This past weekend we watched GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN, not to be confused with CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (with Ewan McGregor) coming from Disney next month.This film centers on A.A. Milne and how he came to create Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh and all the fine friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. It depicts him as suffering from PTSD after serving in WWI, in a marriage with Daphne, who in one moment is essential in pushing him forward in his writing, and in the next abandoning him and their son, the real Christopher Robin, whom they called "Billy Moon."
For starters, I did not know Christopher Robin was based on Milne's son. I also didn't really understand the context of the books, and how important they were as a source of happiness and healing after the War. England NEEDED Winnie the Pooh!
And the movie kind of broke my heart. I have to know now how much of it is true, because I was completely sucked into Billy Moon's world, his heartache, and how what started out as innocent father-son playtime in the woods turned into interviews and appearances and FAME. Unwanted fame, for Billy. What he wanted was time with his father, and his mother -- and they were mostly absent. Thank goodness for Nou, his nanny, who seems to have been the anchor in Billy's life. I can't wait to learn more!
Finally, I'd like to share the poem that first made A.A. Milne famous: "Vespers." According to the movie, it was his wife who sent it in for publication.
Vespers
by A.A. Milne
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
God bless Mummy. I know that's right.
Wasn't it fun in the bath to-night?
The cold's so cold, and the hot's so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy - I quite forgot.
If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door.
It's a beautiful blue, but it hasn't a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.
Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,
And nobody knows that I'm there at all.
Oh! Thank you, God, for a lovely day.
And what was the other I had to say?
I said "Bless Daddy," so what can it be?
Oh! Now I remember it. God bless Me.
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
God bless Mummy. I know that's right.
Wasn't it fun in the bath to-night?
The cold's so cold, and the hot's so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy - I quite forgot.
If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door.
It's a beautiful blue, but it hasn't a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.
Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,
And nobody knows that I'm there at all.
Oh! Thank you, God, for a lovely day.
And what was the other I had to say?
I said "Bless Daddy," so what can it be?
Oh! Now I remember it. God bless Me.
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
Many years ago I read Christopher Milne's memoir, The Enchanted Places. A teaching colleague of mine was reading it and recommended it. I found it at the Birmingham Public Library. It has been years since I read it, but I recall that he does deal with the struggles he had with his father and his real life vs. the Christopher Robin character of his father's writings.
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