In my very first year at primary school, I can remember reading some of the Berenstain Bears and Dr Seuss books. In my second year, our teacher read us The Magic Faraway Tree and also a book called The Robber Hotzenplotz . I think she might have also read us The Magic Finger . I enjoyed these well e...

I was introduced to Pippi Longstocking by a teacher reading it to the class. I then borrowed it from the school library and was eventually given a Puffin paperback copy of my own. I didn't get the sequels, Pippi Goes Abroad and Pippi in the South Seas , until I was an adult. However, I think I may h...

I've never read anything by Mabel Esther Allan, but I have bought Shadow Over the Alps , because it's in my favourite mystery/adventure genre. So I'm looking forward to reading that at some stage. Meanwhile, I'm currently reading A Sailor in Spite of Himself by Harry Castlemon, whose real name was C...

It's a good few years now since I read the story, "William and the Nasties", but I had a similar impression of it to Viv. To me, the story is not promoting or endorsing anti-Semitism, but using humour to show that it's a bad thing. I think it's rather a shame the story was omitted from lat...

Just briefly on George slapping people, she definitely slapped Edgar in Five Run Away Together . I think he was taunting the Five in some way, and they were trying to find out where something was. In any case, Edgar said, "Find out yourself", and that's when George leapt at him and slapped...

I have just watched The Curse of Kirrin Island on Three Now, which is Three's on-demand service in New Zealand. (Three is like ITV in Britain; formerly known as TV3, it's the main competitor to the three channels run by state-owned TVNZ , although TVNZ and Three both have a lot of "sub-channels...

Without doubt, the role of Emma Peel in The Avengers has to have been Diana Rigg's most iconic. But she was also a noteworthy Bond girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service , being a more complex character than the usual Bond girls (especially of that era) and the only one to get Agent 007 to the alta...

I'm currently reading my way through Malcolm Saville's Marston Baines series. RIght now I'm reading White Fire , the fourth book in the series and set on the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca. It's a thoroughly enjoyable series, but a good deal darker than Saville's most iconic series, the Lone P...

Beatrix Potter taught me the words "impertinent" (used to describe the character of Squirrel Nutkin) and "affronted" (which is what Tabitha Twitchit was with her kittens' behaviour in The Tale of Tom Kitten ). In fact, I'm pretty sure I learned the word "simpleton" (in ...

The Faded Page website, a Canadian site, has many Enid Blyton titles available to download free but only if you live in a country with the life + 50 year rule. Thank you for mentioning this site, Kate Mary. I had never heard of it before. It's a lot smaller than Project Gutenberg, so I'm guessing i...

Many thanks indeed for the additional information, Boatbuilder and pete9012S. Very much appreciated. It's funny, Billycock Hill was one of my least liked Famous Five books, yet it still taught me the difference between stalactites and stalagmites. And just like Anne, I have never forgotten!

While not in any way excusing people who test positive and carry on working, I can perhaps understand why they are doing so. Firstly because of the financial reasons I've already mentioned, especially if they feel under pressure from their employers, and secondly, if they just feel a bit under the ...

Sorry guys, I didn't realise it would be illegal to download it in the UK! :( But it's still kind of historic IMO to see it on Project Gutenberg, which I believe is one of the biggest and most noteworthy free e-book sites in the world. I visit PG every day, mainly in search of old American series bo...

I agree that there is a prevailing attitude in society nowadays that you sort of have to "harden up" and "get on with it" if you get sick - especially if it's only a cold. However, COVID-19 might be changing that. Certainly, in New Zealand, following a sudden community outbreak i...

Stalagmites and stalactites, in one of the Famous Five books, and also the way to tell the difference between them! (The stalactites hold tight to the roof of a cave, and the stalagmites might be able to reach them some day.) Also, I only ever saw the word "beastly" used in a Blyton book, ...