Journal 47

What did you think of the latest Journal?
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Journal 47

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Lucky Star wrote:I loved Anita's Mr Twiddle article especially the last page and a half which dealt with how the Twiddles got on in wartime.
Thanks, John. The first time I re-read the Twiddle stories as an adult, I was surprised at the number of wartime references. As a child I hadn't realised that many of the stories had been written during or just after the Second World War. I think I simply imagined that the Twiddles weren't very well-off and that's why they considered a meat pie to be such a treat and were so anxious to get the holes in Mr. Twiddle's boots patched up. The fact that Enid Blyton doesn't tell us the first names of Mr. and Mrs. Twiddle and that he addresses his wife as "wife" makes them seem a little like the typical "Old Man" and "Old Woman" of folk-tales, who often dwell in a cottage and live in relative poverty yet are contented. To me as a youngster the Twiddles seemed timeless and I didn't think too much about the period in which they lived, despite the obvious "clues". And in a way they are timeless as the tales were written over more than two decades, yet Mr. and Mrs. Twiddle don't appear to age. If they did I suppose they would start off in their mid-fifties and end up in their mid/late-seventies, but they come across as being in about their mid-sixties throughout. Not that that seems particularly old these days, but when I read the books as a child I would undoubtedly have classed the Twiddles as "elderly"! :)
"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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Katharine
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Re: Journal 47

Post by Katharine »

I've recently re-read the Twiddle books (and thoroughly enjoyed them). I was a little puzzled in one where Mr. Twiddle goes out at night in the dark and can't find his way home. It wasn't until later that I realised when the book was written it would have been during the blackout and therefore not only no street lights, but no light showing from people's houses behind curtains either.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Journal 47

Post by Rob Houghton »

Yeah...it's me, LOL...don't all faint!!!

I am trying to get back to regular visits after some time away...but wanted to say how much i have enjoyed the latest Journal, particularly the Twiddle article, and Enid's own writings, which i always enjoy.

I just wanted to answer the point about children of four or five not being able to count properly to 100...I actually agree that many can, when I think about it...my mistake perhaps...I know I could...but the schools in Birmingham where I teached, that had many deprived families had quite a few children of five who stuggled to count up to 100 without missing numbers out or going back to a previous number...I guess I was making my judgement on these, rather than from a wider selection of five year olds...

I'm glad people enjoyed the article though, and feel pleased that maybe I am encouraging people who have never read 'Those Dreadful Children' (can't believe there are any who havent read it!!) to get a copy...its a good read, as all Enid's books are...

I havent read all the articles yet...but will get back with a full report when I do so...

Cheers everyone...i'll be back!! ;-)
'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: Journal 47

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Hurrah! It's great to see your name on the forums again, Robert - and in the Journal! :D
"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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Moonraker
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Re: Journal 47

Post by Moonraker »

Robert Houghton wrote: I haven't read all the articles yet...but will get back with a full report when I do so...
Cheers everyone...I'll be back!! ;-)
Great to see you back, Rob! I too will write a full report when I have finished the Journal. :D
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Lenoir
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Re: Journal 47

Post by Lenoir »

  I always like the Enid Blyton stories that are featured and it was great to read about her voyage*. I wonder who her “little friends” in Port Elizabeth were? Maybe she had received some fan mail from there? About 20 years later in Vanished Prince, Fatty has just got back from a long cruise also including Morocco, so I guess that she always remembered her trip and liked to recall it.

  The article on Eileen Soper was very interesting, what a dedicated naturalist and conservationist she was. (I can imagine Philip Mannering living like that, with mice and birds!) Her illustrations of the Famous Five are the classic ones for me but are just a small part of her work. Her attack on modern art using a parody of “If” came as a surprise to me, and I thought it was very good! There’s also a bit on Soper in J13 and a letter from her in J15 if you have them to hand.

  I’ve only read a few short stories about Twiddle and I haven’t really got into them. It was interesting to read up about Twiddle, though. He sounds like quite an amiable sort of person, and a bit absent minded at times. The extract from appendix 3 (on pretending) had me looking for my copy of the biography (found it - next to First term at Malory Towers). I’d forgotten about that section and I am going to look at that appendix part again so I’m very glad this was included in the article.

  It was a bit unusual to have a review of a previous journal’s article, but certainly interesting to read someone else’s views on it.

  I think the Daily Mirror article was written in a style that is unusual for a newspaper. It seems that the way people write has changed over the years. It was odd that they didn’t even know her age but then as the introduction says, not much was known about her then.

  I also enjoyed the review of Those Dreadful Children. When I read the book I also wondered in the end which family were supposed to be “dreadful”, thinking the untidy family at first and then the other.

  I’m glad that the governess article was of interest. The adverts were for governess positions in South Africa, and there I was thinking it was an outdated term. They all stipulated that the candidate must be able to speak English so I assume English-speaking families placed them, but it’s possible some people may have wanted their child to get a good command of English as a second language through a governess.

* (edit) I realise now that it is also in the biography, but it’s a while since I read it so had forgotten. Just spent a pleasant hour reading some passages of the biography and refreshing my memory!
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Re: Journal 47

Post by Belly »

'Governesses' are now all the rage again in parts of London - and they are termed 'governesses' still.

Anita's article sounds great. I must get myself signed up to the Journal and get some back issues.
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Re: Journal 47

Post by sayantani »

Really chuffed to get my copy in the post today.
Thanks Tony.
Wonderful illustrations, and good articles.
This is going to be my most absorbing read in the days to come, and I will gladly chuck the daily dose of bad news in the newspapers to read the Journal instead!
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