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Flies
East, of course, has one of the most classic
Biggles-worried-about-Algy moments, when Biggles goes to pieces thinking that
he has shot down Algy. The description of Biggles’ breakdown isn’t a long one,
but it is powerful and shows the depths of his friendship with Algy.
I’m trying to think whether there are any
fantastic fangirl worthy Biggles moments when Biggles is with Ginger or Bertie,
and frankly I’m coming up empty at the moment. Biggles and Algy together have
amazing chemistry, and the banter exchanged between them in almost every
conversation is hilarious and showcases the wonderful relationship between
them. Whenever they are apart they worry about each other, and if someone
should hurt one of them, you can be sure that the other will be on the warpath
very soon.
What are your favorite Biggles moments? Any
Bertie and Ginger related ones? Feel free to share in the comments section
below!
Got this as my signature on the other forum - From No Rest for Biggles - A Bertie moment, of course,when bertie had been caught by some savages.
ReplyDelete“Don’t worry about me, old boy,” said Bertie, weakly. “I’m all right. Sorry to be such a beastly nuisance, and all that.” “You couldn’t be a nuisance if you tried, you big stiff,” Biggles told him.
It's the 'big stiff' that gets to me.
Sopwith said: Terai is one of my favorite books because the whole book is basically Biggles worried about Algy and wondering if Algy is all right, and determined not to give up until Algy is found.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, Jane is not in that one, is she?
The above scene is just after Ginger and Biggles have rescued Bertie when he had been caught by savages and force-marched for however long it was. They are concerned, of course, because Bertie is in a bad way and Biggles doesn't usually show his feelings much but I can imagine Biggles saying this, a sort of throw away comment that speaks volumes. Definitely a Biggles/Bertie moment worthy of note.
ReplyDeleteOh, dear, I'm getting in a right pickle. don;t know what's happening but I manage to publish comments before I'm ready to. My last quote above refers to the scene from No Rest for Biggles and does NOT refer to SJ's comments about the Terai. Soppy, is there any way we can edit our replies before I drive myself nuts (and others) with messing things up all the time?
ReplyDeleteWell there's the classic bit in 'Delivers the Goods' where Algy is a prisoner of the Japs and Biggles muses on how commanding officers are not supposed to show any emotion... "Thus pondered Biggles, with gnawing anxiety in his heart, but with hardly a word of reference to Algy on his lips ... he was not prepared to let Algy go without making a desperate effort to save him."
ReplyDeleteThere is a Biggles-cares-for-Ginger bit in 'Black Mask' when Ginger is in the hands of the 'baddies' and Biggles feels responsible.
ReplyDeleteGaskin is querying Biggles' plan to enter a property illegally. He says that if Biggles gets caught there'll be hell to pay, and gets the answer "Hell can burn the roof off the Yard for all I care as long as I get Ginger back."
Yes, SA, that bit speaks volumes in Delivers the Goods. But that, of course, was war. With the 'Black Mask' it was a different kettle of fish. A pity Biggles lost that rashness in later Air Police books. I often wonder if WEJ was afraid to have his hero show emotion because his younger readers would think he was going 'soft' as they did when he dared to give Ginger a little romance.
ReplyDeleteI should not worry, FB, that replies get out of sync. It is easy to work out what messages refer to.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great Biggles/Ginger moment in Scores a Bull when Biggles thinks Ginger is dead and his stiff upper lip is almost quivering (plus there is the added bonus of Ginger telling Biggles to leave him alone!).
ReplyDeleteThere's also the bit in Biggles Goes to War, where Biggles feels the weight of the responsibility of Ginger's safety on his shoulders as a result of his hasty decision to fight for Moltovia.
There are also some great introspective bits with Ginger in Biggles in Spain where he has to contemplate whether or not getting the letter to England should take priority over rescuing Biggles and Algy.
Actually, 'Black Mask' is fairly well on in the Air Police books (published 1964) - not an early one. WEJ must have decided it was time Biggles got to care about Ginger! Some pages before the bit I quoted, Biggles says to Bertie that he will resign if Ginger loses his life.
ReplyDeleteAlso, an interesting comment on Biggles' code of behaviour which I think may occur in other books, Biggles tells Bertie he won't tell Raymond what he is going to do because he (Raymond) will forbid it, and he (Biggles) will not disobey an order.
W E John's son died in the mid 1950s. I wonder if this influenced his writing in Black Mask and Scores a Bull
ReplyDeleteI have now added Black Mask and Scores A Bull to my wishlist! Biggles actually caring deeply about Ginger? This I've got to see!
ReplyDeleteFB, regarding the comments--I'm sorry but there isn't any way to add an edit option (as the commenting is open to everyone, any editing options would also be open to everyone--which means that anyone could edit anyone else's comment). Don't worry about posting twice; I'll delete the extra comments when I see them. If you really want to rewrite something, I think it's possible to delete your comment (remember to copy it first!), paste your former comment into the comment box, and then change whatever you want changed before posting again. That's the best I can do for now :(
Two of my favourite Biggles/Algy moments are both from 'Biggles and Co.'
ReplyDeleteAlgy says grimly to EVS. "You try keeping me here and Biggles will be after you like a starving tiger."
Elsewhere in the book Bigles says: "...If one hair of Algy's head has been hurt - well it'll be a bad day for them (the crooks)"
Both remarks illustrate wonderfully how strong the bonds of their friendship are. Algy is 100% confident Biggles won't leave him in the lurch. Biggles is 100% committed to saving Algy or avenging him if he can't.
Whatever happens they know the other one is always there to back them up.
Yes, JJ, great Biggles/Algy comments.
ReplyDeleteSoppy, 'Scores a Bull' isn't one of the best in my opinion. Apart from an entertaining conversation Biggles and Gaskin have at the beginning of the book. Mind you, others might not agree with me...
ReplyDeleteBut both that and 'Black Mask' have a MAJOR failing - no Algy!!!!!!
I agree, SA, those two are not of the best. The one good thing about Scores A Bull, however, is the fact that we learn a little more about Bertie pre-WWII. A lovely insight for me. Other than that, a bit mediocre.
ReplyDeleteNO ALGY.
ReplyDelete*very dangerous expression*
Better not get them then.
The Biggles & Co. moments are fabulous. Ginger has quite a few good bits in that, and, apart from the Algy action, there's the Biggles singing which should not be missed!
Well you could leave them till last :-)
ReplyDeleteI went through Roger Harris' site with its summaries of all the books and marked all the 'no-ALgy' ones on my list to be ignored until I had got all the others.
Biggles & Co is definitely one of my favourites.
As for singing, well... we know Algy used to sing in his Camel in WWI - but how often did Biggles sing? I seem to remember he hummed a tune from time to time in WWI?
Biggles sang by the crocodile pool in 'Flies South', and sang 'Roll Out the Barrel' at the start of 'Sees it Through' - anywhere else?
There's also a moment in Plane that Disappeared when Ginger has to tell Biggles that Bertie has been murdered. Pale face, flat voice, etc. cigarette lit with a hand that was not quite steady. Biggles didn't go off half-cock but the emotion was there.
ReplyDeleteWhen Biggles finally sees Bertie again it's unsentimental but quite touching, really.
I seem to remember Biggles doing a lot of whistling and humming, but I don't recall anyone mentioning that he was a brilliant singer or anything.
ReplyDeleteAlgy, having learned how to play piano, would at least have some musical ability...
I always thought it strange in Hunts Big Game when Tug bears bad news about Bertie that it is Algy who expresses horror, and Biggles is kind of unemotional about it. I can only suppose at that point he was more worried about Ginger, who was right in the middle of the mess.
Yes, you're right, Soppy. He was worried about Ginger as he says that if Bertie had gone topsides there was nothing he could do about it but Ginger was on his own with wild beasts and cold-blooded thugs etc. Biggles has probably taught himself to repress his emotions or at least hide them until the job is done, and by then the one who was 'dead' isn't.
ReplyDeleteIn Flies South Biggles is described as having an unmelodious baritone. I'm not musical myself so I wouldn't know, but perhaps someone can set me straight on this. If he can 'sing in tune would he be able to hum or whistle in tune? Or can unmelodious have a different meaning to tunelss?
ReplyDeletesorry, I meant to say if he can't sing in tune, can he hum or whistle in tune?
ReplyDeleteI would say that the term "unmelodious" refers to the singing being unpleasant rather than not in tune, as in, it didn't sound good.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's quite possible for someone who can't sing in tune to hum or whistle in tune. At least, I know quite a few people who don't sing in tune but can whistle/hum in tune, although just short little snippets of songs.
Thanks for that, Soppy. I can't sing, can't whistle and can't hum in tune at all. The only non-musical person in my family. This has clarified things for me.
ReplyDeleteI think it is possible to be coached in musical ability :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I've heard that if you have the ability to differentiate between a question and a statement when speaking (one has rising inflection while the other doesn't), then you have musical ability, in that you can "tell" the difference between different inflections. So there may yet be hope!
Ah, Soppy, if only! I'm not tone deaf and can tell the difference between a statement and a question. I just can't sing or play any musical instrument or read music or..anything. I love listening to music, especially classical but I can't produce it. so anything to do with music usually leaves me flummoxed. and I'd be no good as a look-out either as I can't whistle!
ReplyDeleteI've often thought that screaming like a little girl is a much more efficient way of announcing that the enemy is here...
ReplyDelete