Journal 73

[Chrissie777]

My journal arrived last Saturday and then promptly vanished. I looked everywhere for it and, tonight, it appeared on the sofa! No idea where it’s been

It must have developed a life of it's own. Maybe it visited your EB book collection?

[Boatbuilder]

My journal arrived last Saturday and then promptly vanished. I looked everywhere for it and, tonight, it appeared on the sofa! No idea where it’s been

You were probably sat on it, Nick.

[Chrissie777]

My EBS Journal arrived today.

[Nick]

My journal arrived last Saturday and then promptly vanished. I looked everywhere for it and, tonight, it appeared on the sofa! No idea where it’s been

You were probably sat on it, Nick.

You might be right, I suspect it slipped down the side of the sofa and "reappeared" when the kids where building dens with the cushions.

As always, a fabulous edition Tony and all have done us proud again. Two to three hours of blissful escapism that has never, ever, been more needed. I was delighted to read about the numbers going up, lets hope that trend continues.

A huge thanks to all the contributors.

[Courtenay]

Hooray, my Journal arrived today and I've been indulging in it over lunch! Lovely articles so far, as always. I'm currently reading Judith Crabb's "Lost in Translation" with a good deal of interest. As for the mystery of whether or not those translations with Enid's name in them were really by her, there's one thing I'd say — only either Enid herself, or someone very deliberately imitating her, would ever give a cat the name "Bimbo"!!

Now I've just read Enid's "From My Window" article about Bobs and how she got him. I love the way she describes their introduction here:

I lifted his head and looked at his eyes. They were lovely eyes — deep brown, loving and trustful.
"You would make a wonderful little friend," I said. "Shall I have you for my little dog?"
Two silky black ears pricked up, and the brown eyes said plainly, "Yes, have me for your little dog — do."

Shades of little dog Lucky when Jimmy goes to choose a puppy in Mr Galliano's Circus:

Jimmy looked at the little half-and-half one. Its eyes were soft and brown, and seemed to speak to Jimmy.
"Choose me!" the little dog's eyes seemed to say. "Choose me! I'm your dog! Oh, choose me, Jimmy!"

I think all of us who've ever had a dog have seen eyes like those too!

[Chrissie777]

I think all of us who've ever had a dog have seen eyes like those too!

Yes, we did.

[Lucky Star]

Journal 73 has proved to be yet another excellent entry to this wonderful series we are so lucky to subscribe to. As I said a few days ago I was delighted to read in Tony's editorial that membership has increased for once; hopefully this trend will continue.

Anyway I began with John Lester's excellent dissection of Five Go to Mystery Moor. I have always regarded this book as something of a dark horse in the series. It has never been one of my favourites yet I recognise that it is well written, suspenseful and probably the last "great" FF book until Fix. It just doesn't appeal to me for some reason. But I will re-read it now after John's article which delved deeply into the plot and included interesting sidesteps on the characters' names and even the art of novel writing itself via Joseph Conrad, another of my favourite authors. I was a little surprised to see that John rates Five on a Hike Together as "one of the weakest" books in the series. I think it won the accolade of Most Popular FF Book in our series of polls here last year and I believe I'm correct that most of the membership here love it. Strange how books strike different people in different ways.

I thoroughly enjoyed John Henstock's article on the Secret series. This is one of my own all time favourite series' and I did agree with John throughout. He advanced an interesting hypothesis on the children's Aunt and Uncle in The Secret Island. Yes they were nasty but on the other hand the training the kids received on that farm undoubtedly helped them on the island even though Jack plainly was the expert. And at last I find someone who agrees with me that Baronia (and the later Tauri-Hessia) are set in the Balkans. That's always been my impression and I was delighted to read that I am not alone.

Angela Canning reliably turned in an other fascinating article on the Secret Seven short stories. bearing in mind I haven't actually read most of these I still found it a great piece of writing especially that intriguing revelation from Gillian Baverstock which opened the piece. I love the early Secret Seven novels and really must read the short stories. Angela gives a great insight into how the gang came about.

Julie Heginbotham's article on The Mystery of the Strange Ruby and The Mystery of the Secret Necklace were also enthralling. Again I haven't read either novel but I will look out for them. Many of Enid's stand alone books passed me by as a child, it is only as an adult I am discovering them so its good to get recommendations and analyses like this to help choose.

Tim Venning gives us the next installment of his excellent series on the Famous Five 1978 TV series locations. I have all of these saved up and plotted for a trip to the area; alas current conditions leave me wondering when that trip will ever happen but when it does I shall be carting along Tim's articles as my guide book. Fascinating detective work as always and illustrated with great pictures too.

More Secret Seven on offer from John Pickup with an enjoyable and well written read about the final SS book. This one is frankly so poor that I can never even call the plot to mind but as I read John's article it came back. One thing I had not realised was just how little the other five feature in this book. I think John is correct that it should have been a stand alone novel and not an SS series entry. I suppose Enid always had a problem fitting in enough parts for seven children plus dog plus Susie in such short books but still; more than half the gang absent for more than half the book is head scratching.

Anita is always entertaining with her articles and this time she switched her attention to the first Malory Towers book. I remember reading this one as a child feeling rather guilty and embarrassed as it was a "girls book" and I did not encounter it again until adulthood when |I read the entire series. Anita is always excellent at getting under the skin of the various characters and their motivations and this article is no exception. It left me in the frame of mind to re-read the book and I have dug it out and placed it on my "To Read" pile. The list of quotations which Anita uses to illustrate that Enid's work was not just lightweight stuff was very thought provoking. Like others here I have always felt that many of Enid's critics have never actually bothered to read more than a handful of her most popular books. I wish I could place this article in the hands of some of those critics.

David Martins gives us "an appreciation" of one of Enid's best and most exciting books The Island of Adventure. There is so much to love about this book which introduces us to Blyton's finest series and best characters. I have always loved it and enjoyed David's article immensely. It was amply backed up by those wild and wonderful coastal illustrations from the great Stuart Tresilian. he made a good point though about the improbable fact of Craggy Tops having no electricity but a working phone! In all my readings of the book I don't think that one ever registered with me. It just shows there is always something new in The Journal.

Judith Crabb gave us a lovely article on Bimbo the Little Kitten and his French counterpart and Neville Barlow a very interesting psychological look at Enid and her work.

Together with more wonderful pieces from the lady herself it all added up to yet another superb edition of the EBS Journal. Hearty thanks as always go to all the contributors and especially to the man who holds the whole thing together, Tony Summerfield. Roll on number 74.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've enjoyed people's posts regarding the Journal and it would be great to have a few more comments as it's always interesting to read a wide range of responses to the articles, stories, artwork, etc. I very much like it when people share their personal memories with us, e.g. Tim telling us that he was in a similar position to Mary-Lou (in some respects) at school, and Julie mentioning that the poem 'Things I like to do' reminded her of the traditional-style chemist she went to as a small child in the 1950s.

The cheery sight of a Journal is more comforting than ever in these unsettling times and it's good to see Tony injecting a touch of light humour into things in his editorial. Subscriptions may have had to go up a little but this substantial publication, chock-full of gorgeously-illustrated pieces on all aspects of Enid Blyton's life and work, remains superb value for money.

I agree with John Lester that the dramatic setting and eerie mists make Five Go to Mystery Moor alluringly atmospheric. My sister and I loved the idea of patrins and, after reading the book, we devised our own patrins from sticks, stones and leaves out in the garden. Some critics have claimed that Blyton is bland but her stories ignited a spark in us and influenced many of our childhood games and activities, inspiring us to be creative, inventive and curious. Like John (Lucky Star), I'm surprised that John Lester considers Five on a Hike Together to be one of the weakest Famous Five books. I find it exciting and evocative with the enigmatic messages, the deliciously gloomy autumnal setting and the fast pace of the adventure. For me, it ranks as one of the best titles in the series!

John Henstock's 'A Family of Secrets' strikes a chord as I too find the "very varied" nature of the titles in the Secret series appealing. When Enid Blyton started writing the Secret books she was just beginning to find her feet as a novelist so the series is experimental and uneven. That's not a criticism as it's fun to read a series that is so refreshingly unpredictable and never becomes formulaic.

It's a delight to see little gems like the Barney series notes, although they're brief. The photos on the back cover of the Journal (from one of the Danish Famous Five films) are lovely as well.

As a youngster I read the short Secret Seven story 'Hurry, Secret Seven, Hurry!' numerous times in The Big Enid Blyton Book (Hamlyn) and I agree with Angela Canning that it's "gripping and nail-biting". Although the short Secret Seven (and Famous Five) tales can't compare to the full-length books, it's lovely to spend some extra time with the characters in situations that are a little outside the norm.

Julie Heginbotham has picked out two interesting novels to study. Strange Ruby is indeed "fast flowing" and I wish Enid Blyton had given us the chance to get to know the characters in more depth, but it has a number of enjoyable elements nevertheless. From memory, Strange Necklace is even more thinly plotted and would benefit from additional complications. I haven't read it for years but will have to give it another whirl after reading Julie's encouraging comments.

The Uncle Nat story is engaging and I absolutely love the expression on the face of the character on the right in Eileen Soper's illustration for 'Little Mister Sly'!

Tim Venning's article on the 1970s Famous Five TV series is most informative as ever. It's always fascinating to learn about the actors and their roles in other productions.

The poems 'Things I like to do' and 'Things I don't like to do' are particularly good in my opinion, with delightful illustrations by Phyllis Chase. I read the following verse several times as it conjures up such a fabulous image:

"I like our washerwoman too,
Although her legs are weak;
She's very fat, and when she bends,
I love to hear her creak."

By contrast, 'My Pets' is somewhat banal (though the illustration by E. H. Davie is charming).

John Pickup hits the nail on the head in 'No Fun at All for the Secret Seven' when he says that the final Secret Seven book simply isn't involved enough to incorporate all seven children effectively. Like him, I'm sorry to see the series end "with a whimper".

I've always been a fan of Binkle and Flip and their hare-brained (or rabbit-brained!) schemes so it's fun to have an entertaining "new" story - 'Binkle's Splendid Idea'. Harry Rowntree's illustrations are glorious, with delicious comical details like the mole at the door smoking a pipe!

Thanks very much to people who have commented on my own article. The header picture with the car pulling up at Malory Towers is really eye-catching. Thanks, Tony!

Reading David Martins' piece on The Island of Adventure, I too was struck (like John [Lucky Star]) by David's remark that it's unlikely that a remote house like Craggy Tops would have a phone line if it didn't even have electricity. That's something I hadn't thought about before!

Neville Barlow provides food for thought with his reflections on psychology while Judith Crabb gives us an interesting overview of Bimbo the Little Kitten, though I've never seen any of the books from that series. I enjoyed Judith's personal reminiscences about Mrs. Dale, Joy, etc. I've said before that I can't help wondering whether Enid might have translated these books (and perhaps Babar the Story-Book too) from French into English. Enid says in The Story of My Life that her father had hundreds of books and she used to read them as a child, including the French ones: "As soon as I could read French, I read every book in his book-cases of French books. Actually I read the first one before I could read French properly - I remember it now, it was a book I loved, called Tartarin de Tarascon. I waded through it, with a dictionary beside me, determined to go right through to the end. And by the time I had finished the book I could read French almost as easily as I could read English." We know too that, as a teenager, she holidayed in Annecy with the Mam'zelle from St. Christopher's School.

Enid Blyton's 'From My Window' column about Bobs is full of love. The newly released book Bones and Biscuits: Letters from a Dog Named Bobs will give today's children the opportunity to get to know this bundle of mischief and revel in his escapades!

Tony puts a huge amount of work into the Journals and it's incredible to think that we've now had 73! What an achievement!

[John Pickup]

Indeed, it's a huge achievement that Tony has successfully managed to publish 73 marvellous journals. Well done, sir!
I must admit I still have a couple of articles to read in the latest offering but when I have, I shall certainly post my thoughts. It is disappointing that comments on Journal 73 seem to be down in number compared to previous journals.

[Judith Crabb]

Good news from the Antipodes - at least one Enid Blyton Journal has arrived - mine. What larks!
I immediately checked that Tony had printed a correction I made in 'Lost in Translation'. Of course he had. As if I should have doubted for one minute!
Then I moved to the Editorial. Yes 2020 was quite a year - bushfires, covid, and last month I almost lost my dearest friend because of a misdiagnosis. Emergency Department sent her home with what they thought was a touch of gastro - in fact a strangulated hernia. She was very lucky to survive the eventual operation, but is now convalescing well.
I'm pleased that membership has picked up.
Which brings me to what we all share. The comfort of books.
Now I have things to do, but tonight I dip into my new journal and I will certainly share my thoughts.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Yes, I totally agree with John's excellent article on the Secret Seven. I hadn't really realized that towards the end of the book Susie hadn't made her usual appearance, and that it was basically all Peter and Janet.

I guess it's a good argument for reading the full series over a few days/weeks, and any of Enid's series come to that, to see just how the books do flow when read this way. With Enid writing them normally a year apart, the flow of her writing wouldn't be quite the same as reading the whole series in one go.

[Judith Crabb]

Here is my first reflection. I had a thoroughly pleasant time reading Journal 73. After the editorial I looked at the centre-spread. I was astonished. A Blyton contribution to 'Everyday'. When I became a second-hand bookseller I discovered plenty of volumes that nobody seemed to be interested in except me. Some of these were very old children's annuals like 'Everyday'. Having memories of one which had belonged to my mother and which, as a child, I read avidly, I put a shelf of them aside as they came in over the years. The earliest were not called 'Everyday' at all, but 'Sunday Reading for the Young'. By the First World War the title was 'Sunday and Everyday Reading for the Young' and, by the end of that war, 'Everyday with which is incorporated Sunday'. Thereafter the bindings became uniform. Instead of a different cover for each year now the title on every front panel was surrounded, anti-clockwise, by a series of vignettes of daily activities - Sunday Church, Monday washing, and so on. Whenever I got another annual I made a point of checking the content. So had I missed Blyton's poems? No. When I checked the shelf there is no Volume 51.
Satisfied on that score, I returned to the journal.

[Judith Crabb]

I feel that almost all my life I've been a traveller in the realm of children's books but latterly more as a tourist than as an explorer or a detective, so I'm always pleased to read lovingly detailed explorations of books I remember. 'Adventure in the Mist: Five go to Mystery Moor' by John Lester, and 'A Family of Secrets' by John Henstock a response to a re-reading of the Secret series are two such articles. Both are complemented with illustrations from the original publications - the UR texts, so to speak. As a child I enjoyed 'Mystery Moor' without considering it a particular favourite but 'The Secret of Spiggy Holes' and 'The Secret of Moon Castle' both thrilled me to my boot heels. I read the others in the Secret series as an adult and 'The Secret Island' to a class of ten-year-olds - very well received. 'Simply enjoy the books' is John Henstock's directive, easy to do. Angela Canning's 'The Secret Seven Short Stories' took me into new territory - the terrain was varied and the scenery provided by Tony was amazing - even the little Australian Weeties publication was there. Briefly I shared Julie Heginbotham's warm response to 'Two of Enid's Lesser Known Novels'. One of them, 'The Adventures of the Secret Necklace', I may have borrowed from a school library. Yesterday I took my copy down from the shelf and read the first chapter. Captivating. However according to John Pickup 'No Fun at all for the Secret Seven' the final in that series is less than captivating. (Memo: If I reread the series stop at number 14).
I've rambled on enough for this time.

[Anne Gracie]

My Journal arrived this week. I’ve got as far as page 6, having just collected it today. Lots to explore in here! Thank you to the contributors.

[Judith Crabb]

I almost missed Enid Blyton's school stories but some classmates at the high school loaned me the Malory Towers series (and presumably St. Clares too). I was in my thirteenth year, about the time I realized that I had ceased to read as a child reads.
Anita Bensoussane was luckier in that she seems to have been immersed in the series much younger. Her affection for it shines through her highly enjoyable account of 'First Term at Malory Towers'. Having just re-read the series after sixty years I appreciated her observations, a sensitive mix of childhood recollection and adult criticism. The quotations she selected emphasize that Enid Blyton is not just a terrific story-teller but also an insightful moralist.
'The Island of Adventure' and the rest of that series were with me from the start. David Martins's 'Appreciation' brought back not just memories of the book but memories of myself. I'd just discovered the Famous Five. At my aunt's I was sitting on a sofa and I'd picked up 'Five go down to the Sea'. My cousin lent it to me. As soon as I'd saved up some pocket money I asked my mother to buy 'Five on a Treasure Island' when next she went into town. She came home apologetic. The shop was out of that title but Mrs Dow, the bookseller, assured her that I'd love 'The Island of Adventure'. I still recall my disgruntled and ungrateful reaction, slouching off with the book, muttering that she should have bought another 'Five'.
In no time I was back in the kitchen, bursting with enthusiasm. It was the best book I had ever read!
It certainly fuelled my fantasies for years to come.