Saturday, 12 January 2019

SF - Huckleberry hound dog family


via Instagram


FATHER HUBERT ALAN HUCKLEBERRY 
is a writer and 'wordsmith' who loves finding out the meaning of names and new words. He was especially pleased to discover his name means 'Bright minded'. In order to write in peace and quiet, he escapes to his 'writing den' at the bottom of the garden. His den is lined with shelves full of books, a chair and a small desk littered with scraps of notepaper. On the desk, amongst all of Hubert's paperwork is a battered old typewriter he calls Archibald! The name Archibald means 'genuine and bold' which Hubert feels sums up his writing. The typewriter is also a bit of a snitch! If the sound of keys driving an image through the ribbon onto the loaded sheet of paper can't be heard pounding from the den, it usually means Hubert has fallen asleep at his desk.


MOTHER HATTY HUCKLEBERRY 
is a very level headed and practical lady who knows what she wants. Hatty means 'House Ruler' which is just what she is in the huckleberry household! Hatty's house rules include - leaving dirty shoes in the porch, putting dirty clothes in the dirty linen basket and not leaving them on the bedroom floor, doing homework before watching TV and putting your dirty dishes in the sink after meals. Her list of rules is endless and of course, difficult to impose completely in a household of children and a vague, preoccupied husband who is always thinking of new plot lines for his creative writing! So as she picks up socks and a plate of half eaten biscuits from the bedroom floor, she smiles and thinks to herself: "The children did remember to buy me my favourite hand cream for my birthday and get me some flowers on Mother's Day."


BROTHER DENNIS HUCKLEBERRY 
is strong minded about what he will and will not eat; his diet consists of five things and five things only! Taramasalata with pitta bread, potatoes either mashed or as chips, eggs boiled or fried - never scrambled, Marmite on toast for breakfast, Marmite sandwiches during the day and sweetcorn cooked on the cob. His parents, Hubert and Hatty, have tried to vary his diet but to no avail. Dennis means 'Belonging to the God of Wine', but his parents think it should have been...the God of Whine, which is all he does at the dinner table when presented with a meal that does not conform to his five a day!


SISTER ESME HUCKLEBERRY's name
means 'Beloved', a suitable name for daddy's little sweetheart. Esme dotes on her father and is always waiting at the door for his return from his 'writing den' at the bottom of the garden. She can't wait to give him a hug and a kiss before fetching his slippers and making him a cup of tea. Her love of words and their meanings is only matched by her father's. The two of them regularly enjoy a game of scrabble, seated at the kitchen table matching their skills and knowledge of words, seeing who can win the most games in an afternoon session.


Characters' descriptions above are from SF print references.