Photos of Enid

[Kenneth]

Glad to hear that you all seem to like the photos, as much as I do!

To Tony: That was also one of my first thoughts, when I discovered these photos, but this question could probably only be answered by Imogen.
She should know if the colours of Enid's robes, her furcoat are real and especially if the colours of the many different books on the shelves seem to look real......well, you never know.

By the way: I also discovered recently a short film of Enid, filmed for the french television in 1964.(This time in black and white!)
You can see Enid walk around in her garden, Green Hedges is shown and there is an interview with Enid in her lounge in front of her fireplace. In the background you can see the bow-window of the lounge.

The interview and the comments of the film are in french, but Enid's answers are in english. Except the letter she reads, she received from a french girl. - If anyone needs a translation, just let me know, cause my french is pretty fluent, but I'm in a hurry now.

Here's the link to the short film:

http://www.ina.fr/art-et-culture/litter ... ts.fr.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cheers, Kenneth (Michael)

[Ming]

Is it possibly that someone has very cleverly added the colour to these photos I wonder!

If so, I have been fooled. I would like to learn photo editing from the person!!

[Timmylover]

Thank you again, Kenneth, for the video link. Strange to hear 'Green Hedges' referred to as a 'cottage'!
Enid seemed to be a little uneasy and I was fascinated to hear her say that she had written between 300-400 books - I wonder in what year the interview took place?

I was also amused to hear her read out Timmy's French name "Dagobert".

[70s-child]

Is it possibly that someone has very cleverly added the colour to these photos I wonder!

If so, I have been fooled. I would like to learn photo editing from the person!!

There is a process by which old B&W Hollywood films are colorized to get back the same colors that were there in true-life. It is entirely possible that the same thing has been done here because the colors in these photos look plausible.

Still, neat photos.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Just glanced quickly at the French interview. Will have to come back to it later, but it looks interesting. Thanks, Kenneth!

[Julie2owlsdene]

Thanks for the interview link, Kenneth. Pity I didn't understand what the guy was asking, and Enid spoke so quietly, I could hardly hear. I noticed the year was 1963. I wonder if Enid's illness was then in its infancy.

[Fiona1986]

Watched the first 30 seconds or so of the video and managed to catch a few words I understood. I heard "family" "English" and "library" anyway. I'll watch it properly later when I have peace and quiet to try and listen properly.

[Kenneth]

Glad to hear that so many of you seem to like these coloured photos as much as I do! Thanks!
I'm glad to share my dicovery with others!!

Even if they were coloured later, it hardly makes any difference to me, since in my opinion, they do look goegeous and give you a slight idea, how wonderful Green Hedges and the surrounding garden must have looked like. - Especially in summer.....
What a shame that the house was demolished!

I would also be interested in mor photos of its interior: the dining-room, the study, the hall....etc.

What a pity that we cannot walk around in it any more and discover some of its secrets.....

I'm also glad that I found the french interview and to watch Enid there walking around in her garden, close to the big pond and entering Green Hedges through the french window from her verandah.......

Isn't it great, how many interesting things one is able to discover nowadays, just by searching in the internet?!

Kennneth

[Moonraker]

Thanks for the interview link, Kenneth. Pity I didn't understand what the guy was asking, and Enid spoke so quietly, I could hardly hear.

Interesting to see the great lady in action! Really annoying that French subtitles weren't used, instead of drowning out Enid's words. I gave up half-way through, as I was getting annoyed!

[Kenneth]

To Moonraker: Sorry to hear that you were annoyed. But if I find the time, I can post a translation of the whole film, since my french is almost as fluent as my German.......but it will perhaps take a few days.

Kenneth

[Moonraker]

I am sure that would be most appreciated, Kenneth! It does sound a bit of a task, though!

[Kenneth]

I'll see what I can do.....since my father's in the hospital, I'm quite busy at the moment.
But perhaps I can squeeze it in at the coming weekend. But I can't promise for sure.

Kenneth

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

I'll see what I can do.....since my father's in the hospital, I'm quite busy at the moment.
But perhaps I can squeeze it in at the coming weekend. But I can't promise for sure.

Kenneth

I'd love a translation too - but it's not your #1 priority at the moment!

Sometime this year will be fine by me

Viv

[Kenneth]

Well, Viv, thanks! I should be able make it within this year, although this short limit gives me quite a lot of pressure!

[Eljay]

Thanks for the interview link, Kenneth. Pity I didn't understand what the guy was asking, and Enid spoke so quietly, I could hardly hear.

Interesting to see the great lady in action! Really annoying that French subtitles weren't used, instead of drowning out Enid's words. I gave up half-way through, as I was getting annoyed!

Agreed - and not even talking over her discreetly, but practically shouting! Even so, this film is quite a find. I never knew that Enid Blyton had given a television interview. A pity there's no guided tour of Green Hedges, and the content is nothing we haven't heard before of course (I have A-level French and can understand most of it), but it's still good to see her moving and talking. It takes away a little of the mystery surrounding her, by giving an insight into what it was like being in her presence. She does look rather vague and uneasy at times, but that might be because she's struggling to understand the interviewer rather than because of her growing mental confusion. She admits that her French is not good - which surprises me, as I understood from The Story of My Life (page 51) that she was fluent from childhood, albeit self-taught. Certainly her pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired... she sounds very English when reading the fan letter! The narrator explains at the beginning of the film that she has opened the doors to her home "just this once" because she shies away from publicity, so that might also explain the apparent uneasiness. She warms up after a while, though... I do love the playful little giggle she gives after listing her hobbies.

About the sound. There are two possibilities: 1) the original film may exist without the intrusive overdubs. 2) failing that, it may be possible to remove the narration, if it is held on a separate audio track. The only way to find this out would be to contact the copyright holder and ask. If someone could do that, extracts of the film could be used in future television documentaries about Enid (instead of that awful newsreel!). Not that TV programmes about Enid Blyton are common, of course...

As for the colour photographs: who's to say if the colour is real or not? But again, the copyright holder might have the answer... Incidentally, I've seen one of those pictures (in colour) back in the centenary year, 1997, when it appeared in a magazine - I still have it. So if the pictures have been 'colourised', it can't have been done all that recently.