Public Address | Cafe | Busytown: “Glory! Glory! There’s the salt!” https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/ en-us Copyright (c) 2026 Public Address Tamsin6 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265175#post265175 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265175#post265175 Whereas the other night I lost it while reading Great Expectations (Pip leaves the village and never looks back, waaaaaaugh, and then keeps thinking he'll hop down from the coach at the next stop, or the next, or the next, but doesn't, WAAAAAAAUGH), and there was nowhere to hide!

So…

]]> Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:09:36 +1200 Hilary Stace https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265164#post265164 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265164#post265164 The Librarian and the Robbers is a nice little story featuring a librarian heroine called Serena Laburnum.

Memory is a pretty amazing young adult novel.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:05:45 +1200 hamishm https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265150#post265150 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265150#post265150 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:30:39 +1200 JacksonP https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265147#post265147 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265147#post265147 Miss recently 8 read The Lion in the Meadow to me tonight.

The mother went on peeling the potatoes.

Who knew such simple words could carry so much poignancy.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:19:59 +1200 TracyMac https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265144#post265144 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265144#post265144 Beautiful tribute.

And yes, the oddities and diversity and mixture of characters in her writing always felt welcoming. Even with the uneasiness of the plots.

The Changeover is still my favourite – bought the original edition last year (yay Abebooks). I also like Maddigan's Fantasia, book and show (and many…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:07:33 +1200 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265143#post265143 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265143#post265143 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:02:59 +1200 Islander https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265139#post265139 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265139#post265139 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:48:44 +1200 Nicola Rowe https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265137#post265137 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265137#post265137 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:43:09 +1200 Islander https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265129#post265129 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265129#post265129 always with a little doodle of a lion or a crocodile.

O! I just went upstairs and gathered an armload of Margaret’s works -and found, tucked above them, a drawing-

it was originally up on the corkboard behind the desk in the cupboard – laughingly called “The Writer-in-Resident Office” at…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:05:13 +1200 Isabel Hitchings https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265126#post265126 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265126#post265126 I'd been largely avoiding reading anything for fear of acknowledging the fact making it all become real but then my kids' school (where I am a teacher aide) spent today crafting notes and stories and poems which will adorn Margaret Mahy's coffin and it's all a bit too much.

Margaret…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:43:08 +1200 Ian Dalziel https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265092#post265092 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265092#post265092 The Lion, the Witch and the Pirate...
well wrought Jolisa...

Margaret Mahy – So long and thanks for all the pirates, and for sowing the seeds of wonder!

all kids after reading her
navigate to the Mahy Pole
to dance through life...

“I can’t think of one other kid I…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:12:35 +1200 Bart Janssen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265086#post265086 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265086#post265086 fixing Martin's link

Been wearing one of these all day at work today

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:46:30 +1200 martinb https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265080#post265080 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265080#post265080 Glad this is still going here. Was so sad to see the 24 hour news cycle has rolled on past this great New Zealander.

Been wearing one of these all day at work today

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:28:31 +1200 martinb https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265079#post265079 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265079#post265079 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:24:21 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265073#post265073 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265073#post265073

Hurry up!

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:14:03 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265072#post265072 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265072#post265072 “What are you reading?” she’d ask us- and random strangers, anyone reading in public- and then want to talk about it.

The funny thing about that question is that it so often shuts people up. (I usually go completely blank, myself). Except when you're talking about kids' books, I find.…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:13:22 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265068#post265068 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265068#post265068 The Tricksters is pretty hot — my top-equal favourite with The Catalogue of the Universe. And – it's okay not to be blown away by them all equally. The recipe and the ingredients, while similar, differ from book to book, and you'll find some that please you more than others.… ]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:05:06 +1200 Greg Wood https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265065#post265065 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265065#post265065 Oh big sis, you big meany! How do you do it?

...I may be some time.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:55:50 +1200 Lilith __ https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265064#post265064 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265064#post265064 Mahyem certainly gets my vote for the name of the universe Margaret Mahy created.

Also — here in quake-addled Chch — I can't help thinking we could measure books on a scale of Mahytude. ;-)

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:54:43 +1200 Chris Waugh https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265063#post265063 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265063#post265063 That one sounds a bit like an entry on the geological timescale.

Perfectly appropriate as an adjective then.

Mahyem certainly gets my vote for the name of the universe Margaret Mahy created.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:22:35 +1200 Russell Brown https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265061#post265061 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265061#post265061 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:18:01 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265060#post265060 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265060#post265060 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:12:57 +1200 JLM https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265055#post265055 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265055#post265055 For some reason Russell Hoban’s ‘The Twenty Elephant Restaurant’ (and some of his other books) used to get me a lot. Marg loved Hoban’s writing.

Very pleased to hear that, Rob. Deborah's tribute highlights "the way she wrote about good and effective parenting" and that immediately made me think of…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:55:19 +1200 JLM https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265051#post265051 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265051#post265051 Thank you so much Jolisa. I love how everyone has different treasures to remember. I think this might be the Elizabeth Knox link you meant. The other one went to Carl Stead's blog, and he hasn't mentioned MM yet.

http://www.elizabethknox.com/archives/2012/07/24/margaret-mahy-hero/

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:46:06 +1200 Rob Stowell https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265050#post265050 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265050#post265050 Wonderful writing, Jolissa. Catalogue is my favourite, too. (I think- not sure I want to chose one :))
It's funny how people being nasty just makes one angry- while people being kind makes one cry. Me anyway.
That and books. One of their pleasures, which only sounds odd to people…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:35:08 +1200 Carol Stewart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265049#post265049 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265049#post265049 Robyn – a couple of personal favourites to recommend:
Kaitangata Twitch
Awesome Aotearoa – a collaboration between MM and Trace Hodgson resulting in a very funny and inspired NZ history for young readers. With the added recommendation that it offended Radio Rhema. Heh.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:09:28 +1200 Bart Janssen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265047#post265047 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265047#post265047 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:05:27 +1200 Lilith __ https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265046#post265046 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265046#post265046 the luckiest geeky astronomer of all got to have his Angela, as well :-)

Jolisa, what a wonderfully sad, merry post. And Richard, adding his coup de grâce punchline.

Not a dry eye in the house.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:04:38 +1200 Robyn Gallagher https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265045#post265045 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265045#post265045 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:52:25 +1200 Carol Stewart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265044#post265044 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265044#post265044 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:49:14 +1200 JacksonP https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265041#post265041 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265041#post265041 Much loved, to within an inch of their existence. We would normally have 'recycled' books that had been consumed to this extent, but couldn't part with these.

Dickensian or Shakesperian – Mahian?

Mahyem? I just wrote 'lost in the Mahyem' elsewhere in regards to the many wonderful tributes being written…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:39:23 +1200 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265033#post265033 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265033#post265033 Oh man, did we *all* cry reading this post? Hard out.

Yep. First time I've actually cried over this. Previously it was just all a bit too big for tears.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:24:45 +1200 Carol Stewart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265032#post265032 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265032#post265032 Midnight last night must have been Mahy-time on the internet

The Midnight People? MM would have approved!

We need a new adjective – an equivalent of Dickensian or Shakesperian – Mahian? That one sounds a bit like an entry on the geological timescale.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:15:52 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265028#post265028 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265028#post265028 I am fairly sure the page that floors you in After the War is the one that floors me also

I once showed the book to a friend, and then glanced over to see her bawling. Oh, man. What I love about that book is the huge background arc of…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:48:04 +1200 Sara Bee https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265026#post265026 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265026#post265026 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:46:17 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265025#post265025 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265025#post265025 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:44:26 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265024#post265024 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265024#post265024 A deep breath and a bit of a pretend cough…and back into it again.

We should start a support group :-) Picture books are great – it's always good to be able to point to the illustrations while you go "ahem" and get it back together. Whereas the other night…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:42:40 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265022#post265022 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265022#post265022 I was a suspicious child (and have become a naive adult, haha)

That strikes me as a perfectly excellent evolution, beautifully described! I'm a bit the same. The world only gets bigger and more unfathomable, eh?

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:39:32 +1200 Kate Hannah https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265021#post265021 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265021#post265021 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:36:57 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265020#post265020 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265020#post265020 Thank you Jolisa. Enduring gratitude Margaret.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/collections/margaretmahy


Great link! And we should all dash over and watch this too. Tattoos, porridge, lions, hard hard work… and a fascinating disagreement about the ending of The Lion in the Meadow.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:35:12 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265017#post265017 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265017#post265017 Everyone, quick, grab another box of tissues and head over to Elizabeth Knox’s blog for more powerful tribute, from one who knows the magic inside and out!

(Midnight last night must have been Mahy-time on the internet!)

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:26:34 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265016#post265016 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265016#post265016 I also love the way many of her stories have this gorgeous subtext in celebrating diversity, eccentricity and people on the fringes, overturning stereotypes.

Absolutely, Carol – and even the "normal" families aren't particularly normal (Tycho's family a splendid example). As Hilary S was saying (on Twitter? on Craig's thread?)…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:24:34 +1200 Danielle https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265015#post265015 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265015#post265015 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:24:05 +1200 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265014#post265014 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265014#post265014 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:22:36 +1200 Carol Stewart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265011#post265011 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265011#post265011 She knows she’s inherited this beauty from her unknown father, about whom her eccentric single mother won’t speak
I also love the way many of her stories have this gorgeous subtext in celebrating diversity, eccentricity and people on the fringes, overturning stereotypes.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:10:10 +1200 Russell Brown https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265010#post265010 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265010#post265010 The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate works as it does because the parent reader internalises not only the words but the ideas they embody. I'd forgotten, you know? ]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:07:09 +1200 Megan Wegan https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265009#post265009 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265009#post265009 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:02:36 +1200 Tim Michie https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265008#post265008 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265008#post265008 Thank you Jolisa. Enduring gratitude Margaret.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/collections/margaretmahy

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:00:11 +1200 Laura Vincent https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265006#post265006 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265006#post265006 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:29:36 +1200 Jackie Clark https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265003#post265003 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265003#post265003 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:05:27 +1200 Jackie Clark https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265002#post265002 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265002#post265002 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:05:04 +1200 Simon Bennett https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265001#post265001 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265001#post265001 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:50:36 +1200 Tamsin6 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265000#post265000 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=265000#post265000 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 03:34:16 +1200 richard https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=264998#post264998 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=264998#post264998 One amusing fact — The Catalogue of the Universe is also THIS book http://www.abebooks.com/CATALOG-UNIVERSE-MURDIN-Crown-Publishers/1363595292/bd

Mahy must have liked it enough to inject it into her own book (and borrow the title). Any self-respecting geeky young astronomer in Christchurch would have owned both. And the luckiest geeky astronomer of all got…

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:35:00 +1200 Public Address https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=264997#post264997 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/busytown-glory-glory-theres-the-salt/?p=264997#post264997 Discussion from blog post.

]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:35:00 +1200