60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Discuss Blyton's magazines, short stories and poetry here.
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Moonraker
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Moonraker »

That is incredible, Julie, I was just about to post almost exactly the same as you after reading above posts. I feel exactly the same as you. There is no obligation to subscribe to the Journal. People join this forum through searching for Enid Blyton. Therefore, they have at the least a fondness for her books and enjoy the social intercourse which is to be found on these forums. If you are so interested and want to read more about Enid's work then a Journal subscription would seem to be the way forward. If you wish to discuss tea, pen caps or the price of eggs, then, as off-topic conversation is allowed, you should be able to do so. As for promotion, our Facebook page gets loads of 'likes' on every post, but I very much doubt if Facebook has led to one extra member. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Nobody should feel obliged into revealing personal details as to why they can't or don't wish to subscribe.

There also seems to be pressure on people to comment on everything, whether it is in the Journal or in the posts. I read all that interest me (sadly, I do fall behind at times!), but cannot possibly comment on everything. It can seem like homework at times. Here is the Journal. read it quickly and then write an essay on every article! I always comment on each Journal and if an article is especially interesting to me I will say so. I can fully understand that Tony can spend a whole day putting something on the website (or Rob with this thread) only to find no-one comments on it wondering if it's worthwhile. However, I will get round to reading the EB Magazines at some point in the near future, Rob - and might even make a comment! :D

When it comes down to it, people will read what they want to and what they have time for. Do the 85% of non-forum subscribers write letters to Society HQ commenting on the Journal? I have never written to the Malcolm Saville Society commenting on their 'journal'. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading it.

No need to be sorry about you opinion, Julie; I'm not! I am also confused as to why you think Anita would wish to delete your post. :?
Last edited by Moonraker on 27 Apr 2017, 10:33, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Rob Houghton »

In a way I agree...there's definitely no obligation to subscribe to The Journal...but Cathy chose to justify her reasons for not having the Journal - I don't think anyone 'made' her feel she should. I actually didn't even know Cathy didn't take The Journal until she admitted it - so she chose to say what she said without anyone forcing her too - just as I chose to illustrate my own circumstances without being forced.

I wasn't really talking about people who genuinely can't afford the Journal. And anyway, the people in the past who have told us they can't afford to subscribe to the Journal have done so of their own volition - no one forced them to say that!

Personally, if I couldn't afford the Journal, I don't think I'd admit to it if I didn't want people to discuss it. :lol:

Anyway - enough said - it was something that is better in the open than being something we are all scared to talk about, surely? And no one needs to join in or reveal anything about their circumstances unless they want to.

I do still maintain though that many people who might know there's a Society needn't necessarily know there's a Journal, or that anyone can subscribe to it. Many people these days think in terms of websites and earning higher statuses and they tend not to think in terms of printed booklets and paid memberships. Its not prominently advertised that there is a Journal to subscribe to.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Moonraker »

Rob Houghton wrote:In a way I agree...there's definitely no obligation to subscribe to The Journal...but Cathy chose to justify her reasons for not having the Journal - no one forced her to...or made her feel she should.
Oh, I don't know about that. If a person can't afford to lay out £10 on something that isn't essential, yet reads posts saying it is absurd not to be able to afford a few pennies a week, they might well feel that they need to reply to give the other side of the story. If it was me, and I genuinely couldn't justify spending£10 on a magazine when I could afford to pay the electricity bill (I am generalising here, and am in know way referring to Miss King), and read comments more or less saying that is ridiculous, I would feel coerced into making some sort of comment. I have been there. In the past I have been desperately short of money - almost going bankrupt at one point and couldn't possibly fritter money away on magazines.
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Rob Houghton »

Yes - I agree. But really I wasn't talking about people who could genuinely not afford it, or were genuinely struggling!

Anyway, I still think the bigger issue is - how do we promote The Journal?

Does every new forum member really get told about the Journal? IceMaiden didn't seem to know, so its obviously not filtering through to some forum members...?
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Daisy »

But how do you do it, without sounding pushy? "Welcome and how about shelling out some money for our journal? " I really don't know how to bring it to people's attention any more than we do already.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.

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Rob Houghton
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Rob Houghton »

I quite agree, to be honest - but maybe an advertisement on each forum page would have been a good idea, or more mention of it in the body of the website. I'm not suggesting Tony (or anyone else!) do this - just wondering why such a great Journal isn't advertised more prominently? It seems a shame. 8)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

I think the Society Site has enough information on here regarding the Journal frankly.

As mentioned, most of the Society Members don't even post on here, so the Journal won't get as much feedback on here anyway.

Unless you want to go around Birmingham with a message board on your back, Robert, then I think we should lay this matter to rest. :)

8)
Julian gave an exclamation and nudged George.
"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"

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Rob Houghton
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Rob Houghton »

Okay then! That's told you, Tony, lol!! ;-)

I was about to suggest that every time I sell an Enid Blyton book on eBay maybe I should include an advert for The Journal, which I would print and use as a receipt...but this would require me putting Tony's address on, so perhaps not! :lol:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Carlotta King
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Carlotta King »

Don't worry, I didn't feel pressured by anyone into having to justify my reasons. You're all my friends here and no one has made me feel pressured. :)
I'm also comfortable with admitting to you all that I struggle financially, I'm not ashamed of it, and again, think of you all as my friends so I'm not embarrassed to talk about things like that.

I do however sometimes feel that I need to defend the point that its 'so ridiculous not to be able to afford £10'. In previous discussions on here it has seemed to be the general concencus that everyone should be able to afford £10, and that its absurd to not be able to afford it, but in reality that isn't the case and that is why I go on about it sometimes.

I don't mean this in a patronising way towards anyone who has lots of money, but I guess when people are comfortably off and think nothing of spending £10, £20, £30, £40 on a meal out or a daytrip or some new clothes, it must seem like a different world to them when someone says they can't find £10, and it must sound ridiculous.

To some people, £10 is just a day's drinks or a new book, whereas to others, £10 is a week's food.

I don't begrudge anyone their money. I understand that what are unattainable luxuries for me (and others like me) are just everyday normalities for most people (such as a glass of drink in the evening, or a pack of fags, or a meal)

But I do like to just try and defend the point that for some people, £10 IS unaffordable, however ridiculous it may sound.
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I have been reluctant to post here as one of the things that I find annoying is when the very few proper Blyton threads that we have go horribly off topic, but with my apologies to Rob I feel I must respond to some of the somewhat misguided comments in posts above.

First of all let me give you some facts. We have had 20 new Journal subscribers this year (members!) and this number is well below all recent years for the first four months, never under 30 and four or five years ago it would have been over 50. None of the 20 is even registered in the forums, which frankly do not help the membership of the society in any way - it is the main website that brings members in.

So what about the forums! I have actually had to delete 120 spammers this month - it can be difficult to judge from emails and some may have seen the Russian that I accidentally let through two days ago, although it was unreadable, the links were in our alphabet and the word 'porn' was in most of them! This year I have accepted 57 registrations, but only two of these have posted more than three times, eleven more just wanted a question answered, but most haven't even logged in - dormant spammers?!!

I appreciate that sometimes people are too busy to post in Blyton threads, but you can be busy when everything you are doing is what you want to do or you can be busy doing what you have to do!! I have had to do something Society related every single day in April and 95% of this was thoroughly tedious. Holidays were mentioned earlier and the last time I had as long as a week away was 28 years ago. I managed three nights four years ago but otherwise I haven't even had a night away in the last 20 years - people expect the Society office to be staffed at all times!!

I don't expect everybody to comment on anything I do, and like Rob I appreciate any comments I get, but it is sad that there are regular visitors to the forums who would claim to be very interested in all things Blyton, who never post in any thread that I have anything to do with, Journal, 80 years ago, weekly letter, website updates etc. and unfortunately due to my small contribution they are also avoiding this thread.

I had better stop as I know that some don't like long posts apart from their own! :roll:
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Daisy »

Tony Summerfield wrote:I had better stop as I know that some don't like long posts apart from their own! :roll:
Long posts are often the most interesting, and golly, do you know there are some here who actually read whole books! :D
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.

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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Rob Houghton »

I personally love long posts - they show that the writer has a real passion for a subject. :-D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Moonraker »

It was quite amusing trying to spot who the digs were aimed at in Tony's post! I think I saw two aimed at me!
Tony wrote: but you can be busy when everything you are doing is what you want to do or you can be busy doing what you have to do!!
Of course, some of the things you have to do only have to be done because you want to do them. I make no apologies to my life being taken up with things I want to do - all right, maybe I don't enjoy long diversions because of almost permanent M3 evening closures. I have spent some 45 years in full-time employment - often doing things I hated. Nights spent in laybys, 3am starts on milk rounds and so on. I have mainly endured them as they brought me in a comfortable salary. I am happy now to have few commitments, other than family ones.
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Daisy »

I have read all the magazine now and really am amazed at how much was crammed into each one every fortnight. So much to entertain as well as teach children. I used to enjoy doing puzzles when I had Sunny Stories and for the few years I had the EB magazine too, so it is good to see the old style puzzles again. Do children these days have access to any such things in modern periodicals I wonder? Would they enjoy doing them? I'm rather out of touch with what the modern child has on offer. Thanks Rob and Tony for your time in getting these fortnightly treats to us.
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Rob Houghton »

Thanks Daisy - and for getting the thread back on track! (Partly my fault I know!).

I can't imagine children doing such puzzles these days, but maybe I'm underestimating them! The names hidden in sentences weren't something I really came across even in the 1970's. :-(
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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