He was dreamt up by English illustrator Martin Handford in the early nineteen eighties. In Iceland they call him Valli, in Germany he is Walter, in North America he's Waldo and for some strange reason the French call him Charlie. It's nice to see that in Australia, New Zealand, The Republic of Ireland and The Netherlands the publishers have stuck with his proper name which is of course - Wally. Who hasn't at some time mulled over a "Where's Wally?" book searching for the nerdy bespectacled fellow in the red and white stripes? In Norway he's known as Willy which I shall say no more about for fear of causing offence to the prudish.
On Sunday, before cooking Sunday dinner, I took a three mile walk below Stanage Edge after parking Clint in a lay-by that is very familiar to the two of us. I walked up to Dennis Knoll and looked back. This is what I saw:-
The idea for a "Where's Clint?" book was born in that moment. Can you see him? Of course this challenge is quite easy but if I photographed him from above in a big supermarket car park you might have a little more trouble spotting him. I could paint him in red and white stripes but he would then look like a Sheffield United supporter and we wouldn't want that would we?
As I type it's coming up for 5pm and it's almost dark outside here at latitude 53.3811°N. Damn that other wally - William Willett - the obsessive fool who came up with the idea of British Summertime and all that clock changing nonsense we have to endure twice a year. Back in 2018, I blogged about the issue here.
What a wally.
ReplyDeleteDid Lord Peregrine just enter the room?
DeleteI have no idea why we all still follow the bizarre rituals of time change. And yet...we do.
ReplyDeleteAny justification that is given for it seems incredibly weak.
DeleteI sometimes have trouble finding my own car in a crowded lot, much less having to find Clint. Where's Willy? That made me smile. I worked a Where's Waldo jigsaw a few years ago that had a racy topless woman in the beach scene.
ReplyDeleteWhat had Waldo been up to?
DeleteA better idea might be to keep BST all year and just to go to bed from November to February. I found it tiresome living in Scotland where it was dark going to work and dark going home.
ReplyDeleteWhat had you done wrong to be sentenced to time in Scotland?
DeleteDark, gan tae work. Dark, gan hame.
DeleteIt is aye Hallow'een in wintry Scotia.
No wonder we have so many stories about ghaists and ghouls.
Haggerty
Australia has three time zones but not all states have daylight saving, leading to a good bit of botheration. I don't like an hour less when it begins, but otherwise I think it is good for here, where normal summer sunset time would be 8pm.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what tinkering there is with times, the amount of daylight stays the same.
DeleteOh yes, my paternal grandfather's name was Walter and he was known as Charlie. A coincidence, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteWas he a proper Charlie?
DeleteI'm so over time changes and resetting clocks.
ReplyDeleteIf I could see some worthwhile reason for it I wouldn't mind the palaver but I can't.
DeleteAnd I hate the time changes and whine about them every year. I get tired of myself.
ReplyDeleteEvery year people miss appointments and I am sure there are accidents when clocks situated high up walls or in church towers have to be changed. The whole thing is ridiculous.
DeleteWhere's Waldo was a big hit with the middle school kids.
ReplyDeleteEasier than reading!
DeleteI've never come across Wally (or Walter) before, but the unjustified translation of proper names is a pet peeve of mine. One relatively recent example is the use of names in the Harry Potter books and films. In J.K. Rowling's original, the main character is of course Harry Potter, and his closest friends are Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. In the German books (which I have not read, because I prefer the original) and films (which I do not watch, as I do not like the sync voices of the characters and find that a lot gets lost in translation), Hermione is changed to "Hermine" - while all the others remain the same! Why? Why?! Why?!? If the editors and translators are so keen on translating proper names, Harry Potter should be Harald Töpfer.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love the view you had on Sunday! Very enticing for a good long hike.
I am surprised that you haven't seen "Wor Ist Walter?" in German bookshops etc..
DeleteThe worst thing is changing the time in the car! I was very pleased with myself that I actually managed to do it this time. My previous car was easy....2 button presses and then either summertime or GMT.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't the farmers get up a bit later/earlier whatever? As you say there is the same amount of daylight all year!
My father in law was a farmer and he was also irritated by pointless changing of the clocks.
DeleteNever heard of Wally, except as the same comment made by JayCee!
ReplyDeleteClock changing is an inconvenience, and apart from the ones in the main rooms, and on the cooker and microwave, I've given up bothering. The ones I don't change are right for six months of the year, and I just have to remember which are either an hour ahead or an hour behind!
I am sure there are many homes like that. I have no idea how to change the clock on our oven so we just ignore it. In Spanish "¿ Dónde está Wally?" is what you should look out for Carol. You are guaranteed hours of fun!
DeleteI'm typing at almost 4:30 p.m. and it's just about dark here too, even though I'm a bit south of you! I guess I'm not far enough south to make a difference in that regard.
ReplyDeleteIt's always seemed to strange to me that in the UK Waldo is "Wally."
Your comment reminded me of a 1975 flying movie, The Great Waldo Pepper, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Robert Redford and Susan Sarandon.
DeleteThe film is a homage to the German stunt pilot Ernst Udet, called Ernst Kessler in the story.
Waldo (Redford) flies his WWI Sopwith Camel, and has a duel in the air with Kessler, who flies a WWI Fokker. I hate flying but enjoy this sequence.
I Googled famous Americans called Wally (Wallace) and got a lot of hits.
My favourites were baseball players Wally Moses (1910-1990) and Wally Moon (1930-2018).
Poet Wallace Stevens (1875-1955) was a bondsman lawyer and vice-president of an insurance company, keeping his writing life a secret.
When news of his Pulitzer Prize was splashed all over the papers, his surprised colleagues said, *Wally is a poet?*
Haggerty