Nicko wrote:Nick wrote:My favourite read this time around was Nick Hopkins' look at the FFO in Japan -how on earth do you go about finding out that sort of information on a series so obscure from the 70's!
The article did take quite a bit of researching and a lot of translating. It is obviously a minority interest subject but I thought it was worthwhile writing it simply because that information was previously unavailable to English speakers.
I haven't finished reading the Journal yet but I too really appreciated your article about the Find-Outers in Japan, Nicko. I first heard of that TV series a few years ago and was amazed that 113 episodes had been made. I wanted to know more but there wasn't much information available online, so your detailed account of the series was a revelation. What a gruelling filming schedule! It's sad that the tapes were wiped.
John Lester's analysis of
The Adventurous Four was very thoughtful and I found Charles Brand's piece on the detective club most entertaining. It was great to see all the pictures. What a brilliant idea to read
The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage in stages, with the children stopping to make lists of clues, suspects and motives. I also noticed that the print was smaller for Charles Brand's article, Julie, but I could still read it without any trouble.
It's quite startling to read the opening sentence of Enid Blyton's contribution to the book
Moral Problems - Questions on Christianity with Answers by Prominent Churchmen: "Let me say at once that no child can be 'properly' brought up without some form of religious teaching. He can certainly be brought up without it - but not 'properly.'" Obviously her article had to fit the publication for which she was writing, but that pronouncement does seem rather rigid. If I think of my own family, many are not religious yet were still brought up with sound morals.
Enid Blyton appears to qualify her statement a little when she describes a wayward youngster at the juvenile court as being "typical of those brought up with no knowledge of religion, ethics or morals" - implying that people can, after all, be ethical/moral without necessarily having a religious faith. That boy and other children like him come from homes where structure, communication and guidance are lacking. Good parents provide those things for their children, whether with or without reference to God.
I think Enid Blyton gets closer to the essence of religion when she says that "Religious teaching provides a 'moral backbone' throughout life; it gives a child invincible weapons with which to fight any evils, any problems it meets. It is at once a staff to lean on in trouble, an anchor to prevent him from drifting, and a backbone to keep him upright and fearless."
Belief in God can bring hope, comfort and a sense of purpose. Attending a place of worship and participating in religious rituals also fosters a feeling of community and binds people together, perhaps making children less likely to become isolated and anti-social.
Joining other groups and getting involved in useful activities or caring for others may serve a similar function - as Enid suggests when she recommends that youngsters be encouraged to join organisations such as Scouts, Guides or the Busy Bees, or to help sick or disabled children.
It's interesting to see Enid addressing these concerns in books like
The Six Bad Boys (1951) and
The Children at Green Meadows (1954).
Poppy wrote:I was interested to read the paragraph in your article about a story from the magazine Jinty. It sounds like a really good story (Alice In a Strange Land) - I really like things like that.
Jinty was a great magazine with a wonderful mixture of stories, Poppy, and
Alice in a Strange Land was one of the best.
on the page featuring Enid Blyton's (or her cook's!) recipe for cherry cake. I've made that cake numerous times, but since becoming allergic to cherries I use sultanas instead. It's the sort of cake you can eat hot from the oven as it doesn't need any decoration - delicious!
The comparisons with other books were very well made and Anita states beautifully the reasons why Mafumu can be seen as an equal member of the team. Perhaps this article should be shown to the powers that be who have decided against republishing the book. I doubt it would change their minds but it might show them that this step is unnecessary.
