Enid Blyton Caravan

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Tony Summerfield
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Tony Summerfield »

As promised here is the other side of Enid's letter to Carey. Those who have seen a few letters by Enid will have noticed that the final letter in a word often makes a very poor appearance, but you will also have noticed that if it is a 'd' it almost always slopes backwards. This is the case with the word 'Enid' in any signature - I have seen dozens and the genuine ones almost always have a 'd' sloping backwards and as I mentioned in my previous post the middle line of the 'e' almost always goes straight into the 'n'. Now have a look at the signature on the letter to Mr Baker!

Whoever wrote this clearly had some knowledge of what Enid's writing looked like, but they missed a number of smaller points.

Image
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Rob Houghton »

Again, the mystery deepens! As you say, Tony, the seller must have had a good knowledge of Enid's writing - they must also have been able to get hold of some headed notepaper...or at least make a copy of some in a professional manner - (again - I'm still wondering how such a copy could be made in the mid 1960's) and the seller must also have had access to Enid's house, or at least her driveway, and known when Enid wouldn't be around. Just reading between the lines of course, but If I was buying a caravan off Enid Blyton I would at least be expecting to pick it up from her house! It's a pity we can't find this out from Mr Baker.

Do we know what Enid was doing around the time that the receipt was written? Was she on holiday in Dorset shortly after?
'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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Tony Summerfield
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Tony Summerfield »

No, she wasn't on holiday then. She went to Studland on June 19th and was there until July 17th.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Rob Houghton »

Tony Summerfield wrote:No, she wasn't on holiday then. She went to Studland on June 19th and was there until July 17th.
Thank you for supplying those details. I wish we could solve this mystery! I feel like Fatty! :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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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

An intriguing mystery. Like others, I'd love to hear about the restoration of the caravan, Frenchy. Hope it brings you a great deal of pleasure!
"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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Frenchy
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Frenchy »

Hi all, at last I've finished the caravan restoration and have now displayed it, for the first time in 43 years, at the Beaulieu Motor Museum.
I have set it out as if it had been owned by Enid, named her Enid, and explained the mystery of the receipt to those interested.
I have since found the actual year of the caravan...1961 and also it was sold as the model "Drayton Major" by "The Drayton Folding Caravan Co" from Penn in Bucks. It weighed 700 lbs and had a very costly price tag £245 in 1961. (Dearer than a normal caravan). The company folded in 1964.
It still needs confirming but it is thought the Company operated from the old Dehavilland site at Penn Street Works and was probably staffed by the skilled ply workers from the Dehavilland company.
I will upload photos of the finished van on display...BUT i can't seem to remember how too.......can anyone advise. Thanks.
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Eddie Muir
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Eddie Muir »

It sounds great, Frenchy. :D

You can upload your photos using Tinypic. Here is the link and information provided by Nigel (Moonraker) on 30th September 2016 on the "What Are You Doing Now?" thread:

http://i68.tinypic.com/2n6xdmd.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click on Choose file A window will open showing your folders/files. Select the photo you wish to upload by double clicking on it. Make sure the Image circle is checked. Then click on Resize and a drop-down menu will show various options. Click on the one you want, bearing in mind the EBS forums won't allow anything wider than 620, so Avatar, Thumbnail and Website are the only three permissible options if posting. Now click on Upload - no need to select an album.

When the upload is successful, copy and paste the BB code - For forums and Message Boards - onto your post. It should now appear when you press Preview and/or Submit.

I hope it helps. I haven't tried it myself.
'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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Frenchy
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Frenchy »

Thanks Eddie, I will give this a try later. All the best.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Rob Houghton »

Hi Frenchy! Really great to read this update. I'm so pleased you got back to us to let us know. Be great to see the photos. :-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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Frenchy
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Frenchy »

Sorry folks, I just can't get Tinypic to work. On a PC, it just won't allow me to type into the box at the Spam control, it will from my moblie but brings up just the copied code in the forum on preview. 3 hours trying all ways,, now giving up at the mo...
Is Tinypic the only way to upload a photo???
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Eddie Muir
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Eddie Muir »

I'm sorry to hear that you weren't able to upload your photo with Tinypic, Frenchy.

Photobucket is another option, but I'm not sure of the current usage. Perhaps someone else is able to provide the required instructions.
'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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Rob Houghton
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Rob Houghton »

I tend to make photos big enough to fit this forum and then upload them to facebook, then copy the address and post them here. A bit long-winded, but it works okay, as long as you're on facebook of course! :-)
'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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Courtenay
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Courtenay »

Imgur is another option that I find usually works well.
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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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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Sorry Tinypic didn't work, Frenchy. It would be great to see some photos of the restored caravan. I use Photobucket but it's quite a slow and frustrating process and I find the "resize" option doesn't work very well so the pictures sometimes come out smaller than I wanted. I don't know whether it works any better if you resize your pictures before putting them on Photobucket. As Eddie said, the maximum size allowed on the forums is 620 X 620 pixels. There's an "Upload" button to copy images from your computer onto Photobucket, and then you copy and paste the relevant "image tag" into your forums post.
"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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Frenchy
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Re: Enid Blyton Caravan

Post by Frenchy »

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