There is this unspoken assumption

[Daisy]

That reminds me - has anyone seen Sooty and Sweep on TV recently? Are the puppets still in the shops I wonder?

[Anita Bensoussane]

When is this PC brigade going to realize that many nicknames are said out of fondness and nothing malicious.

Yes, it's true that a lot of nicknames are actually given with affection, to people you're fond of and in whose company you feel comfortable and relaxed. A few years ago my husband, whose name is Mohamed, used to sit next to another Mohamed at his workplace. When someone called for "Mohamed" they'd both answer. I'm not sure how it came about, but it ended up with my husband being called "White Mohamed" (he's not white, but has pale brown skin) and his colleague being called "Black Mohamed" (he wasn't black, but had darker brown skin.) Neither my husband nor his friend found it offensive as they knew people were only given nicknames if they were well-liked.

Let's hope Sooty Lenoir is allowed to keep his name.

If I remember correctly, Sooty is called "Pete" in the 1990s TV version of Five Go to Smuggler's Top (yet his real name is Pierre, so "Pete" is actually a denial of his French heritage!)

Anita

[Ming]

it's true that a lot of nicknames are actually given with affection, to people you're fond of and in whose company you feel comfortable and relaxed.

Exactly. Freckles for Jack, and Tufty for Philip seemed very friendly to me for some reason.

There's another Tasnuva in my class and it ended up in her being called "[Fat] Tasnuva" and me "[Thin] Tasnuva". Once a teacher actually said, "Who's Fat Tasnuva?" out loud in front of everyone. The fat and thin thing ended when I got dubbed "Mingu" by my close friends.

We actually call one of our slim friends "Mutki" - translates into Fatty!

[Moonraker]

We actually call one of our slim friends "Mutki" - translates into Fatty!

What a lovely name; Mutki Trotteville! My school nickname, as most of you possibly know, was a Blyton character - Big Ears. Not so friendly though. Happily I've grown into them now!

[Yak]

Is Charles the latest one to gaffe then? I thought it was all about Harry referring to a comrade as a 'Paki' (which was silly of him, though I would like to think it was not meant maliciously) at the moment..

[Lenoir]

Is Charles the latest one to gaffe then?

No, Tony is!

I think one of them ("Bookful of Jennings"?) is a compilation, not a “standard” book, so perhaps it doesn't count.

Spot on, 'Sooty'! 'Bookful' is indeed the one that doesn't count.

[Stephen]

Also, can anyone explain the needless change from pounds, shillings and pence to decimal in post 1971 editions of the books?

I find the currency situation laughable and I have often mentioned it in interviews, but it is not a quote that ever gets used. In Adventures of the Wishing Chair, Peter and Molly go into an antique shop with 3 shillings to buy a birthday present for their mother. In 1937 this might have been a reasonable amount, but editors realised that it needed to be updated for the current editions and also inflation should be taken into account, so they raised it to (drum roll) - 35p! Mother will not get a very substantial present!

Speaking as a post-decimal child, I thought the two shillings a week spending money for Whyteleaf pupils sounded positively exotic. But the updated 20p (which I suppose was actually an increase when new money came in) sounded incredibly stingy. When I was a child, 20p would have got you a bag of crisps or perhaps one and a quarter Mars Bars.

Heck, if I had gone to Whyteleaf, I'd have probably behaved all brattish in order to get sent home as well!

[Yak]

I can remember when crisps were eight pence a bag but twenty pee was still very little. I think it is mentioned that chocolate creams are something like three for ten pee in the books .. so basically, they get enough pocket money a week to buy six peppermint creams!

[Rob Houghton]

When i was at school, bags of 'crunchy puffs' were 5p a bag and Jammie Dodgers and Marsh-mallows were 2p each. I remember being able to buy 2 'Blackjacks' for a penny (1/2p each) but that 20p a week still seemed very little by the time I read the books (about 1980). In 1971 20p might not have been too bad though.

[Anna Moss]

Lucky you! In my school the prices are hideous!We have to pay 99p for a bottle of water, 40p for a pizza bap, 30p for a crumpet, (that's at break by the way), and a normal lunch in the cafeteria comes to about £3.00. Not to bad, but in the credit crunch, they ought to be more reasonable!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Yes, school lunches can be pricey. Luckily, my two take a packed lunch to school!

What I find expensive is the cost of school day-trips. My daughter came home with a letter the other day asking for £23 to go and watch a play at the theatre. We're still thinking about it!

Anita

[Petermax]

I just cannot believe the prices that children are paying for school dinners, it's nothing but extortion. During my school years I never once had a school dinner, it was always packed lunches or preferably dinner at home, as I lived a only a short walk away. I could not stand the noise of the school dining hall or the appalling table manners of my classmates!

[Rob Houghton]

I used to 'go home for dinners' at primary school, as did quite a few others. Nowadays its used as a threat from the teachers, who say, 'If you don't behave at lunch time you'll have to go home for dinners!'

[Jen-Jen]

My brothers school jacked up the prices at their canteen this year. The boys were furious and decided to hold a protest and boycott the canteen for a few days. It didn't end very well at all - the canteen refused to take down their prices and the boys who led the protest were suspended.

used to 'go home for dinners' at primary school, as did quite a few others. Nowadays its used as a threat from the teachers, who say, 'If you don't behave at lunch time you'll have to go home for dinners!

- That would be heaven for my brother who hates school!!

[Rob Houghton]

My brothers school jacked up the prices at their canteen this year. The boys were furious and decided to hold a protest and boycott the canteen for a few days. It didn't end very well at all - the canteen refused to take down their prices and the boys who led the protest were suspended.

That reminded me of when we were in secondary school at the time (in the mid 1980's) when a lot of teachers were taking part in regular strikes. We decided that as pupils this was ruining our education (well, that was our excuse!!) and we came out on strike in protest, refusing to go into lessons and standing out in the playground with placards!

Our 'strike' lasted a couple of days, and we even got on the local news,so many pupils took part (at one time about half the school!). then the weather grew colder and gradually there were fewer and fewer 'pickets' in the playground every day, until the last few stragglers decided to come in for a warm!