A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

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GuyBarry
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Re: A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

Post by GuyBarry »

RobbieM wrote::) :) I've finally read Over The Top! :) :)
Glad to hear it! It's an important story I think - it develops quite a few characters from Hidden Underground, and sets the scene for the later action.
A few things fit together a bit better now. Though now I can't say that I think of Canon Bury and Rev. S. Bury as the same person - but I think they may be brothers.
Only greatkingrat can answer that question, as he introduced both characters. But I vote for brothers.
They seem to minister in two different places, and the personalities are perhaps incompatible. Perhaps Canon Bury is the black sheep of the family? (Maybe I should add another little bit into S.Bury's speech which reflects his brother, but it's probably long enough already!)

A few more character write-ups done! Please feel free to add to them if necessary.
Will do when I'm ready! The edited version of Travelling Light should be there at the weekend. I've already got a few ideas for the T&W Metro story.
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Re: A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

Post by greatkingrat »

My intention was that S. Bury the priest was the same person as Canon Bury, whose first name hadn't been previously established.
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Re: A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

Post by The Orange One »

It was me who established where the Over The Top Canon Bury was based. It had to be on Ian Road, of course. He originally lived in Billericay (where there actually is an Ian Road), but then it was pointed out this put Liverpool Street (and Stratford!) in there twice. It was then that he relocated to Banbury (I couldn't resist putting him in the one place he's not allowed). It would be very little trouble to relocate him to Waltham Abbey.

Alternatively, I could put him in nearby Enfield and have them take a train from King's Cross instead. This would also add meaning to the "Oh look the London Overground now goes to Enfield" bit, and maybe I can slip in a sneaky title reference while I'm at it.

You're right, the two personalities don't really match and they should probably be different people - but it might be fun to bring the two priests geographically closer together.

If the two do stay one and the same, I can put some passages in Over The Top that bring out the better traits in Canon Bury (because to be honest, leaving them locked in a barn and anonymously tipping the police is quite tame for a criminal mastermind, so he probably got the idea from a soul with experience in the field of human kindness).
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Re: A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

Post by GuyBarry »

Interesting little dilemma here. The creator of Canon Bury and the Rev S. Bury says they're the same person, but the other three regular authors say they're different people. Should the majority opinion prevail or does greatkingrat have "ownership" of the character(s)? I can't decide.

For me it's difficult to see them as the same person because they're in two different locations and have very different personalities. (Although the problem pales into insignificance compared with the problem of Constable Chalfont, who in Over the Top is a woman who marries Wes Tacton, but in Off the Rails appears to be a man who leaves the police force and joins a monastery :? )
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Re: A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

Post by The Orange One »

When greatkingrat introduced Rev. S. Bury, they were very much the same person. It's only when Rev. S. Bury was fleshed out that he became a different person.

Whether or not they are, since Rev. S. Bury works in Waltham Abbey and for the sake of making that bit of the plot make more sense I would like to rewrite certain bits of Over The Top to move Canon Bury to Enfield. Enfield has two stations, Enfield Town (a bad idea for several reasons) where trains leave from Liverpool Street and Enfield Chase (which is a very appropriate station name for Over The Top) where trains leave from King's Cross or Moorgate. As mentioned before, the fact they minister in two different parishes is just a case of circumstance.

I think I might want to rewrite the bit about Constable Chalfont too. My Over The Top contributions seem to be very controversial (Canon Bury fleshed out and both Constable Chalfont and Parson S. Green made women).
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Re: A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

Post by GuyBarry »

The Orange One wrote: I think I might want to rewrite the bit about Constable Chalfont too. My Over The Top contributions seem to be very controversial (Canon Bury fleshed out and both Constable Chalfont and Parson S. Green made women).
I don't think they're particularly controversial, it's just a case of different people seeing the name and taking the character off in different directions, unaware of each other's efforts. RobbieM said that he hadn't read Over The Top until recently, so when the names "Chalfont and Latimer" were re-used in Off the Rails (as friars from the monastery) it was quite an obvious choice to make them ex-policemen. Beck does say "they used to be constables, I think", so it's possible that she was mistaken. I introduced PC Chalfont in Hidden Underground but I've no particular preference either way (the character doesn't actually say anything, since she/he is summoned to a road accident at the start of the interrogation).

As far as Parson S. Green is concerned, it's a bit muddled but not too hard to sort out. The parson is first heard on BBC Radio Kent right at the beginning of Hidden Underground, talking about a new camera; the text says "he" there but it would be straightforward to reword it so that the gender is unspecified. Later on, in a conversation between Don and Ken Sington, we learn of a Sal Green who used to call herself Hamilton, but at this point there's no connection to the S. Green mentioned at the beginning. (To confuse things even further, John Collier mentions another S. Green - Stepney Green, a theatrical agent.) Then in Over the Top it's revealed that Parson S. Green and Sal Green are one and the same. I think the character makes sense from then on.
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Re: A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

Post by RobbieM »

GuyBarry wrote:Interesting little dilemma here. The creator of Canon Bury and the Rev S. Bury says they're the same person, but the other three regular authors say they're different people. Should the majority opinion prevail or does greatkingrat have "ownership" of the character(s)? I can't decide.
Neither can I. What does gkr think? But if The Orange One is happy to re-write of parts of OTT to make it fit the same person, then that's another possible solution.
GuyBarry wrote:Although the problem pales into insignificance compared with the problem of Constable Chalfont, who in Over the Top is a woman who marries Wes Tacton, but in Off the Rails appears to be a man who leaves the police force and joins a monastery :?
Yes, that was my fault - after I introduced them, I spotted the problem later, but kept quiet about it. I may have even put the words 'I think' into Beck's speech after I realised this. Nothing like ambiguity to sort out a contradiction!
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Re: A Story from DLR/Tramlink - discussion

Post by RobbieM »

Oh, by the way, I loved the reference to an organist and road enthusiast singing their latest song at the end of OTT! Great when we can put in personal references - (like I did towards the end of "Off the Rails").
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