Journal 63

What did you think of the latest Journal?
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Re: Journal 63

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Happily my Journal was waiting on the mat with loads of 2 weeks mail! :lol:

As usual, I always turn to the Editorial page from Tony first. How nice to start off with a song. :D I then turn to the back page and look at the lovely pictures on there, and then the centre fold. Nice to see all the Five on a Treasure Island front pictures. Mine is the 1951 edition. I then go to Enid's From My Window, and thought what a lovely descriptive piece of writing this was.

I've now started on Anita's article, and so will get back once I've completed the Journal. It looks packed with lots of what I want to read. :)

8)
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Re: Journal 63

Post by pete9012S »

I'm really enjoying this 'meaty' journal.
I first of all renewed my subscription as there was a reminder inside my envelope.

I am reading the journal slowly,enjoying an article or two each day,or when I get a minute.
I have read three or four articles so far:

Editorial (3)

A simply smashing editorial. Many thanks to Tony for preparing and collating this latest feast/smorgasbord/banquet of well oiled dishes for our enjoyment and delight!

Susie – Love Her or Hate Her by Julie Heginbotham (20)

What a great piece about the inimitable Susie by our Julie. Very fairly written. Susie's irritation about not being allowed to become a member of the Secret Seven comes across strongly. This results in her mischievous behaviour that tries to disrupt,poke fun and unsettle the Seven as recompense.

Julie's article made me imagine what could have become of The Find Outers if Larry had been their leader and they had excluded Fatty from being a member.I imagined that with perhaps Ern and even Bets by his side passing info to him from Larry's lot,the kind of fun and disruption he could have created!!

Serious About Enid by Don Townshend

A well written article about pursuing a serious Enid blyton collection, Most enjoyable. We would all love to see a few pics of your Enid Blyton bookcase please Don!!!

Cover Stories by John Lester (32)

What a great idea to display Enid Blyton books by theme to enjoy them and get them off the bookcase. The original covers of course.I don't know if the same enjoyment could be attained by having the modern editions on proud display??

My Involvement with the Life and Work of Enid Blyton by Sheila Ray (36)

This was a most fascinating article on how Sheila came to write her excellent book about Enid Blyton. It was nice to discover that she has been a life long devotee,reading Enid's books and magazines since childhood.
Even now much later on Sheila is still doing a stirling job informing people/friends and acquaintances about the real facts about Enid Blyton's life and career. Excellent.

My Enid Blyton Cookery Book – Part 1: by Robert Houghton (24)

A great read from Rob. Rob is someone I consider to be a very serious,knowledgeable collector of Enid Blyton's work and reading his well written article made me 1/Want to improve my own collection 2/Try out some of these enticing recipes.whether Enid was 100% behind them or not!!


Miss Pepper by John Pickup (72

Really enjoyed this article by our John.Well written and researched,I feel he gave a really true reflection and definitely captured the essence of (Miss) Pepper.

Question: Have we had an article on Miss Dimity in the Journal?
She is seen by many to be the prototype of Miss Pepper.

I have tried to search through Lenoir's latest Journal index,but can't seem to find such an article?


Would Tony be interested in such an article if we haven't had one already/or if there isn't one in the pipeline? I have started to do a little reseach in case the Journal would be interested in a similar article on 'Dimmy' Miss Dimity???


The Mystery That Never Was – Part 1: by Anita Bensoussane (4)

Just started this and really enjoying it.Anita mentions it was the last Blyton she bought as a youth.This had me intrigued and I am still trying to remember which book I bought last as a child....can you remember yours??

Must dash now,want to read the rest of Anita's article and then start on the others -which one to pick? Possibly Anne's Diary....
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Re: Journal 63

Post by Domino »

I was about to reply to Tony's response to my post of the 8th, only to find it has been taken down.

Tony, I just wanted to observe that, if Jill Tilsley was 13 in 1951, she was probably in her 70s when she contacted you, so there might be any number of reasons for her not sending the suggested article, which could be beyond her control.

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Re: Journal 63

Post by Tony Summerfield »

Sorry, Dave, I had second thoughts about it as I thought nobody would be interested so I removed it! I actually spoke to her on the phone each time, as that was how she contacted me in the first place, I never had an email address. She certainly sounded fairly 'mature', but her chief reason for delay (two or three Jourmals in succession!) was that she was so busy with other things. After that I gave up.
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Re: Journal 63

Post by sixret »

I am interested, Tony. Hope Jill could spare her time to write her experience with Enid so that you could publish it in the next journal.
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Re: Journal 63

Post by Rob Houghton »

sixret wrote:Hope Jill could spare her time to write her experience with Enid so that you could publish it in the next journal.
Doesn't sound very likely! :(

It was interesting to read the Letter from Enid Blyton in this latest Journal, and also to read about Tony's 'research' into finding the discrepancy between text and illustration - something only an owner of a first edition of Hurrah For Little Noddy could do! Unfortunately mine isn't a first but I found the illustration. ;-)

That was one of the nicest letters from Enid I've read, I thought - and imagine how proud that boy would have been, that his observations caused the second edition to be altered!
'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 63

Post by Rob Houghton »

pete9012S wrote:
The Mystery That Never Was – Part 1: by Anita Bensoussane (4)

Just started this and really enjoying it.Anita mentions it was the last Blyton she bought as a youth.This had me intrigued and I am still trying to remember which book I bought last as a child....can you remember yours??
The last Enid Blyton book I bought for around 10 years - the last of my childhood - was also The Mystery That Never Was. It was the same paperback version Anita mentions, because it was a 'brand new book' to our generation. The only time The Mystery that Never Was had been reprinted in a paperback since the 1960's was that paperback in 1983. I would have been 12, but I wrote inside that I was 13 so obviously I bought it the following year.

I bought it on holiday in Wales - staying in a place near Aberystwyth. There was a small shop nearby and I bought three Enid Blyton paperbacks there - the last three EB books I read. These were paperback versions of 'Mystery Stories' and 'Adventure Stories' (Smuggler Ben, Children of Kidillin, Cliff Castle etc) and The Mystery That Never Was. Unfortunately, I found all of them very weak (didn't realise at the time the historical significance of the Mary Pollock books and just thought they were rather short and 'babyish' at age 13 though I appreciate them more now!) and so that's why I remember they were the last EB books I read as a child. I thought I'd outgrown her because I found them so weak.
'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 63

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Another great Journal now read.

All the articles were great as usual. Anita's has made me want to re-read The Mystery That Never Was, as I haven't read that since I did the book review for the Cave.

Ilsa's - Anne Kirrin's Diary was fabulous to read. It's nice when one thinks more deeply into characters, in this case the Kirrin ancestors.

And it was nice to read John's take on Miss Pepper. Enid must have really captured our hearts with some characters, to make us want to look further into a particular character.

Thanks to Tony for producing such a great Journal once more, and all the contributors who help make the Journal a readable pleasure. :D

8)
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Re: Journal 63

Post by Daisy »

At last I have read the whole journal...savouring each contribution. I enjoyed Julie's take on Susie - I read 2 of the Secret Seven books as a child and the rest much later. I seemed to retain my original opinion of Susie, though, as a pest and an opponent of the Seven, and my sympathies were always with them! Of course I have modified my ideas a bit since then and agree with much that has been said about Susie both on the forum and by Julie. Susie certainly adds spice to the stories!
I read the Mystery that Never Was for the first time only a few years ago and I wonder if I would have appreciated it more if I had first read it as a child. As always, Anita's reviews and comments on a book always make me want to reread it... so it will be with this one as well.
I loved John's article on Miss Pepper... It certainly highlighted just what an integral character she was to the stories in which she featured. I shall appreciate her still more next time I read a Barney book.
Making a film of an Enid Blyton story sounds a daunting task. It was very interesting to read the background with all the difficulties that have to be overcome.
I enjoyed Rob's cookery lessons - I had no idea what to expect as I started reading his delightful article though!

Thanks to all the contributors and to Tony for an entertaining Editorial and another wonderful Journal with so many illustrations which make the articles even more attractive.
Last edited by Daisy on 16 Jul 2017, 20:11, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Journal 63

Post by Courtenay »

Rob Houghton wrote:and so that's why I remember they were the last EB books I read as a child. I thought I'd outgrown her because I found them so weak.
Rob... true fans NEVER really outgrow Enid Blyton. 8) :wink: And many thanks for Part 1 of your truly delicious "Enid Blyton Cookery Book" — what a great idea for introducing her stories of various genres! Very well cooked — er, written — and enjoyable to read. I'll look forward to the next few instalments.

May I also thank Rob, Julie and others past and present who've successfully written excellent articles for the Journal with NO SPOILERS? I haven't yet seen one like this in the current Journal, but over the few years I've been receiving it, I do find there are sometimes articles that essentially do nothing but retell almost an entire story (or collection of short stories) by Enid in the writer's own words, giving away all the exciting or surprising bits, offering no new thoughts or insights for those who've already read that story and ruining it for those who haven't. :evil:

I appreciate everyone who takes the time and effort to write for the Journal — I'd love to contribute more myself if only I had a broader knowledge of Enid and her books and could think of enough interesting topics that haven't already been written about! — but I really do not see the point of the sort of articles I just described. Good thing there aren't too many of them... :wink:
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Re: Journal 63

Post by Moonraker »

I have spent an hour or two in my summerhouse, reading parts of the Journal. It really is an enjoyable way of spending one's time - the tinkle of the fountains in our ponds, the bright blue damselfly that hovered and flew by a window, the buzzing of distant bees - then I was brought back to reality by a cacophony of barking from the four dogs that live nearby. :evil:

Anyway, back to the Journal. Tony's editorial is always so entertaining. We learn that far from living in a cave, he really lives in a magical tower. No wonder he is a tower of strength (ouch). He mentions the wintery story on page 12, so that is what I read first.

One Winter Afternoon is a 'new' story to me. Utterly predictable but nevertheless, a charming little tale. However, Enid seems to get in a real muddle over the children's names. On P15, "John and Pat got tired of sliding and went home. Norman and John (John again) decided it was time to go home, too." Later, Norman is still there, yelling "Arthur! Arthur" Quick, get back!" Four paragraphs later, Fred shouts to John, "John, help me!" Maybe Enid meant to include George, as he is no longer mentioned. I also wonder why Fred's mother undressed Arthur, gave him a bath and put him in Fred's bed. Surely, he should have been taken to his own mother straight away!

I haven't read The Mystery That Never Was for a long time - but seem to remember being pretty much in unison with Anita's thoughts on the book. I suppose that with so many stories involving similar plot lines, duplication is inevitable. A good article, although I am wondering what is left for Anita to say in Part 2. We shall see!

Emilia Brooks piece on Dorset was made all the more interesting by her including her own holidays spent on the IoP in her earlier childhood. However, I found it slightly odd to see phrases such as "Kirrin Castle...is said to be based on Corfe Castle" and "I think now that it was just wishful thinking on my part as it is Kirrin Castle that is based on Corfe Castle". Tony's disclaimer at the bottom of his editorial page does prevent him from a beasting, but such an inaccuracy in a Society publication does fuel the myth that Corfe and Kirrin are one and the same! I suppose it proves the point that if an assumption is repeated enough times, it becomes a fact. Nevertheless, a very interesting article from, I imagine, a comparatively young contributor.

Julie's article on Susie was another interesting one (aren't all of the Journal's articles interesting?!) I have never been able to make up my mind about Susie. As a child, I think I saw her as an irritant, as I aged, I felt more sympathy towards her. However, she needed to be there and not in the Seven, in my opinion. I loved the way she looked down on her kid brother - so common at that time! As for the aeroplane "gleaming silver bright in the sun", I always imagined that whatever colour the 'plane was, it would appear silver with the sun reflecting off it. However, if the number of children on the cover was wrong, it would appear that the illustrator (as is so often the case) hadn't read the book - probably only a plot summary.

I also enjoyed John Lester's Cover Stories. I was mildly irritated by the fact that the covers weren't alongside and in the order of the books mentioned and was planning to talk to Tony about that. However, at the end I saw John's top-ten list and realised they were in this order. Sorry, Tony!

My afternoon session ended with John Pickup's piece on Rebecca Pepper. An great article describing a fine character, often overlooked in Blyton's 'other characters' list. I always imagined her to be in her late 60s/early 70s - in fact, although John thinks she could be in her late 50s, he later refers to her thus: "a sagacious, elderly woman..." He'd better not refer to Mrs Moonraker and expect to see tomorrow! A most interesting article of an interesting character in one of my favourite series. I always seem to muddle up Miss Pepper and Miss Dimity. I also muddle up the two Baronians, Ranni and Pilescu (I still don't know how to pronounce his name - Pile-skew or pill-es-kew). I must re-read this series (apart from The Secret Island which to me is a stand-alone). I tend to agree with you, John; I think there could be quite a bit of Enid in Rebecca.

My final article today was Rob's My Enid Blyton Cookery Book. My first thought was that here we would find recipes for Google Buns and the like. Happily, Greg Wallace and John Torode need not have worried. The only soggy bottoms here would be from Dame Washalot's bucket, not a meat pie. Like Rob, I am still enthralled by Enid's 'fantasy' stories. I love the weird and wonderful names she gives some of these characters. Windy Wizard (too many beans?), the Snoogle, Sly-One and so on. I loved the Magic Pudding recipe, maybe in another article we could learn how to make Google Buns, Toffee Shocks, Hot and Cold Goodies and Pop Biscuits!

One of the drawbacks of being retired is that I no longer get a day off. Sadly, I can read no more today, but look forward to continuing on another day.
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Re: Journal 63

Post by Rob Houghton »

Thanks for everyone's kind words about my article! I always like to try something new...just hope people weren't too disappointed that there were no Google Bun recipes or toffee shocks or even potted meat! ;-)

I agree with Courtenay about articles that have 'spoilers' - I'm in two minds in some ways, as its pretty hard to write a full review of a book without including them - for example my long review of The Adventure of the Strange Ruby. Thankfully its much easier to not include spoilers in an article like the Cookery Book one. I always try to include my own thoughts and feelings about a book when I do a longer review, rather than just reiterate the plot, but it's quite difficult!

I enjoy writing articles like the Cookery Book one because I don't have to go into details...lazy really. If I haven't recently read the books I'm covering, I just do it by memory or a quick skim through the pages, rather than having to read a book for an article - which ever since school and university I've tended to find a bit tedious - even if its an Enid Blyton book! ;-) So the Cookery Book idea is, like the Desert Island idea, a 'lazy' option! ;-) More to come of course!

Nigel - I really enjoyed your review of the Journal - reminded me of Enid Blyton, sitting in her garden, by the pond, observing nature and tapping away on her typewriter...though I was a bit surprised to see you writing a LONG post!!! :twisted:
'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 63

Post by Courtenay »

Well, it's not just articles that have spoilers that get my goat, but articles that seem to be nothing but a string of spoilers, i.e. they just retell the whole plot of the story (or most of it) rather than giving any real insights and/or whetting our appetite to actually read the book. I have read a number of articles that give the reader virtually nothing we couldn't have learned from reading the book itself — and they often leave me feeling I don't really want to read the story now anyway, having already been told how it all pans out. To me, that's not a good way of writing an article. :x But I'll get off my soapbox now and continue enjoying the Journal! :wink:
Last edited by Courtenay on 13 Jul 2017, 20:22, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Journal 63

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Let's hope Angel Canning isn't reading your post, Courtenay, and gets upset, if it was one of her articles. :|

8)
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Re: Journal 63

Post by pete9012S »

I recently dug out an older article from Journal 54 and have just re-read it.I must say I enjoyed it.It was well written and informative about the Golliwogs first appearances in Sunny Stories and background details about the illustrator/illustrations etc.

I quite enjoyed the re-cap as to be honest the only time I've read about the Golliwogs was in this article as I've never read the books ( although I do own them).

The two little puzzles/mysteries Angela posed on page 70 are quite interesting too. I won't mention them in case anyone else wants to go back a have a re-read.

Question: when was the last appearance of a Golliwog in an Enid Blyton story does anyone know?
I think the article above mentions Enid Blyton's Magazine 1953 as having the last unrepeated Golliwog story?
Last edited by pete9012S on 13 Jul 2017, 21:42, edited 2 times in total.
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