The Enid Blyton Society

Never mind - we can carry on this delightful discussion when we meet next year at our Blyton day on Saturday 12 May in Hampshire.

Great reminder, Sally.

Here it is again:

SATURDAY, 12TH MAY 2018 - EXBURY GARDENS, HAMPSHIRE.

Please make a note in your diaries.

Rob Houghton wrote:

Eddie Muir wrote:My feeling too, Julie.

What a cop-out, lol!

Not really, I just don't have all day to spend on the site listing my favourites.

Chapter 5 in Five Go Off In A Caravan, The Way to Merran Lake is a perfect a chapter for me in any of Enids books.

For a few pages, you are trundling along country lanes with our heroes, staying on farms, cooking on open fires and sleeping in caravans. Anne secretly hopes that they never find the lake and with Enid at her very best, I often feel that way too. Perfect.

I agree. I would say for a great old-fashioned summertime atmosphere, five Go Off In A Caravan is the best. It makes me feel very nostalgic for those days, trundling along in a caravan, viewing the beautiful English countryside...even though I wasn't even born in those days!

     I often thought that "Five on a Hike Together" was pretty good for that kind of carefree atmosphere, too, even though it wasn't in summer - and even though the adventure had sort of started and so a few things had gone wrong, a few slightly strange, disquieting events had occurred.
     Perhaps the opening chapters of "Five Get into Trouble", too, have that kind of atmosphere - at least until it darkens rather with the events surrounding Richard Kent - which of course are the genesis of the whole adventure, so can't be dispensed with.

Regards, Michael Edwards.

Courtenay wrote:...the ending of the Galliano's Circus series, Circus Days Again, where Lotta rides away alone to find Mr Galliano and bring him back to save the circus from closing down. The moment when she reaches the hotel, almost completely worn out, only to be told by the porter to "go away" — and then suddenly she hears the enormous shout of "LOTTA! MY LITTLE LOTTA! What are you doing here?"... definitely another unforgettable scene.

Ooh yes, I love that scene! It's so joyous after all the tension and uncertainty.

Nick wrote:Chapter 5 in Five Go Off In A Caravan, The Way to Merran Lake is a perfect a chapter for me in any of Enids books.

For a few pages, you are trundling along country lanes with our heroes, staying on farms, cooking on open fires and sleeping in caravans. Anne secretly hopes that they never find the lake and with Enid at her very best, I often feel that way too. Perfect.

I agree, Nick. Deliciously idyllic.

Nick wrote:Chapter 5 in Five Go Off In A Caravan, The Way to Merran Lake is a perfect a chapter for me in any of Enids books.

For a few pages, you are trundling along country lanes with our heroes, staying on farms, cooking on open fires and sleeping in caravans. Anne secretly hopes that they never find the lake and with Enid at her very best, I often feel that way too. Perfect.

I just started re reading this a few days ago, so I know exactly what you mean. Quite an atmosphere, and yet so relaxed.

The chapter/scene that comes to my mind immediately after reading the title of this thread is the one in Sea of Adventure where the children set off in Horace Tripalong's boat, decide to rescue Bill, and then rescue him. It's more than one chapter, but that entire sequence of events of them setting off, swimming in the lagoon, discovering the guns, hiding under seaweed, Horace being an idiot on the boat, running out of gas, hiding among the birds, and finally, being rescued by the helicopter. It's non stop, exciting, beautiful, and features one of her most memorable dialogues: Where Bill says "I don't know what to say. You're only kids — but you're the finest company of friends anyone could have. You know the meaning of loyalty already, and even if you're scared you don't give up. I'm proud to have you for my friends."