Same here. When I was a child my mum used to clean for a lady who had two Siamese cats, Simba and Shansi, and I thought such regal-sounding names were very apt.Moonraker wrote:Bimbo is a poor name for such a regal cat; I much prefer Patabang.
My son and I had a discussion about that yesterday, after I read out part of the story to him. We agreed that "Shan't" is used much less frequently nowadays.Moonraker wrote:The Boy Who Said "Shan't" was another fascinating story. I must start using the word, as it seems to have been replaced by "won't" these days.
Yes, Tony takes an enormous amount of trouble with the presentation of the Journal and this issue, like the others, is a feast for the eyes as well as the mind. Incidentally, my first Journal contribution was for Number 18 (Summer 2002) and since then I've contributed to every issue except Number 32 - I was particularly busy at the time and wasn't able to write anything.Moonraker wrote:Journal 54 is up there with the very best of the Society Journals. It again shows the inexhaustible talents of all of the contributors (I believe Anita has contributed to every Journal), and of course, the tremendous work our esteemed Editor puts into the task of this quarterly production - especially the quality of the cover and other colour pictures/illustrations.
I feel the same about John Lester's contributions. I enjoyed his piece on Barney and I agree with him that it's useful, plotwise, to have Barney as a free agent with no relatives to rein him in. And of course Barney's desire to belong to a family and his ongoing quest to find his father add an extra dimension to the series.Lucky Star wrote:I always enjoy John Lester's articles. He has a knack of choosing subjects which are either very close to my heart or which I find immensely interesting.
I was pleased to see a mention of 'The Peasant Boy and the Prince' in Terry Gustafson's article. A while ago I was trying to recall Enid Blyton tales which resembled Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. I remembered 'The Princess and the Cottage-Girl' but I knew I'd also read one about boys swapping places – and 'The Peasant Boy and the Prince' was the one! That's a gorgeous cover for The Princess and the Goblin (page 53 of the Journal) - and what a shame that the Stella Polaris was accidentally sunk in 2006.
Reading Kari Dorme's description of the unveiling of the Beaconsfield plaque, it looks like an attractive setting for the plaque and I like the idea of an Enid Blyton story time.
Good to see the item from the Press Pack for the 1970s Famous Five TV series. The captions on the "Snakes and Ladders game" are quite amusing. I'd heard about the press pack but had never seen any of the contents before.
Looking at the Editorial, I was trying to work out whether the thatched cottage shown in the sketch (taken from Enid Blyton's Sunny Stories, I believe) is Old Thatch. I've compared it to photos of Old Thatch but can't seem to make it match.