Journal 57

What did you think of the latest Journal?
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I pruned it, following a forums discussion and a discussion with Tony.
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Courtenay »

Sorry, I misremembered. :wink:
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Moonraker »

Same difference!
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Lenoir »

My copy came on Wednesday. I went to the post box early Thursday morning, it was still dark, but I could tell it was a journal without being able to see it properly, although I thought that it seemed bulkier than usual. Turns out I was right on both counts.
Looks like it is packed with interesting articles and I am looking forward to reading it over the next few days.
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Moonraker »

I was re-reading this thread and noticed that quite a few Society members have yet to make a post concerning the Journal. I wondered why some don't comment on the Journal, yet post ubiquitously about brands of tea, carrot cake and endless games. And then realised that I was still to comment, so maybe I should know the answer!

To redress my forgetful book of intentions, here are my comments on J57.

I liked Tony's editorial. It was written in a cheeky and leisurely style. What could be better than climbing aboard an old-type charabanc (is there a new type?) and taking a journey through the Land of Enid? It certainly was a tour, taking in many places, both real and imaginary. I did immediately re-subscribe (with my memory I have to!), but unfortunately didn't leave a tip.

Looking at the contents page, I was pleased to see some new names amongst the faithful stalwarts.

Much has already be commented upon, so I will try not to go over old ground.

John Lester's piece was a good start. Part of the attraction of the A4 to me is the fact that WWII gets a mention. We hear of German subs and our own fleet at risk. Somehow it add authenticity into the series. I also enjoyed Anita's article in her Secret Series series. The Secret Mountain is also my favourite in the series. For years I tried to re-read the book, thinking it was Mountain of Adventure. I still remember the relief when I found a copy of TSM and once more found myself in the land of Roobois tea. I too find it inexcusable to leave this out of the reprints, and have told Hodder so, not that that will make any difference! I also loved the story of Interfering Ann, what a delight these short stories are. Julie has a knack of describing a book that just makes me want to read it again! Simply written, yet retains the excitement of Enid's writing. Good to see that not all the plot was revealed, so it leaves the reader still wanting to read the book.

I am happy that all of the Journal isn't just a list of articles describing books. I sometimes find the 'non-review' articles more interesting. John Pickup's was no exception. I am fascinated in what spurs someone on to collect books. Until 1994, I had next to no Blyton's on my shelves. John's article was a fascinating insight into how his collection has grown, and I envy him being allowed to convert a bedroom into a library!

There wasn't one article that I didn't read, and I got varying degrees of pleasure out of all of them. However, I am never too keen on religious articles, and I thought including Enid in a list of 'prominent churchmen' to be a stretch of fantasy! I also don't quite get that you need a Christian background and teaching to understand morals. That implies that atheists (and followers in other religions) have no morals, and Christians are beacons of light in the moral world. I think IS and the IRA of the 80s discount the opinion that if you believe in God, you have high morals. Having said that, following the teachings of Jesus/Christianity (other religions are available) give a solid foundation in decency and morals. But not exclusively.

I also wonder at Enid's gardening skills (Angela Canning). I have always been of the opinion that she just liked to meddle in the garden, a la Miss Trimble, all of the 'proper' work being carried out by 'real' gardeners. It would be good to hear of what the professional gardeners thought of her dabblings! Reading her letters in Teachers World, I get the opinion that her garden was a bit of a fantasy, the way she enthuses over having pigeon's nesting and naming them. Pigeons are a menace to us, and we do name them, but not names I could post here!

I wasn't really interested in The Find-outers in Japan. I have the same feelings when the NZ TV series is discussed. Still, each to his own.

So as not to give Tony any further surprise, I will not comment on Nicky Wheeliker's poem, other than to say it didn't appeal to me. I did think Rob's Desert Island Blyton's might be a bore, as I'm not interested in Enid's plays. However, I needn't have worried, it was as interesting as all of his articles are - and I mean very interesting!

Just a few thoughts. Sorry it is a long post - I'm not a fan of long posts, so have tried to keep it short!
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Rob Houghton »

I must admit I'm one of those who hasn't reviewed The Journal this time around, except for maybe a few comments on the editorial and The Secret Mountain. The main reason is - I still haven't read the whole Journal yet. I read half the articles, dipping in and out. I didn't read John Lester's article on The Adventurous Four yet because at the time the Journal arrived, I was reading that very book. I found Charle's Brands article very interesting and also edifying - such a great idea - and so brilliant to see children enthused and inspired by Enid and her books.

I agree totally with Nigel regards the religious articles (call me a heathen if you like!) but I rarely read them. I admit this has a lot to do with my view, which is similar to Nigel's, that we don't need to have religious beliefs to be moral. Also, I believe Enid wasn't religious in any way, but was quite capable of writing books with strong moral messages and beliefs. I believe, like many of Enid's ideals, that when she brought religion into her stories she was doing so just to please publishers, parents, the church and teachers, so as to make her books more popular with these sections of society. As usual, she was giving sections of society what she felt they wanted - she was very canny as a business woman and knew what would improve her books popularity...but I don't feel she was religious at all - just presented people with the image of herself that she felt authority figures wanted to see.

I also wasn't very interested in the Japanese Find Outer TV series - I'm not interested by any foreign language TV versions of Enid's books. They're bad enough when they are dramatised in English, and always leave me disappointed, so I'm sure anything produced in another country would be equally as bad. Interesting that Enid had enough Japanese followers to merit this gargantuan series, but I don't feel I immediately want to rush to see every episode!

I enjoyed Enid's poem about Butlins - although it made me smile, because, once again, as I was saying about her religious writing, I'm pretty sure Enid was just fulfilling a job by writing this poem and had no intention of ever setting foot in Butlins Holiday Village - correct me if I'm wrong!

I already made comments about the poem - I enjoyed the first three verses until it got to the bit where Dick had been 'dumped by his long suffering wife' and then I thought - groan - here we go - and here we did indeed go. I lost interest from that point.

John Pickup's article on collecting was great yet again - I always find it interesting to read about other people's collections and how they started and progressed. John has a very interesting writing style that grabs us and keeps us reading - as if we were there with him.

I haven't read 'The Boy Next Door' yet, mainly because I really do need to reread this book soon - probably after I get through my Adventure series read through. It's a book I read a couple of times and never saw much merit in, and yet so many people say it's one of Enid's best books - so it deserves another try from me.

Anita's articles are always brilliant - and although I haven't read it yet, it's next on my list. The Secret Mountain is by far my favourite Secret book (I never count Island, as I feel that's in a league of its own). It's a book I had never read until I was around 32 and I was immediately impressed by its drama and the 'epic' feel of it. Look forward to reading the rest of The Journal over the next few days. :-)
Last edited by Rob Houghton on 07 Aug 2015, 14:35, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Courtenay »

I haven't read the whole Journal yet either - I'm glad for the reminder that I really must do that. But I've posted about brands of tea, carrot cake and endless games and commented on the Journal as far as I've read it, so we're not all guilty as charged. :wink:
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Moonraker wrote:I also don't quite get that you need a Christian background and teaching to understand morals.
Robert Houghton wrote:I agree totally with Nigel regards the religious articles (call me a heathen if you like!) but I rarely read them. I admit this has a lot to do with my view, which is similar to Nigel's, that we don't need to have religious beliefs to be moral.
Enid's argument isn't convincing and, like Robert, I doubt it comes from the heart. She herself wrote many moral tales in which religion doesn't feature.
Moonraker wrote:Reading her letters in Teachers World, I get the opinion that her garden was a bit of a fantasy, the way she enthuses over having pigeon's nesting and naming them. Pigeons are a menace to us, and we do name them, but not names I could post here!
Enid's pigeons (Snowflake, Pretty-One, Jan and the rest) weren't wild birds. They were white fantails and she'd have bought a few to start with, then bred from them.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: Journal 57

Post by Chrissie777 »

Robert Houghton wrote:I agree totally with Nigel regards the religious articles (call me a heathen if you like!) but I rarely read them. I admit this has a lot to do with my view, which is similar to Nigel's, that we don't need to have religious beliefs to be moral. Also, I believe Enid wasn't religious in any way, but was quite capable of writing books with strong moral messages and beliefs. I believe, like many of Enid's ideals, that when she brought religion into her stories she was doing so just to please publishers, parents, the church and teachers, so as to make her books more popular with these sections of society. As usual, she was giving sections of society what she felt they wanted - she was very canny as a business woman and knew what would improve her books popularity...but I don't feel she was religious at all - just presented people with the image of herself that she felt authority figures wanted to see.

I also wasn't very interested in the Japanese Find Outer TV series - I'm not interested by any foreign language TV versions of Enid's books. They're bad enough when they are dramatised in English, and always leave me disappointed, so I'm sure anything produced in another country would be equally as bad. Interesting that Enid had enough Japanese followers to merit this gargantuan series, but I don't feel I immediately want to rush to see every episode!
I enjoyed Enid's poem about Butlins - although it made me smile, because, once again, as I was saying about her religious writing, I'm pretty sure Enid was just fulfilling a job by writing this poem and had no intention of ever setting foot in Butlins Holiday Village - correct me if I'm wrong!
I already made comments about the poem - I enjoyed the first three verses until it got to the bit where Dick had been 'dumped by his long suffering wife' and then I thought - groan - here we go - and here we did indeed go. I lost interest from that point.
Look forward to reading the rest of The Journal over the next few days. :-)
Hi Nigel and Robert,

I feel the same about the Japanese FFO TV series and about EB's religious books.
Whenever I looked up something in EB's bibliography at the end of Barbara Stoney's EB biography, I always thought that she might have written those books just to please her publishers or the church or religion teachers etc.

So far I had no chance to read the entire Journal, but will make notes while reading it.
I never was into poetry...with the exception of Ern's/Fatty's portry. That always appealed to me :)! Even in the German translation.

Nigel, I was very impressed with/about your untypically long post and enjoyed reading it very much. I'm hoping for more in the future if you could find the time.

Our puppy keeps licking at my keyboard to signal to me that it's time for us to go downstairs again, so I'll stop here. For some weird reason he doesn't like our office upstairs and prefers being in the living room downstairs.
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Re: Journal 57

Post by pete9012S »

Moonraker wrote:I was re-reading this thread and noticed that quite a few Society members have yet to make a post concerning the Journal.
Maybe the orgasmic quality of Journal 57 had rendered them temporarily speechless?? :D
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Chrissie777 »

:wink:
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Daisy »

Chrissie777 wrote: Our puppy keeps licking at my keyboard to signal to me that it's time for us to go downstairs again, so I'll stop here. For some weird reason he doesn't like our office upstairs and prefers being in the living room downstairs.
I guess Cody gets more of your attention downstairs than when you are paying attention to your keyboard! I mean - how dare you keep stroking those keys when you could be stroking him? :wink:
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Rob Houghton »

pete9012S wrote:
Moonraker wrote:I was re-reading this thread and noticed that quite a few Society members have yet to make a post concerning the Journal.
Maybe the orgasmic quality of Journal 57 had rendered them temporarily speechless?? :D
It certainly made Nigel's quote grow in size. :shock:
'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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Re: Journal 57

Post by Chrissie777 »

Daisy wrote:
Chrissie777 wrote:Our puppy keeps licking at my keyboard to signal to me that it's time for us to go downstairs again, so I'll stop here. For some weird reason he doesn't like our office upstairs and prefers being in the living room downstairs.
I guess Cody gets more of your attention downstairs than when you are paying attention to your keyboard! I mean - how dare you keep stroking those keys when you could be stroking him? :wink:
Right you are, Daisy. :wink:
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Re: Journal 57

Post by Tony Summerfield »

It is interesting to read what people liked or didn't like in the last Journal, but I just wanted to come in and say something about the article by Nicko (who I am sure is probably reading this!) about the Five Find-Outers series is Japan, which has been cited above as being of little interest to two readers above. I was fascinated to read a well-written and well researched article on something that I knew little or nothing about and I am glad that I was not alone. I have had two phone calls recently about the Journal which specifically mentioned it and both felt the same way as I did that they were learning something new on a series about which they knew very little. One of these calls was from Imogen and the other was from Norman Wright.
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