Journal 74

[pete9012S]

[Tony Summerfield]

I asked Pete if he would be very kind and post the picture above for me as I am a technical idiot and haven't got a clue how to post a picture unless it comes from the Cave - and this doesn't! I wanted readers to see that Journal 74 actually exists and will eventually arrive.

Normally I would be posting this Journal out in the next couple of weeks but unfortunately our post office is closed until the middle of April so nobody is going to get a Journal for at least six weeks. I have not put it into the Journal Catalogue as I am still posting out Journal 73 to any new UK subscribers - regrettably I can't send anything overseas at present.

[Aussie Sue]

Tony, We all know it will be great when it arrives so no one minds waiting. The Postal system is still appalling in Australia too. I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't post pictures to this site.

cheers Sue

[John Pickup]

What a lovely cover signifying the onset of spring. I'm sure the wait will be worth it when the journals finally arrive on our doormats.

[Julie2owlsdene]

That's a lovely cover, it will certainly cheer everyone up, something we all badly need I would think.

[Courtenay]

Looks lovely, Tony! I'll be very interested to see what's in it.

[Anita Bensoussane]

It looks beautiful and, as others have said, will be well worth the wait!

[Lucky Star]

Looks very pastoral. Nice fresh colours. Hopefully it will complement a nice fresh start to the world.

[Daisy]

That's a lovely thought, John. Yes, it looks very attractive, doesn't it.

[Daisy]

Good to see the contents list --- not too much longer to wait now, I guess.

[John Pickup]

Something for the weekend, sir?
Enid Blyton Society Journal 74 would be nice, if you've got one.
Certainly, sir.
Thank you very much.

I shall delve into it later!

[Boatbuilder]

My Journal 74 has just arrived!

[Eddie Muir]

My Journal arrived at lunchtime. It looks great, as always, and I shall enjoy reading it this evening. My subscription renewal cheque is already in the post to you, Tony.

[timv]

I've now received and read m y Journal; many thanks as usual to Tony and all my fellow-contributors. More fascinating titbits of non - series Blyton material and analysis; I remember reading some of Enid's stories for small children in early annuals when I was about six or seven, but the names and the dates of these books have become a bit blurred over the years. In my case some were passed on by older cousins and I think others belonged to my mother from when she used to read them to her class as a teacher in the 1940s so I can't be sure when they came out. It would be great to have a proper guide to all these annuals published, both those for younger and older children, to know which is which and get dates; info on them is scattered across the internet and difficult to put together. (Some of the major authors of adventure/ family books pop up writing individual stories in them; I have come across Monica Edwards and Noel Streatfeild in 1950s annuals.)

A fascinating article by Neville Barlow on the possible underlying psychological background of some of Enid's characters, the Five in particular ; I have never really thought of Julian as representing Enid's idealised image of her absent father , or Dick as her 'fitting in with society's expectations' side, though the origins of George and Anne are more obvious. Critics go on about Julian as bossy and pompous but he is not half as bad as some 'managing' older brother/ cousin figures in 1940s-50s adventure series , eg Guy in Lorna Hill's Northumberland 'Markorie' books - why does Enid always get the blame?)

Nor did I think of Mr and Mrs Stick as the basic images of what Enid thought of as the stock 'bad / dysfunctional' family, scruffy, surly, greedy, bullying, and out for themselves - I shall see them in a new light from now on! Good comment about Aily; is she a sort of Blyton version of the idealised 'child of Nature' like Heidi in Joanna Spyri's Alpine series? Perhaps we should now defend Enid's supposed 'snobbish and outdated' view of working-class families like the Sticks as criminals who the Five can look down on, which critics love to highlight (the Pavlovian response theory is spot on, thanks Don Townshend for that), as a result of her traumatised childhood? That way , the critics would be put in the wrong, as failing to show proper sympathy for her!

[Kate Mary]

My copy of the Journal has arrived and it was well worth the wait. It popped through the letterbox just as I'd made a cup of coffee so I've already read the editorial, the poems and The Play's Not The Thing!

Lots more treats in store but I've no time to read more now, many thanks to all the contributors and the editor.