Bernardo the Architect

[Adam Lawrence]

Searching the Times archive, I stumbled across the attached article, and thought I would share it here, as it might give GCAers as much pleasure as it gave me.

[BCrosby]

Wonderful. Thanks for posting.


What is the date of the article?


One of the reasons we still read Bernardo is his deep respect for the work of golf architects. He took special pleasure in watching architects in the field teasing design features out of thick, dark forests. I recall pieces he wrote about Colt at George's Hill and Simpson scouting changes at Rye. They bedazzled him; he thought their skills were other worldly. Maybe they were.


Bob

[Peter Pallotta]

My thanks too, Adam. What an utterly charming piece - almost every line offering a quirky surprise, an unexpected twist, and self-deprecating humour. I am almost sure the Bernard at one point actually did stand next to his flowerbed, an umbrella shading him from the sun, pondering the strategic possibilities. I'm just imagining Tiger or Jack or Tom in that pose in their next marketing photo

[Adam Lawrence]

Bob -- 30 April 1926

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Uffish, tulgy, boskiness. The spell checker hated them, but I love them.

[Richard Fisher]

And so the week before the General Strike, which began on 4th May 1926 and remains to this day the only piece of industrial action ever to have postponed a major championship in the UK. The Ladies' Championship which was due to be played at Harlech that week was postponed until June 21st, and over one third of the original entry scratched (including Glenna Collett, who sailed across from the USA, docked at Liverpool and (sadly) turned round for home). Bernardo provides, as ever, a lovely, thoughtful reflection on golfing issues a million miles from such troubled things (as befits a regular writer of what used to be called Fourth Leaders for The Times).

[Peter Pallotta]

Uffish, tulgy, boskiness. The spell checker hated them, but I love them.

Me too.
Tolkien writes of his frustration at proof readers and type setters (the spell checkers of his day) constantly changing "elvish" to "elfish". Then and now, so few seem to appreciate meaningful quirk!

[Adam Lawrence]

'Uffish' and 'tulgy' are from Carroll's Jabberwocky, I find -- though BD spells the latter different from how Rev Dodgson does! ('tulgey')

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Carroll's father was rector of a church near here, Daresbury. The church has a set of Carroll windows, but I've never seen them. The church has always been closed when I have tried to visit. Incidentally, my father was prepared for confirmation at Daresbury, in the mid 1920s I suspect.

[Colin Macqueen]

Thank you Adam for this wonderful piece of Darwinian prose!


My interest, too, was pricked by the words uffish, tulgy and boskiness which I have never come across before. So I decided to play a game with myself.


My English master in high school ("Tich" Ferry) was a diminutive chap, a golf and language enthusiast, who lived in Monifieth and played his golf there. As high school students he would set, each week, a task described as Interpretation (aye the 3Rs were extant in days of yore). Defining a few words in the given passage was part of this task. So I drifted back in time and did my best, from the context, to decipher Bernardo's offering of uffish, tulgy and boskiness.


"Longtime in uffish thought he stood"    Uffish thought .... deep thought.


"....whiffling through the tulgy wood"    Tulgy wood ... scrubland


" ....reasonable tallness and boskiness."  Boskiness ..... of thick crown.


How did I go?!  I am off to the dictionary after posting this so could have covered myself in literary glory or exposed myself as an illiterate.


Interestingly the auto-correct mode on the Mac created oafish from uffish, tulgy became bulgy and whiffling became whistling. Inexplicably boskiness was allowed to stand uncorrected! Classical education viz a viz language didn't seem to extend as far as computer language!  A job for Mark Rowlinson methinks!


Cheers Colin

[Adam Lawrence]

'Bosky' refers to the character of a woodland, green, damp, the sort of place that mushrooms would grow. It is a favourite word of the food writer Matthew Fort, which is how I first came across is

[Colin Macqueen]

Wow! None out of three Colin! Go to the bottom of the class you illiterate you! "Tich" will be turning in his grave!!



Boskiness .. as Adam describes ... green, damp woodland.


Uffish seems to be a corruption of huffish so piqued might pass muster here.


And tulgy is described as thick, dense and dark woodland.


Cheers Colin

[Adam Lawrence]

Both uffish and tulgy/tulgey seem to have been Carroll creations Colin, so I don't think there is an accepted definition for either. Don't beat yourself up!

[Thomas Dai]

Lots of nice stuff in the Darwin room at Aberdovey.
Atb

[Marty Bonnar]

A 'Sacro Bosco' was an integral part of the design of most Italian renaissance gardens. A Sacred Wood where statues, frescoes and garden features dedicated to the Gods would be located.
Not a wasted education, after all!


F.

[Colin Macqueen]

Ah! That Marty Bonnar!  So medieval Latin root. FBD "Ille me par esse deo videtur"


"Tich" was also my latin teacher so I am still not off the hook!


Cheers Colin