58 am You caught all the Beichans but can you please check at about 14:44 where you repeated "So, at half-past one Tietjens sat on Schomburg the coffin-headed....

And how is one to imagine what a "coffin-headed" horse looks like?
Thanks, Susanne. I'm glad you caught that boo boo!
I have uploaded a corrected version of section 06: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_06_ford_128kb.mp3 (19:22).
The new version is about 10 seconds shorter. Please do a spot check around to 14:20 to 14:50 mark.

As for the "coffin-headed" horse, yes, I remember that threw me the first couple of times I came across the description. But then it occurred to me that if you look a horse "in the face", as it were (see here for an example of the view I'm thinking of: https://photodune.net/item/front-of-the-horse-head/24695989) then yes, you might say that you were confronting a shape whose outline is similar to that of a six-sided coffin lid. I would have imagined, though, that this description could apply equally well to almost any horse, whereas Tietjens seems to view Schomburg's head as having a rather distinctively coffin-like appearance. Given that this is a live horse being ridden by a soldier near the front line in a war, the reference to "coffin" here is rather startling, and sombre, as if reminding us that actually we're in the presence of a grand funeral.
Thanks for making the correction!

In our context to describe the head of a horse coffin-like isn't too far fetched but it certainly takes a somber mind.

A friend of mine returned this week from Washington, DC to the Salomon Islands. He had looked forward to a nice break in Melbourne on the way and a chance to catch up with friends. Instead he had a 36-hour quarantine in a hotel. :( And now three weeks quarantine in Honiara.
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Susanne
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Post by TheBanjo »

Sunrise2020 wrote: May 29th, 2021, 2:22 am
A friend of mine returned this week from Washington, DC to the Salomon Islands. He had looked forward to a nice break in Melbourne on the way and a chance to catch up with friends. Instead he had a 36-hour quarantine in a hotel. :( And now three weeks quarantine in Honiara.
Oh your poor friend. He's going to thank Melbourne for that - not! Such rotten luck, too, as we hadn't had a case of community transmission of the virus for over 80 days before this latest outbreak, so he would have been pretty confident attempting to visit his friends here.

I've just uploaded section 08: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_08_ford_128kb.mp3 (35:56).

We've become way more accustomed to seeing super-bitches in fiction in recent years, both in books and on the screen, but in 1925 to see a character like Sylvia in print must have been a fair shock. She's still pretty startling, even now!
Sunrise2020
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Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Post by Sunrise2020 »

PL for section 7 is okay.

I haven't read Shades of Grey but I'm rather surprised by the frank talk about affairs, mistresses, and lovers. I didn't think that such behavior would happen so casually in the 1920s nor would be put in print.
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Susanne
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Post by TheBanjo »

Sunrise2020 wrote: May 30th, 2021, 7:38 am PL for section 7 is okay.

I haven't read Shades of Grey but I'm rather surprised by the frank talk about affairs, mistresses, and lovers. I didn't think that such behavior would happen so casually in the 1920s nor would be put in print.
Thanks Susanne. I'm guessing you might be in (hopefully sunny) Spain by now. If so, I hope you're enjoying yourself.

To be honest, I haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey myself, and know only of its reputation as edging into sado-masochism. In (re-)reading this novel aloud this last couple of weeks, there have been moments when I have experienced an almost-sympathy for Sylvia — but then along come sequences that just leave me shuddering. She's a hair-raising creation, and by design she dominates Part 2 of this novel.

I have just uploaded section 09: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_09_ford_128kb.mp3 (36:54)
Sunrise2020
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Joined: August 28th, 2020, 5:41 am
Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Post by Sunrise2020 »

PL of sections 8 and 9 is fine.

We‘ve been enjoying two days of belated spring in northern Germany. I’m off to Spain (Galicia, also in the north) and I look forward to the change in scenery and to start a new language :D.

I was glad to hear that Tietjen‘s loss of memory seems to be a thing of the past and that he remembers his poets again. I can’t help but wonder what happened to Sonja in the past that made her so cruel? If you know, don’t tell me.
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Susanne
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Post by TheBanjo »

Sunrise2020 wrote: June 1st, 2021, 6:23 am PL of sections 8 and 9 is fine.

We‘ve been enjoying two days of belated spring in northern Germany. I’m off to Spain (Galicia, also in the north) and I look forward to the change in scenery and to start a new language :D.

I was glad to hear that Tietjen‘s loss of memory seems to be a thing of the past and that he remembers his poets again. I can’t help but wonder what happened to Sonja in the past that made her so cruel? If you know, don’t tell me.
I wonder if you'll happen across any references in Spain to the revolt of the "Pretender" that featured in "Arrow of Gold", and which, in real life, Conrad did feature in, in a small way, helping to run guns just like the central character in that story.

As to what we know, or will find out, about the origins of Sylvia's psychology, my lips are sealed, promise ... :D

I've just uploaded section 10: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_10_ford_128kb.mp3 (39:27).

A little challenge I've now struck twice in this novel is figuring out what tune should accompany certain references in the text to music. There was an operatic reference in an earlier section, and in section 10 there's a reference to a popular song of that era. Google helped me with the former, and having on hand an annotated version of this novel has helped me in the second case to get at least an approximation of the 'right' tune. Hopefully no listeners are going to be judging me too harshly in that area!
TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

I have just uploaded section 11: https://librivox.org/uploads/craigdav1/nomoreparades_11_ford_128kb.mp3 (43:38)

Forgot to mention re section 10 that to grasp Sylvia's meaning at one point we need to understand that an officer wearing a BLUE uniform would be a German officer. Not every Anglophone today would necessarily understand that, though I imagine more would have in 1925.
TheBanjo
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