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

Discuss Blyton's magazines, short stories and poetry here.
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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 »

Yes - 'ewe' was the last one I got (and I admit I cheated and looked up the answer in a later issue!) - as I was too busy thinking of a 'yew' rather than a 'ewe'. :-)

I didn't see 'mite' :-)
'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 Anita Bensoussane »

Interesting posts. I doubt that Enid Blyton had any idea people would still be discussing her little puzzle sixty years after publication! :lol:
Courtenay wrote:I didn't get "mite" either but did get "ewe" — maybe that means there were really six creatures! :wink:
I bet quite a few children wrote in to Enid Blyton to say they'd found six!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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

Post by John Pickup »

I'm another one who counted "ewe" but didn't consider "mite".
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Courtenay »

Ewe kiddin' me, mite? :wink:
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Rob Houghton »

Another Enid Blyton Magazine has arrived! Here it is -

Image

Another bumper issue with something for everyone - and rather a special issue in a way, as this one has not only a Famous Five serial - Five Get Into A Fix - but also the first chapter of the latest Secret Seven adventure - A Puzzle For the Secret Seven -interesting that the book version removes the 'A' from the title!

The cover story is an interesting one - and I didn't see the 'twist' coming - but maybe I'm just slow today! Its still entertaining - and you can read it by following the link, as Tony has very kindly scanned it for us. Its title is One Saturday Morning and I particularly enjoyed the 'old time Saturday' feeling, and the community feel with the toy shop and the children spending their money - quite nostalgic, as my sister and I often went out with my dad on a Saturday to buy a toy each (quite often a 'Remus Play pack' which we loved!) 8)

By the way, I think Tony is testing us with this story - as he seems to have added an 'extra' page in the middle from an entirely different story! Maybe he's seeing who's paying attention! ;-)

In Enid's letter this week she tells us of the good warm October days she is enjoying in her part of the country - and gives us some interesting information about how to tame a robin. Has anyone on this website ever managed to get a robin to eat out of their hands, I wonder?

Our Letter Page has two lovely letters this week - one in the form of a rhyme, written by Therese Milne, telling of her concert. I thought I'd reproduce it here -

Dear Enid Blyton,

We had a little concert,
T'was tuppence to get in,
We gathered all the money
And put it in a tin,

And when it was all counted,
We found it six and six,
So did we share it round then,
Or buy some toffee sticks?

No, we sent it to the spastics,
Those crippled girls and boys,
Not much, but it will help them,
To buy some little toys.

To help those limbs, so useless,
And fingers each that stick,
Dear little Spastic children,
We hope you're better quick!

Love from Therese Milne.



Then there's another letter from Paul Duncan, aged 6 and a half - though I half wondered if it was written by Anita at first... ;-)

Dear Enid Blyton,
I have all your Noddy books and I do like them. I wanted to buy a little rubber Noddy I saw in a toy shop and let him stand on my pile of Noddy books to guard them for me, but then I read about your blind children and I thought they should have my money because they can't even see to read books like I can, so I am sending you my five shillings and sixpence, it isn't much, but I saved it myself. And thank you for all my Noddy books!

Much love, Paul Duncan.



Hmmm! Call me cynical but wasn't that just a ploy to get Enid to feel sorry for him? And wasn't that a very well constructed letter for a six year old? Anyway - he got his wish, as Enid writes back -

You are very kind Paul - and dear me, you have won a letter-prize as well as Therese, who wrote the verses - and do you know what I am sending you - a little rubber Noddy! Isn't that lucky for you - but you deserve it!



After the first chapter of A Puzzle For the Secret Seven - complete with rather nice Burgess Sharrocks illustration - which Tony has now added to the cave - under the book entry - :-)

Image

we have the second uncollected short story - Crash! Bumpity Bump! - another Noddy story, which seems to prove what a troublemaker the little fellow was! ;-) In this one, he goes around Toyland dragging a lamppost behind his car on a rope...I won't give anything else away however, as you can read the story by following the link. :-D

This is followed by A Letter From Peter (of the Secret Seven) - and it made me smile to see him telling the boys that sewing is women's work,,, ;-)

Hallo children!

My word, we are glad to be back with you again...the Secret Seven I mean. So is Scamper. He didn't like it a bit when he couldn't see his picture in the magazine for so long.

I know there are a lot of Secret Seven Clubs about, and we don't mind a bit if you copy us. We're proud if you do.

Our badge is quite easy to make - just a round button covered with a bit of material on which you have worked the letters S.S. (Get the girls to do the letters, boys - they're much better at it!)

Have a decent meeting-place if you can, where nobody can interrupt, and a jolly good password. I hope none of you has an annoying sister called Susie!

Another new adventure from
Peter (Chief of the Secret Seven)


Still being bossy, I see! :lol:

The third uncollected short story is Harry's Fine Idea - and I enjoyed this one a lot. It's simple, but believable, and works well. I must say I was a bit taken-aback at Daddy's sternness at the beginning though - predictable 'Daddy' behaviour I thought! ;-)

OUR PUZZLE PAGE -

SUNBEAMS PUZZLE -

Can you re-arrange the letters below and make the names of three famous towns in Scotland?

DENEDU
LOWGGAS
RADBEENE



FAMOUS FIVE PUZZLE -

Re-arrange the name of this little girl and see if you can find the names of two animals -

RITA GAFFER

BUSY BEES PUZZLE -

Can you find the correct number to complete the title of a very famous book?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Steps


Hope you enjoy reading the three stories in this issue, and many thanks as always to Tony. :-)

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/maga ... ?magid=922

:D :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 Eddie Muir »

Wonderful! Thanks, Rob. This is just the thing to brighten up a cold, wet Sunday. :D
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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

Post by Kate Mary »

Great stuff, thank you Rob. Harry's Fine Idea is an interesting story and l enjoyed the Noddy one too, I never thought I would turn into a Noddy fan in my old age. The first story unfortunately is missing a page however I hope it can be corrected, but I'm obliged to Tony as ever for taking the time to scan this issue for us. I'm glad you include the puzzles in your review Rob they're quite fun.
"I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines." Oliver Goldsmith

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

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

A great read. :D Thanks as always to Rob and Tony. I found the poem and letter from the Letters Page particularly interesting, Rob.
Rob Houghton wrote:The cover story is an interesting one - and I didn't see the 'twist' coming - but maybe I'm just slow today! Its still entertaining - and you can read it by following the link, as Tony has very kindly scanned it for us. Its title is One Saturday Morning and I particularly enjoyed the 'old time Saturday' feeling, and the community feel with the toy shop and the children spending their money - quite nostalgic, as my sister and I often went out with my dad on a Saturday to buy a toy each (quite often a 'Remus Play pack' which we loved!) 8)
I love the "Saturday morning feeling" too. My sister and I would go to the fruit shop and the library with our dad every Saturday when we were little, and sometimes to WHSmith if we had money to spend (or a toy shop called Fenton's from which we bought dolls' clothes, furniture for our dolls' house or accessories for our Hornby railway). We used to love going home with armfuls of library books, or a new paperback or small toy. Sometimes my sister and I would end up having an argument, like Sally and Bill in the story, but we soon made up.
Rob Houghton wrote:By the way, I think Tony is testing us with this story - as he seems to have added an 'extra' page in the middle from an entirely different story! Maybe he's seeing who's paying attention! ;-)
:wink:

The Noddy story is tiresome but I enjoyed Harry's Fine Idea a lot. The parents in Enid Blyton's stories do seem to have something of an obsession with their children being "top of the form"! Surely your exact position doesn't matter as long as you're doing your best and making steady progress!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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

Post by Rob Houghton »

Thank you, all - glad you enjoyed the review, and the stories! :-D

Those Saturday trips out to buy a toy or something to make were very special. How exciting everything seemed then! I can remember buying those 'rub-on transfer' sets where you added dinosaurs or animals or cowboys and Indians etc to a scene by rubbing them on with a pencil -- how super-exciting such things were as a child!

It does indeed seem slightly strange to me that Enid was so obsessed with children being 'top of the form'. It's something I tend not to agree with - and why I dislike the Ofstead ratings of schools too, based on pupil achievement, and the obsession that 'all children can achieve equally' which they operate nowadays. In my experience, all children can't achieve equally, no matter how we might like them to!

Being 'top of the form' surely means you're just mediocre in everything? In my final year at Junior school they sat us in rows according to ability. I was in the 'top row' - because I was brilliant at art and writing, and was quite neat with my writing and could read as well as a 14 year old. However, I was awful at maths, and I never got above my 5x tables - yet I was in the top row. Looking back, I should have felt a bit of a fraud! I'm sure there were people in other rows who were far better at maths than I was.

All children excel at something. The obsession we have with feeling children should excel at everything is, in my view, ridiculous. We are all individuals, with our own strengths and weaknesses.

As a trainee teacher, we had some children on the autistic spectrum. One boy had amazing art skills. He was 7 and could draw super heroes etc just like in any 'Marvel' comic book. This talent should have been encouraged in every way - but instead the poor lad was admonished for not concentrating and not doing history or English or maths. We should be encouraging children to excel in their particular subject of strength - not be the same as everyone else.

I'll get off my soapbox now! :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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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Tony Summerfield »

Rob Houghton wrote:By the way, I think Tony is testing us with this story - as he seems to have added an 'extra' page in the middle from an entirely different story! Maybe he's seeing who's paying attention! ;-)
Sorry about that, I am not sure what happened as it is correct on my computer. Sadly it is not a very easy business loading these illustrations as I have to load them elsewhere and then move them into the correct magazine - I only need someone to phone me when I am in the middle of doing so and things can go wrong! As I can't actually see the illustrations that I am adding, simply the computer code for them I am just surprised that I don't make more mistakes!
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Re: 60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1957 -

Post by Rob Houghton »

I thought maybe you were testing to see how many people actually visited The Cave and read the scanned stories, Tony! ;-)
'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 Anita Bensoussane »

Rob Houghton wrote: We should be encouraging children to excel in their particular subject of strength - not be the same as everyone else.
Yes, I think so too. Of course, certain skills are important for everyone to learn and children should be encouraged in all areas of the curriculum, but we also need to acknowledge that people have different abilities in different areas and ensure that children are given the time to develop their strengths and explore their interests.
Tony Summerfield wrote:Sadly it is not a very easy business loading these illustrations as I have to load them elsewhere and then move them into the correct magazine - I only need someone to phone me when I am in the middle of doing so and things can go wrong! As I can't actually see the illustrations that I am adding, simply the computer code for them I am just surprised that I don't make more mistakes!
Sorry it's a bit of a tricky process, Tony, but it's much appreciated. It's brilliant to be able to share and discuss Enid Blyton stories and other material that many enthusiasts wouldn't otherwise have a chance of seeing. :D
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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

Post by Rob Houghton »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:
Tony Summerfield wrote:Sadly it is not a very easy business loading these illustrations as I have to load them elsewhere and then move them into the correct magazine - I only need someone to phone me when I am in the middle of doing so and things can go wrong! As I can't actually see the illustrations that I am adding, simply the computer code for them I am just surprised that I don't make more mistakes!
Sorry it's a bit of a tricky process, Tony, but it's much appreciated. It's brilliant to be able to share and discuss Enid Blyton stories and other material that many enthusiasts wouldn't otherwise have a chance of seeing. :D
Completely agree! Thanks Tony! Its good to know people are able to read these short stories, many of which have remained 'undiscovered' since they were first printed 60 years ago! :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 Rob Houghton »

Another fortnight gone by, and another EB magazine. Here it is -

Image

Another issue crammed with good things, and three uncollected stories, which you can read by following the link to The Cave, where Tony has scanned them. Thank you, Tony! :-D

The cover shows an illustration from the first of these stories - One Bonfire Night - which is a good moralistic tale about keeping your pets safe on Bonfire Night and making sure they aren't scared. It has an interesting twist, however, and that is that the majority of the story involves a witch and her cat, real human characters only coming in at the end. A very well written story I thought - and I loved the illustrations by the great Hilda McGavin. :-)

Enid's Editorial Letter can also be read in The Cave. Once again, she reminds us of fireworks, and she also promotes her 1958 diary, which sounds every bit as good as those that preceded it. The one the year before sold out. Shows just how popular Enid was at this point. Enid also lists the places the Famous Five film will be showing - but sadly it doesn't seem to have appeared in Birmingham yet. :-(

After Chapter 2 of A Puzzle For the Secret Seven - we have our usual -

Puzzle Page -

SUNBEAMS PUZZLE -

Joan had a lovely dinner today. The words have got rather jumbled up but if you sort them out you'll find Joan's dinner menu!

SORAT EBEF
DBKAE ETOAPTOS
REENG EPAS
PAPLE IEP DAN RUCTASD


FAMOUS FIVE PUZZLE -

What am I?
Half of me is a little bed,
The rest is twenty hundredweight,
I'm a special kind of thread,
For mending things - I'm simply great!




The next uncollected short story, What A Shock For Jeff! is a really good one in my opinion. Its not exactly that its mysterious or has a twist at the end or anything amazing, but its well written and its fun. I would have loved it as a child. I also had to smile, for it certainly demonstrates how good ENid was at promoting her own books! Take a story about a boy borrowing books and not giving them back, and what books has he borrowed...? Most seem to be books by Enid Blyton, lol! :lol: Once again the illustrations are uncredited - and are very good. What a shame so many talented artists were never credited It wouldn't happen so often these days.

next we have the third short story - You're A Rogue, Brer Rabbit! - a good Brer Rabbit story...but I do feel many of them have extremely similar plots. I guess that's the fun of them - but we all know that generally Brer Rabbit will end up out-smarting Brer Fox or Brer Wolf or Brer Bear or maybe all three of them together.

Five Get Into A Fix continues apace -with chapter 9 - A Strange Tale' and again some great Eileen Soper illustrations that aren't included in the book version -

Image

I love this illustration, as it's so clear and bold. Shame it didn't appear in the novel.

Enjoy reading the uncollected stories - follow the link -

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/maga ... ?magid=923

:D until next time! :-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 Courtenay »

I've just realised I was really slack and didn't read the stories from last fortnight. :shock: Hope no-one will mind if I just quickly comment on those before I get on with this fortnight's right away... :oops:

I really enjoyed One Saturday Morning — I didn't see the twist coming either! I knew I'd read another story with just that sort of twist somewhere, except it was about a husband and wife each sacrificing something they loved to buy a special gift for the other. All I could remember was that the wife cut off and sold her long hair... not a lot to go on, but amazingly enough, when I Googled "story of woman who sold her hair", it came up! :lol: It's a short story by the American writer O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi, first published in 1905 — there's a summary of it here. I wouldn't be surprised if Enid had read it at some stage and, consciously or unconsciously, decided to use that basic premise in a story for children. Mind you, it's a good thing the boy and girl in Enid's story had a generous mother as well! :wink:

The Noddy story was certainly a bit tiresome, but I couldn't help laughing, especially at the ending! :mrgreen:

Harry's Fine Idea was my favourite of the uncollected stories in this issue. Not sure why — maybe because I also like model ships and jigsaw puzzles! :wink: A very satisfying tale all round. Of course, these days Daddy would just have used Google Maps or sat nav — and, country roads in Britain being what they are, he might still have risked getting lost... :lol:

I'll now get on with reading the current issue!! Thanks as always, Rob and Tony.
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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