When we were children we had an audio tape of four of Enid Blytons Christmas stories beautifully read by Marise Hepworth and two stick in my mind ... in one, a small boy called Ben is woken up on Christmas night and finds Father Christmas cross and bothered because he the imp he has brought along wi...

I visited Leakey's in Inverness about three years ago and would highly recommend it, though sadly despite the greyness of the day they hadn't lit the fire! My husband was doing a charity cycle ride from Inverness to Perth, so I took the opportunity to pop in when I dropped him off. A couple of hours...

I've always loved poring over Flower Fairy pictures when I've come across them (I don't have a Flower Fairy book) but quite frequently see them on greeting cards or the like. When I was younger I used to imagine how I would dress flower fairies myself - a very pleasant way to pass the time! I didn't...

It's pronounced bampot in Scotland, bam rhyming with ham. (I'm assuming that the r in barmpot means that it rhymes with harm!...)

Really wonderful news Fiona - many congratulations to you both! Little Brodie sounds absolutely gorgeous!

So far I have only read the first one -Amazon adventure and immensely liked it .At the beginning It looked to be a rehash of The Hardy Boys but as the tale progressed I was pleasantly surprised.Shocks and thrills were plenty. Encounters with the tiger and Anaconda were very creepy... Yes, when I wa...

Gosh - that is expensive! I've just looked on Amazon and there are several on sale, ranging from £35 up to £205. Even £35 is much more than I would want to pay, so I'll just have to keep an eye out in charity shops!

Tony Summerfield wrote:
Something that might cheer people up is that I was asked recently if I could provide some original text for short stories as they were keen to put the currency back into shillings and pence in future books.

Fabulous!!!

I read all the 'Hal and Roger' books growing up (multiple times), not in response to an advert but because my family owned several of them, and the ones we didn't have we borrowed from cousins/friends. I have most of them still, but sadly don't get quite the same enjoyment from them now as I did as ...

Thanks for posting the link, Kate Mary. How refreshing to read an article which whole-heartedly and unapologetically praises Enid Blyton! I agree with his comments both about the adult travesties, and about Enid's own work.

Pen-lid for me.

I read something on the 'help' page on eBay about a seller who sent his book to the buyer by signed for post, and checking on the tracking number the seller found it had been delivered and signed for - but not signed for by the buyer. The buyer complained they'd never received it and opened up a ca...

Every time I've 'signed' my name in one of the hand-held devices (which was frequently when I was working) the postman has always then asked for my name and entered it themselves. It doesn't make sense to get a signature without a name and if necessary an address. I recently opened a case against an...

That's wonderful, Julie - well done! I'm looking forward to finding out more about the book at the proper time!

I'd be interested to know if you were accepted by a publisher directly or if it was through an agent, but if you'd rather not say then don't worry.

Wolfgang wrote:Well, today arrived "Five give up the booze" and "Five go parenting". When I'll read them (or try to) is a complete different story.

Let us know what you think if and when you get round to them!