E is for... Eeyore

Eeyore is the ‘grumpy old man’ of donkey-dom, and for that I am rather fond of him. He lives in the southeast corner of Hundred Acre Wood in a place labelled ‘Eeyore’s Gloomy Place – Rather Boggy and Sad’. I suspect if he was a teenager he would paint his walls black, write Poetry Full of Meaning, and listen to Pink Floyd. We’d probably have been friends. In fact, he sounds just like my first boyfriend.

Eeyore is suspicious of merriment and plain old cynical about happiness, but he has a soft heart hidden away under those wary layers. As if to emphasise this, Disney added a pink bow to his tail. He doesn’t expect a lot from anybody, so is therefore pleasantly surprised when his friends show they care. His main worries in life are losing his tail or his home – losing identity and security – so we can understand his concerns and even sympathise. Eeyore is a bit of a glass half empty sort of soul, not the sort of animal easy to strike up a jaunty conversation with, but for all that, he is rather loveable.

The Disney images of Eeyore and chums may be more wide-spread, but the original illustrations, done with such gentle style by E.H Shepard, really seem to capture the heart of the books as well as the melancholy and occasional joy that permeates through Eeyore. As much as I am familiar with the first, it is the latter that sings to my imagination.

Winnie-the-Pooh
Published: 1926
Author: A.A. Milne
Illustrator: E. H Shepard

Grumpy fact one: Waking up two hours before my alarm and then not being able to get back to sleep again.
Grumpy fact two: Stepping in a regurgitated present from the cats.
Grumpy fact three: Delayed trains. In fact, anything to do with commuting usually makes me grumpy.
Grumpy fact four: Drinks that leak in my bag, making everything smell like apple juice.
Grumpy fact five: Not being able to find a pen that works when I want to write down an idea.

Three A-Z Highlights from 'E' and 'D'
Sue at I Refuse To Go Quietly shares a fab clip of the wonderful Gene Kelly dancing on roller-skates, as she posts about Entertainers
Kit at Kit Courteney Writes shares a great story about creating Nurse Daphne Peachbloom
Oak Lawn Images shows some wonderful photos from Edelweiss to Early morning sun