The Bell Family

by Noel Streatfeild

  Nobody enjoyed the holiday more than Esau. He would go prowling off by himself along the beach. Very often he ate starfishes on his walks, which made him dreadfully sick, but, as Alex said, everybody must enjoy themselves in their own way.

  Then suddenly it was the last day. The suitcases came out from under the beds. Fairly tidy clothes for travelling were laid out, and of course the last of everything had to be done. The last bathe, the last donkey ride, the last ice cream at the kiosk, and, of course, final present buying. Nobody had much money left, but two people simply had to have presents, one was Mrs Primrose and the other Mrs Gage.

  For Mrs Primrose, after much thought, and a lot of arguing, they chose a vase; for Mrs Gage all the family chose different presents. Ginnie bought her a little box trimmed with shells. Jane a cup and saucer with fishes on it. A man on the beach had taken a family group with Angus’s camera, which was better than Paul’s, so Paul had a copy framed in a near-silver frame. Angus chose the most surprising present, a bowl of goldfish. Cathy looked rather gloomily at it when she saw it.

  ‘Are you sure you want to give her that, Angus? It’s such a splashy present to travel.’

  The train back to London left in the late afternoon, so the family came home for an early lunch, and last packings. It was as they were sitting down to lunch that the awful thing was found out. Esau was missing. They tried to remember who had seen him last.

  ‘He went back to the house with you, didn’t he, Ginnie, when you went to fetch your Dedication book?’

  As a last gift to Hythe Ginnie had thrown the Dedication book out to sea.

  ‘I shan’t need it now I’m going to be a champion swimmer.’

  It had been fun at the time, and all the family had laughed, but no one laughed now.

  ‘He wouldn’t come,’ Ginnie explained. ‘I called him, but he was digging and digging for something on the beach.’

  Jane got up and looked out of the window.

  ‘I expect he’s coming. He’s such a different dog here to the one he is at home. He doesn’t expect anyone to look after him, he just goes where he likes.’

  Usually Esau was very conscious of meal times. Alex got up.

  ‘He may be hunting on that waste ground.’

  Paul stopped him.

  ‘He isn’t. I came home that way.’

  Cathy tried to sound cheerful.

  ‘There’s nothing to worry about, he never goes near the sea, so there’s no danger of his being drowned.’

  Jane looked at Cathy.

  ‘You’ve got your let’s-keep-calm-at-any-price face. You think he’s lost, don’t you?’

  Cathy struggled to sound confident.

  ‘Of course I don’t. But I wish he was here. It’ll be a worry if he’s late today, just as we’re going.’

  ‘He’ll come,’ said Alex. ‘I expect he’s found an especially juicy dead starfish, and he will honour us by being sick in the train.’

  Mrs Primrose had provided an extra special last lunch. Chicken, bread sauce, peas, potatoes, and a trifle to follow, and she was not going to have her food wasted for any dog.

  ‘Don’t let his being late spoil your dinners. I’m not having my chicken wasted. If he’s not in by the time you’ve finished I’ll send the boy next door on his bicycle to the police station. This isn’t a big place, if he’s been found wandering, or anything’s happened to him, they’ll know.’

  ‘Are there many dog thieves here?’ Jane asked.

  Mrs Primrose gave a warm chuckling laugh.

  ‘Dog thieves! In Hythe! Whatever next.’

  Angus felt Esau was not appreciated.

  ‘He’s a valuable dog. He won fifty pounds last year for being the most beautiful dog in Britain.’

  ‘And no wonder,’ said Mrs Primrose cosily. ‘But being so handsome everybody would notice him. A common dog no one might see, but Esau is a dog that stands out. You leave it to the boy next door. He’s a boy scout, he’ll be back with him all right.’

  Mrs Primrose made the family feel less worried, her cosy voice, which Cathy said made her feel about four years old, was the sort that gives confidence. But when the chicken was taken away and the trifle was on the table, and there was still no Esau, fright gripped them again. And when, after lunch, the boy next door came back and said the police had not seen Esau, and nor had anyone else, the family began to despair. They split up to search the nearby streets. The boy next door found some fellow boy scouts, and searched the farther-off streets. Angus walked all the way up the sea front in both directions, in case Esau was on the beach. But only a short time before they had to leave everybody was back at the house, and none of them had seen or heard anything of him.

  ‘If we don’t find him we can’t go back,’ said Angus.

  ‘Of course we can’t,’ Jane agreed, ‘blessed angel, imagine him coming here and finding us gone.’

  Ginnie’s voice was truculent.

  ‘This is my holiday, and Esau was part of it. I say nobody can go home until he’s found.’

  Cathy was as miserable about Esau as anybody, but she had to be firm.

  ‘I’m sorry, darlings, but Esau or no Esau, we’re all going back to London this afternoon.’

  Jane was nearly crying.

  ‘We couldn’t, Mummy. We simply couldn’t.’

  Angus flung himself at Alex.

  ‘Daddy, you won’t make us go without him, will you?’

  ‘It seems awful to leave him, Dad?’ said Paul.

  Alex put an arm round Angus.

  ‘The trouble is we shan’t do any good hanging about here. Esau’s loss has been reported to the police, and we’re on the telephone. I’ve arranged he’s to be sent home the moment he turns up.’

  Mrs Primrose backed Alex.

  ‘Your father’s quite right, my dears, the police’ll let you know as soon as there’s any news. But I’ve a feeling in my bones you’ll find him before you go.’

  Ginnie put a hand into one of Mrs Primrose’s.

  ‘Are your bones reliable?’

  Mrs Primrose squeezed Ginnie’s hand.

  ‘Never known better. When I feel in my bones something happens, it happens. My bones feel now Esau travels back with you.’

  In Hythe there is the best station bus system in the world. The bus meets every train, and then wanders round the town dropping passengers and their luggage at their front doors. Going away, the bus calls for passengers at their houses. Though they were still protesting, and Ginnie was quite crying, and Jane very nearly, the family and their suitcases were waiting for the bus. Mrs Primrose, still holding in a pleased way the vase they had given her, came to the door to see them off.

  ‘Good-bye, dears. Come again. It’s been lovely having you. If I hadn’t the rooms booked I’d have had you another week for nothing, I would. Smile now. Try not to worry.’

  The bus driver, who also took the fares, and helped with the luggage, was a cheerful man. He remembered the Bells, and beamed at them over his shoulder.

  ‘I drove you when you came. Had a good time?’

  Jane was nearest to him, so she answered.

  ‘Absolutely perfect, but it’s all spoilt now. You see, we’ve lost our dog.’

  The driver began to remember Esau.

  ‘Spaniel, wasn’t he?’

  Ginnie got up and came to the front of the bus.

  ‘A very valuable one. Last year he won a competition for the most beautiful dog in Britain.’

  The driver wore a thinking face.

  ‘Is he a red spaniel?’

  ‘Almost orange,’ said Jane. ‘Like an autumn leaf.’

  ‘Usually,’ Ginnie put in; ‘but he’s been out a lot since he’s been here, so he hasn’t been brushed much, so he’s darker than ordinary.’

  There was a little silence, then the driver said:

  ‘I know where he is.’

  The family gasped. Then they got up and surged to the front of the bus.

  ‘Where?’ ‘You know?’ ‘Hav
e you seen him?’

  The driver was not a man to be hurried.

  ‘When I come home for my dinner, my wife says to me she’d been down to buy a bit of fish from the boats as they came in. She said the fishermen were laughing fit to burst, on account of a red dog. When the boat went out this morning, up comes this spaniel, and jumps in without a by your leave, and sits down as if he’d bought the boat. So they took him out with them.’

  Alex was feeling in his pockets.

  It was Paul’s present that truly thrilled her

  ‘Quick, Paul. Here’s your ticket and Esau’s. Will you stop, driver. If you miss the train, Paul, come on by the next.’

  The train was making leaving noises. The family had almost given up hope. Then streaking up the platform came Esau dragging a breathless Paul on his lead. Everybody shouted. Just in time they opened the carriage door. Paul and Esau fell in.

  St Mark’s Vicarage looked friendly, welcoming and, as Jane said, almost Hythe-ish when they reached home. Mrs Gage, with a grin that split her face in half, was waiting on the doorstep.

  ‘’ere you are at last. Lovely to see you all again. And don’t you look well, ever so brown. Look at you, Jane, proper fat lady at the fair.’

  Everybody tried to tell her their news at once. How Esau was lost. What they had brought her. Ginnie’s swimming, and how she had torn up her Dedication book. About the Venetian Fête, the small railway, and Mrs Primrose. Mrs Gage managed to understand quite a lot.

  ‘Fancy you losin’ Esau! My word, you must ’ave been in a state. That’s a dear little box, Ginnie, look lovely in me front room. Fancy you a swimmer! Well, I never! Thank you for the cup and saucer, Jane dear. I’ll keep it on the shelf ’ere for me mornin’ cuppa. Don’t want Mr Gage drinkin’ out of it. Goldfish! Well, I never, Angus! Mr Gage was always fond of a bit of fish, give ’im a treat, these will.’

  But it was Paul’s present that truly thrilled her. He said:

  ‘I’m afraid the frame isn’t really silver, it only looks like it. A man on the beach took it with Angus’s camera.’

  ‘Look at you all! Isn’t it smashin’! Doesn’t your Dad look funny without ’is clergyman’s collar? There seems more of your Mum undressed, some’ow. Jane looks sweetly pretty. Look at you, Paul, quite the film star. Oh, there’s young Angus, with his arm round Esau. Look at Ginnie, proper little barrel she looks.’ Then, to his surprise, she gave Paul a smacking kiss. ‘Thanks ever so, ducks. It’s just what I’d fancy. My Bell family, large as life, and twice as ’andsome, standin’ on me table for always.’

  Mrs Gage made all the family go up and tidy for supper.

  ‘It’s on the table, and you should be peckish, so get a move on now.’ When they came down again she flung the door open with an air. ‘Welcome ’ome all.’

  No wonder Mrs Gage wanted them tidy for supper, for never was there a more beautiful meal. There was a large cold ham, and a cold chicken, fruit salad and an enormous ice cream, and to Ginnie and Angus’s great joy, crackers. Cathy was so surprised she could only stare at the table.

  ‘Am I dreaming? Where did all this glory come from, Mrs Gage, dear?’

  Mrs Gage whipped out a letter she was holding behind her back and gave it to Alex. He read it out loud.

  ‘A mark of appreciation from all your friends in St Mark’s parish.’

  ‘The ’am’s from the butcher,’ said Mrs Gage, ‘the cake from the choir. Miss Bloggs coughed up the chicken. The rest came in dribs and drabs. Oh, and the children of the Sunday school sent a woppin’ great bone for Esau.’

  At first everybody was so busy eating nobody spoke. Then Jane said:

  ‘Do you know, nothing looks as shabby as it did when we went away.’

  ‘That’s the best of going away,’ Cathy explained, ‘home seems so nice when you get back.’

  ‘And it’s still holidays,’ Paul pointed out, ‘and we’ve none of those awful envelopes to address, so we could do some nice things.’

  ‘Let’s make a plan,’ Cathy suggested, ‘nice things not only for the holidays but for all the rest of the year.’

  ‘You mean we all make a plan?’ Ginnie asked.

  Cathy nodded.

  ‘Everybody. Mr Paul Bell, Miss Jane Bell, Miss Virginia Bell, Mr Angus Bell and Mr Esau Bell.’

  ‘In fact,’ said Jane, ‘a combined operation by The Reverend Alexander Bell and family.’

  Who’s Who in The Bell Family

  Mrs Bell (Cathy): the mother of the Bell family, she is a jolly, practical woman who sometimes worries about running the Bell household on not very much money, but always makes it work somehow.

  Mr Bell (Alex): the father of the Bell family, he is always optimistic and often unworldly, but a very diligent clergyman. Mr Bell was cut off by his parents when he was accepted into the church, and he still has a slightly rocky relationship with them.

  Paul: the eldest of the Bell children. Paul has always known that he will be a doctor, though the financial pressures on the family sometimes cause him to reconsider his future.

  Jane: the second eldest of the young Bells, Jane has considerable natural talent as a dancer, and it is her dream to be trained as a ballet dancer. She is thin and pretty, always works hard and strives to be good.

  Virginia (Ginnie): the third eldest, Ginnie is not bothered about being good and working hard. She is outspoken, rather wide and dreams of becoming games captain. She famously refers to herself as ‘Miss Virginia Bell’.

  Angus: as the baby of the family we see Angus grow up a lot during the story. Angus has a beautiful singing voice but he claims he hates to sing and his ambition is to own a private zoo.

  Mrs Gage: the lady who helps Mrs Bell keep the vicarage clean. She is a very cheerful person, a brilliant cleaner and a great friend to the Bells. Her husband Mr Gage is a greengrocer and she has five children.

  Esau: the pet of the family – a very beautiful red cocker spaniel.

  Uncle Jim: Cathy’s brother, a doctor and inspiration to Paul. His wife is Aunt Ann and his children are called Ricky and Liza. They live in a large, rambling house where the Bells spend their summer holidays.

  Mumsdad and Mumsmum: Cathy’s parents. Mumsdad also used to be a doctor. The children secretly prefer their mother’s parents to their father’s.

  Miss Bloggs: the rather irritating but very well-meaning lady who helps Alex Bell enormously around the parish.

  Grandmother and Grandfather: Alex Bell’s parents. They are very rich but never help the Bells with their financial worries. Grandfather is a fierce-looking man and Grandmother a plump, neat person.

  Uncle Alfred: Alex Bell’s brother. Unlike Alex, he followed his father into the wool trade so is very wealthy. He spoils his infuriating daughter, Veronica, rotten.

  Aunt Rose: Alfred’s wife. She is very pretty but has an annoying whiney voice.

  Veronica: the Bell children’s cousin. She is pretty but a terrible show-off and spoilt to death by her over-indulgent parents.

  Miss Newton: the headmistress of St Winifred’s School.

  Miss Bronson: the dance mistress at St Winifred’s.

  Alison: Ginnie’s friend at school.

  Mrs Primrose: the landlady at Hythe.

  Who was Noel Streatfeild?

  Noel Streatfeild was born in Sussex on Christmas Eve in 1895. She was the daughter of a curate so grew up in a vicarage, just like the Bell family. She was considered the ‘plain’ sister by her family but she was rebellious and had a passion and talent for performing. As vicar’s children, she and her siblings were constantly required to put on entertainment for the parishioners, including making all their own costumes.

  During the First World War, Noel worked in the kitchen of a hospital for injured soldiers. After the war she won a place at (what is now called) RADA and then worked as an actress for ten years. She was in plays all over the world and also worked as a model in between acting jobs as she was very tall. Her change of career happened when her father died and she decided
she needed a more sensible job. She was travelling home from Australia at the time and suddenly in a flash she realised she would become a writer.

  Her first books were for adults and it wasn’t until 1936 that a publisher approached her and asked her to write a book for children. That same year her most famous book, Ballet Shoes, was published, which she said ‘poured off my pen, more or less telling itself’. She went on to write many more, well-loved books in the ‘Shoes’ series. Noel always researched her books very thoroughly and even went on tour with the circus to research The Circus is Coming, which won the Carnegie medal in 1938.

  After a long and successful career as a writer, including being awarded an OBE in 1983, Noel Streatfeild died in 1986.

  If you’d like to hear Noel Streatfeild speaking about her life in her own words, then visit the BBC website and listen to an interview that she gave to Desert Island Discs in 1976.

  Why did Noel Streatfeild write The Bell Family?

  As Noel Streatfeild grew up in a vicarage she already knew about what life was like for the children of a vicar, and she drew a lot on her own experience when it came to writing The Bell Family.

  The book was originally written as a radio serial for BBC Children’s Hour and ended up running for six years. It was one of the most popular programmes on air at the time. This was before people had televisions and some radio programmes were very popular. Ginnie, or Miss Virginia Bell, as she calls herself, was always the best-loved character. Noel said Ginnie was especially popular at the Women’s Institute (a club for women) and the first question she was always asked when she went to speak at WI meetings was ‘What’s the news of Miss Virginia Bell?’

  In 1954 Noel Streatfeild sat down and put some of the adventures of her famous Bell characters into a book, which became The Bell Family.

  In the first edition of the book there is a note about the adaptation of the Bells from radio to novel form. It reads:

  Now Noel Streatfeild has put the Bells and their doings into a book. She has done so in answer to countless requests from people of all ages all over the world. But The Bell Family is very far from being simply a ‘book of the serial’… She has created a family of characters who seem so real and alive that those who have had the misfortune never to have heard the Bells on the wireless will at once feel at home with them.