Journal 55

[Julie2owlsdene]

My Journal has arrived, and it really is a supurb looking Journal. I love the centre picture of The Secret of The Old Mill and the back cover too. I will begin to read it later, and am looking forward to it.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've trimmed this thread so that the focus is on the contents of Journal 55. Hope we can keep it that way! Thanks.

[pete9012S]

I thought I hadn't had mine but my Dad had picked it up and put it in obscure corner of the hall with a pile of junk mail!!

It looks great.Gonna try and save it to read till I go away on Saturday,but you know I say that every time!!

[Daisy]

I received my Journal yesterday and contrary to my usual practice I'm savouring it more slowly. The illustrations are lovely - I too love the centre piece and wish that some day I can actually read the story! I enjoyed Julie's account of the various "treasure" stories, and loved John Lester's account of the contents of a Sunny Stories from 1949. I'm sure I must have had that one as I was getting it each fortnight at about that time. Sadly none of mine have survived - two younger sisters helped in their demise, I fear. I "grew up" with Cory Roberts and related to his article very much. I'm looking forward to more good reading later on.

[Moonraker]

I read a couple of articles earlier and really enjoyed them. I am trying not to rush it this time, rationing myself to just a couple of articles on each visit. I bet I don't keep to that, though! I will of course share some thoughts when I have completed this edition.

[Rob Houghton]

It looks really good - such a great variety of artcles. Havent read much yet, but I found the letters from Enid very interesting, and also the newspaper reports of her visit to Leyton town hall. They were interesting because in 1949 everyone seemed to be haling Enid as a good upstanding influence on children - everyone pretty much seemed to see her as a force for good. I wonder how all that changed in just a few more years? Interesting. It was great to read some positive reports about her rather than the usual 'sexist racist' malarkey.

[walter raleigh]

Got my Journal yesterday along with a couple of the remaining back issues and also a couple of the (all too few) Society Publications that are still in stock.

I love the cover of the new Journal. It's been years since I read any of the 'Secret' series but I've got very fond (albeit vague) memories of them. I really must dig them out and read them sometime, especially if Anita is doing an aricle on each book. I will try and find time to tackle the Journal over the weekend and report back with my findings (which if the previous Journals I've read are anything to go by will be largely positive!)

[John Pickup]

I keep looking at the cover of this journal. I wish I had a large print of it, framed and hung on my library wall.

[Francis]

Love the newspaper articles talking about 1000 children (Leyton paper) or 500 children (Stratford paper) meeting Enid at Leyton Town Hall. Obviously the papers were as casual with figures as they are now these days! Whatever the figure, Enid coped with a very large group of children of mixed ages and kept them interested - an amazing performance.

[Sally]

Lovely to spend an evening luxuriating in reading the new journal - as interesting as ever. I admire how Tony collates such different material each time - obviously also thanks to my fellow Blyton lovers!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've now finished the Journal and thoroughly enjoyed it as always. The Val Biro cover looks artistic and enticing and is a fitting tribute to him, as others have said. Norman Wright's memories of Mary Cadogan were also lovely to read, reminding me what a wealth of knowledge she had about so many children's authors.

Enid Blyton's article 'Children's Reading: Old & New' was very entertaining and provided food for thought. It's interesting to ponder what makes a successful children's story. I liked Michael's word "suspencious" and his enthusiasm and irrepressibility – I got the impression that he was a bit like Snubby! I noticed that Enid Blyton mentioned that she loved George MacDonald's Princess and Curdie, whereas in The Story of My Life she singled out the earlier book The Princess and the Goblin, so I can only conclude that she read and adored both books.

It was funny to read of some of the adults dismissing "modern" children's books, meaning the titles of the 1950s which we nowadays consider "older" books! Adults these days sometimes remark how much better 1950s books were than books by current children's authors! I suppose each generation feels a special affinity for the stories they read as youngsters. When Enid Blyton comments that one day the child readers of 1959 will look back upon their childhood books "with love and delight when they are staid and middle-aged, discussing books after dinner with yet another Jane and Michael", it's rather alarming to reflect that that "looking back" must already have happened some years ago now. If the Jane and Michael in the article are discussing children's books with anyone these days, it'll be their grandchildren!

Like John Lester, I very much like the story 'Mr. Smick Plays a Trick' as it's both comfortingly homely and unnervingly surreal. In about 1975 or 1976, I asked my mum if I could have Sunny Stories magazine after I had read about Mister Meddle buying a copy! My mum said she'd never heard of it – and of course there was no such thing by that time anyway!

Julie, I too have always thought that the similarities between the "treasure hunt" plots are striking and I thought you brought out the comparisons well. It's a notion that seems to have entranced Enid. Even Five on a Treasure Island and Five on Finniston Farm involve finding long-lost treasure to save a family from financial hardship.

Angela Canning's article shows how Enid Blyton put her own stamp even on such well-known tales as Bible stories, adding little details which she knew would appeal strongly to children.

I enjoy "personal experience" articles, so I was interested to read about Cory Roberts' and Freda Knight's love of Enid Blyton – as children and as adults.

Robert Houghton's 'Desert Island Blytons' was another lovely "personal experience" piece. It was fabulous to have so much detail, yet that meant only two books were covered in Part 1 and I'm impatient to find out what the remaining choices are (though I think I can guess a few!) The Adventures of Binkle and Flip is indeed a hilarious, engaging collection of stories. It might not make my top 8 choices, but I'm certain it would appear somewhere in my top 30. It's amazing to think that that book helped you hone your typing and drawing skills, Robert! Enid Blyton – and Grace Lodge – would be delighted, I'm sure! And yes, I agree that we find ourselves egging on Binkle and Flip in their mischief!

I'd like to say something about some of the other articles, but that'll have to wait till another time. A big thanks to Tony though for the pictures accompanying my own article. It's great to see the wonderful illustrations from The Coral Island etc., as well as E. H. Davie's charming drawings for The Secret Island. Courtenay, I think you'd enjoy The Secret Island - and Walter, I hope you get the chance to reacquaint yourself with the Secret series.

[Francis]

.... and not forgetting a really interesting article on 'The Secret Series' at the start of the journal by a very unassuming young lady!

[Lucky Star]

I'm almost finished my Journal now and what a great issue it is. Val Biro's cover illustration represents one of the few occasions when I will say that the later effort outdoes the original. The original is lovely but just a bit too twee for my taste. Val takes a similar "setting off by boat" scene and makes it so much more appropriate and believable.

The cover nicely complements the first story. Anita's dissection of The Secret Island is superb; one of the best reviews of this amazing book I have ever read. The comparisons with other Island based children's books are compelling and very true. I must admit I never thought of the contradiction between Jack buying a book on aeroplanes and the other three having "lost" their parents in an aeroplane; the Journal opens my eyes yet again. The concluding sentence is one I could have written truthfully myself. "Having revisited the book numerous times in my life, I feel as though I too have lived upon the secret island and it has left its mark upon my heart". Well done Anita. I am delighted to see that, like the book itself, this article is not to be a one-off; the whole series is yet to come and I look forward to them immensely.

I only read The Adventures of Binkle and Flip as an adult so it doesn't have quite the same appeal to me as it does to Rob Houghton but nevertheless this was another fascinating introduction to what I'm sure will become a much anticipated series of articles. It is indeed a shame that Enid never really revisited these delightful characters. Like Rob I too was heavily influenced by the 1970s image of the Famous Five. Unlike Rob I always preferred the Eileen Soper versions. Mystery Moor hovers about halfway down my list of best FFs but Rob as usual does a superb job of evoking the atmosphere of the book. I look forward to seeing what the other six choices he has in store for us are.

I enjoyed Freda Knight's piece about the Famous Five too. I came along about ten years after Freda and had an advantage in that cheap mass produced paperbacks had arrived so I didn't have to rely entirely upon the library for my reading of these books but I well remember my own school library and the feeling of scurrying out with the precious Blytonian (or William or whoever) treasures stored safely in my schoolbag.

John Lester and our own Julie wrote interesting articles as always. Julie's theme of recurring plots was well researched and very true. It is a measure of Enid's talent that most of her child readers probably were like me and never even noticed the similarities between books. They just got on with the exciting stories.

The contributions from Enid herself are fabulous as always. I love these "Stories from the roaring 20s" and this edition's was no exception.

I'll finish the remaining articles over the weekend but thanks yet again go to the contributors and especially to Tony for putting together yet another superb edition of out favourite little magazine. I have resubscribed immediately for fear of missing out on the next one.

[Julie2owlsdene]

I'm savouring my Journal and reading just a bit each day, to make it last longer!

Firstly I read - From My Window, as I love Enid's account on things. She says at the end that the name on the gate is Elfin House. Yet we all know it as Elfin Cottage.

Growing up with Enid by Cory Roberts, was very good and reminiscent of so many of us.

Norman Wright wrote a lovely article of Mary Cadogan, whom I saw at one of the E.B. Days. How lovey to read that he and Mary have another book coming out in 2015 called - Enid Blyton's Enchantment Treasury. I'll have to look out for that one.

That's all I've read so, far, as I'm in the middle of reading Anita's The Secret Series.

[Daisy]

Now having read the Journal from cover to cover I can comment on more... Anita's piece on the Secret Island was lovely - and like John, I was led to thinking of aspects which had not occurred to me before. I look forward to Spiggy Holes next time!
I enjoyed Enid's letter about Elfin House/Cottage. My goodness she certainly can paint with words. Also the little piece about territorial robins - what a lovely way to put over that information.
I was very interested in Angela Canning's article. I had some of the books she mentions as a child. "Before I go to Sleep" was used every night by my mother as she would read the relevant page to my sisters and me. Happy memories. I have one of the Bible Story books on my shelf with a Sunday School prize sticker to my younger son, in the front. (Strange how my Enid Blyton shelves contain a few books which once belonged to my children and have migrated back to me when they left home!) Angela's whole article was very informative and gave much food for thought. Thank you Angela.
I'm looking forward to the next two choices for Robert's desert island. I didn't meet Binkle and Flip as a child so don't have the same affectionate memories regarding them as some do, but never the less I might reread the copy I have from the Sunny Stories reprints with different eyes next time.
I enjoyed the story by Enid herself ... I was reminded of the slippery slip when cushions were available to slide down the worm hole on. It is a sweet little story.
I met Mary Cadogan when she spoke at an EB day. I had had her book which she wrote with Patricia Craig, for many years. She certainly was a lovely lady and I appreciated Norman Wright's tribute very much.
It was good to be able to read Enid's letters too. All in all a journal with great variety and a jolly good read!