The Enid Blyton Society

pete9012S wrote: I just loved Robert Houghtons comment on 'trippers' on page 9!!!
-trippers seem to be a race of their own-not people like her main children who are on holiday-but a dirty,noisy and unappreciative group of inner-city folk who don't care at all about the beauties of the countryside.
I realise I have been influenced and shaped by Enid and her view of the 'tripper'......
Roberts definition above seems much better than the dictionary definition!
British Informal . a person who goes on a pleasure trip or excursion; excursionist.

Me too!!! I have always 'started' at Enid's description of 'trippers'. They seem to be people on a charabanc day-trip outing - nasty, working class types, factory workers with several kids in tow, all of whom live on a 'rough' council' estate somewhere 'up north'! Not to be compared with the nice middle class families who are on holiday!

Moonraker wrote: I loved William Ferguson's My Childhood in the Spirit of Enid Blyton. What a truly wonderful nostalgic piece of journalism. Even the several typos added a touch of magic!

I guess I have to take the blame for that, but I must admit I didn't spot the 'several typos' and at a quick glance I still can't spot them!

One error that I will own up to which I spotted as soon as the Journal arrived is that Terry Gustafson's article should read Part 2 and not Part 1.

Not much of an excuse, but I have been very busy over the last month, so I am not surprised if a few slips have crept in. A number of new features are almost ready for the website as soon as Keith can spare some time to add them.

Having read the reviews I'm now even more eagerly awaiting the Journal travelling another 500 miles to get to me

Journal arrived today whilst I was in the middle of painting (Walls not art, I'm no good at art) so I couldn't open the envelope as I was, as usual, covered in paint. Have managed to read a few articles and hope to finish it tomorrow.

Tony if you need a proof reader just give me a call, I won't charge a penny

Mouth watering... still waiting for mine! A parcel which was posted last Thursday still hasn't arrived here. I hope the Post office is more careful with my journal!

Daisy wrote:Mouth watering... still waiting for mine!

You'll have to read mine over my shoulder, Daisy, as I once did yours!

Moonraker wrote:I loved William Ferguson's My Childhood in the Spirit of Enid Blyton. What a truly wonderful nostalgic piece of journalism...In a similar vein was Anita's ramblings of her childhood clubs.

I like the way William Ferguson's contribution is "a truly wonderful nostalgic piece of journalism" (which it is), while mine is just "ramblings"!

pete9012S wrote:One thing I would love to see in the journal or even on this site is more scans,features and articles for those who love Betty Maxey? (but maybe thats already been covered in previous journals?)

Betty Maxey may have been mentioned in passing, but nothing detailed. Personally I'd like to know all about her life and work - and the same goes for Rene Cloke. I notice that Robert in his analysis of Smuggler Ben refers to popular illustrator E. H. Davie as male, whereas I tend to think of him/her as female. It would be good if someone could come forward with some information!

I'm enjoying the comments on "trippers"! I haven't finished reading all the articles in the Journal yet, so I'll say more another time.

My Journal arrived today, looking plump and sleek in its trim, colourful jacket, and wearing an air of self-satisfaction which makes me anticipate good things within. The timing is brilliant. I'm off tomorrow, and the weather forecast is good, so here's hoping for a quiet hour in a sunny garden, a glass of cold Guinness and the Journal to immerse myself in!

Now, if only we relied on Tony to organise the weather as well as the Journal, everything would be fine!

My copy arrived yesterday but a busy schedule meant I only had time to flick through it last night and as doing so I had one of those moments when your heart stops and you can't quite believe what you've seen!

Not two weeks ago my fiend and I were at lunch with our wives and (as we normally do every time we get together these days) we were reminiscing about our childhood. I've previously mentioned on one of the SS readathon threads how we emulated Peter in disguising ourselves as a guy and wheeling each other round the village and generally trying to scare people but there is one particular "tale" from our childhood that has become legendary not just between ourselves but between our parents as well.

One of us, I think it was me, had a book that inspired us to become detectives. We became convinced that at night the village would be crawling with villains, in stripey shirts carrying swag bags over their shoulders and we decided that we would catch one so one night we arranged to meet at 3am and go on the hunt.

I went to bed fully clothed that night and set an alarm clock to wake me up. I put the clock under my pillow so it wouldn't be too loud. I remember getting up and sneaking downstairs and opening the back door as quietly as I could. I made my way to the meeting point only to find that my pal wasn't there. I waited for a while but he didn't turn up and then for some unknown reason I decided that I would go to his house to call for him! Needless to say his parents woke-up. I got into to terrible trouble and was sent straight home only to find that my mom had woken up, gone downstairs for a drink of water and locked the back door, evidently thinking she had left it unlocked when she came to bed! It really didn't go down at well when I knocked on the door to be let in!

My friends parents came round to see mine in the morning. They were pretty angry and told how they had heard my mates alarm going off and turned it off whilst he slept peacefully through out. The whole saga of the book and what it had inspired us to do came out and it was confiscated and our detective days came to an end!

Fast forward 30 odd years and just two weeks back my friend and I were desperately trying to remember which book had caused all the fuss. Imagine how stunned I was to flick through the journal and not only see a picture of the book in Anita's article -A Club of Our Own but to read that it had inspired her and her friends as it did us.

The book - Whizz Kids How to be a Detective (Mick Loftus)

So thank you Anita, not only for a solving a little mystery for me but for a truly wonderful trip down memory lane. If the rest of the journal is half as good I'm in for a real treat over the next few days

Great to hear that you were inspired by the same book, Nick, even if your night-time jaunt didn't quite turn out as you'd expected! I remember that I ordered How to Be a Detective from a book-club leaflet handed out at school, when I was in the third year of junior school (now known as Year 5).

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Great to hear that you were inspired by the same book, Nick, even if your night-time jaunt didn't quite turn out as you'd expected! I remember that I ordered How to Be a Detective from a book-club leaflet handed out at school, when I was in the third year of junior school (now known as Year 5).

Blimey - your right, that's were I got it from!

I have Bookworm club in my head for some reason now??

Bookworm Club it may well have been, though I'm not too sure after all this time! I do recall feeling enormously excited when the book arrived, though - and it didn't disappoint.

Journal arrived today, great. Thanks

Anita Bensoussane wrote:

Daisy wrote:Mouth watering... still waiting for mine!

You'll have to read mine over my shoulder, Daisy, as I once did yours!

Thanks for the offer Anita, however I'm happy to say mine arrived today!

Anita Bensoussane wrote:

Moonraker wrote:I loved William Ferguson's My Childhood in the Spirit of Enid Blyton. What a truly wonderful nostalgic piece of journalism...In a similar vein was Anita's ramblings of her childhood clubs.

I like the way William Ferguson's contribution is "a truly wonderful nostalgic piece of journalism" (which it is), while mine is just "ramblings"!

I don't know William Ferguson (or at least, I don't think I do), so I would only be utterly polite and respectful towards him. You, however, I know very well......

For the record (as I have said privately to you) your article was wonderful - yes, it rambled, but what is wrong with that? It was one of this Journal's highlights.

My copy of the Journal 45 arrived yesterday, just the tonic needed to kickstart me back into E.B.S mode!