HE Bates took the title of his 1958 novel The Darling Buds of May from Shakespeare's sonnet 18, in which he praises the beauty of a summer's day, while HE Bates created an idealised picture of a family in Kent, "the garden of England", a land of plenty after wartime deprivations.
One account I read said that Bates was driving in a Kent village when he saw a large jolly family being treated by their father. They all jumped into a big blue truck before driving away. Bates was inspired to write a story about such a happy family, and so the Larkins came into being.
Most of us have met the Larkins on TV. "Pop" Larkin is a farmer who does some wheeling and dealing on the side. He and his common-law wife, Florence (Ma Larkin) have a large brood of happy children but the fact that they've not bothered with the formalities earns them the disdain of some of their fellow villagers. Nevertheless Pop is always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needs it.
I really enjoyed both TV series, the first starring David Jason and the second starring Bradley Walsh. There's always a positive, upbeat vibe there so when our play reading group reads "The Darling Buds of May" this week I think we'll enjoy that too.
