Journal 77

[Aussie Sue]

I haven't had mine yet... did I miss renewing my subscription? (I've just checked and I definitely informed Tony of my change of address last year, so it's not that.)

Your subscription ran out in July last year and you didn't renew and you therefore haven't had the last two Journals, 76 and 77. You actually posted about Journal 76 in its thread and got support for remarks from both Aussie Sue and Boatbuilder. I was pretty hurt by what you put as I am the person who spends many hours on every Journal, but I have never asked anybody to comment. You did send me your new address, but I didn't like to say that you hadn't even received Journal 76. In case you have forgotten this is what you wrote:-

"Maybe it's just me, but can I just say the constant guilt-mongering over people failing to comment on the latest Journal (this happens in the forums with almost every new issue) actually makes me feel LESS inclined to comment on the latest Journal?"

Tony,
I do hope you did not take my response to Courtney’s post as a negative opinion of the Journals. I was confirming that everyone is different & not everyone wants to write opinions on other people’s work, but that in no way says they don’t enjoy them and appreciate all the time you put in. By the time we get the Journal in Australia there have been many comments & I do not feel the need to add more. I adore receiving the Journals and all the Enid information they contain. I think you can be sure that people who have subscribed to the Journal for many years and continue to do so, love and appreciate your Journals.

Looking forward to Journal 77 arriving in Adelaide.

cheers
Aussie Sue

[Chrissie777]

Well, I hope I'll not offend Tony or others, but I sure wish there would be more articles in the EBS Journal about EB's suspenseful series and stand-alone books.
I must admit that I really don't have any interest in Brer Rabbit, Wishing Chair, Nobby, Faraway Tree and Malory Towers which seems to become more and more the main topics over the past 2 or 3 years.
I understand that this is of course different with the English speaking readers who grew up with those children's books, but all they translated into German were the FF, the Adventure, the Mystery and the Secret Seven series plus the boarding school books (Hanni und Nanni, Dolly, which I didn't care for).

There were only 2 interesting articles for me in the last 4 or 5 EBS Journals (on an average two in each one).
Way back in 2013/2014 the EBS Journals were a lot more interesting when I subscribed to them first.
But then I think that maybe everything has been said about the FF, Adventure series, Adventurous Four and Mystery series?

Any thoughts or am I really the only one who feels this way?

[pete9012S]

Lots of articles in the Journals aren't always about subjects I necessarily would be drawn to as you say Chrissie.

There are however for me always at least three or four articles announced that I just know I will enjoy when the Journal is published.

Constructive suggestions from long time subscribers like yourself on the sort of articles you would like are always taken on board by Tony in my opinion - heck, he's even inserted quite a few Betty Maxey illustrations for me.

I think also, that because Enid's writing career spanned such a long period of time for such a varying age of readers that there's bound to be some characters that do not appeal.

I personally cannot get into the Brer Rabbit stories, but like you, I absolutely love the standalone books.

Articles on them really appeal to me - but of course that's only my personal opinion.

Another thing I often do is search through the Journal Index for previous articles on the standalone books, then dig the older Journal out and re-read the article.

I think because this is The Enid Blyton Society, vibrant talk, discussion, appreciation about all aspects of The Enid Blyton Society Journal is what I look forward to most, and for me is the lifeblood of why most of us are actually here.

I hope to contribute to the Journal myself one day if my article was considered good enough.
I would really enjoy an article written by you Chrissie, possibly about your thoughts on the standalone books.
I would really look forward to reading that - even if it was only a short one page article.

Here is a link to Journal Index 68 which may help searching out previous articles:

Journal Index68.pdf
https://www.docdroid.net/ocgoshD/journal-index68-pdf

With very best wishes to you and of course Andre!

Pete

[Moonraker]

Tony can only publish articles that members of the Society write, apart from the excerpts from Enid's own articles from the past. Therefore, if there seem to be gaps in certain series or books, you could consider to put pen to paper, Chrissie. Like Pete, I would love to read some articles written by you, especially as you hail from a non-GB background. Of course, you are free to start new topics on this forum if you yearn for discussion on the lesser known titles. This is not meant as any criticism of your post, Chrissie, I hasten to add; just a thought.

[Chrissie777]

Thank you so much, Pete and Nigel, for your very kind words.
I was a bit worried that my post was hurting other members' feelings which was not my intention.
Everybody gets something different out of(f) their EBS Journal and for me it's always the few articles on the suspenseful series and stand-alone books.
One or two years ago a German member wrote a really nice article on his FF story in a Journal which would have been too similar to my own story (plus I've repeated mine so many times in the forums).

However, some 5 or 6 years ago I thought about writing an article on our walk along the Thames river between Marlow and Bourne End which André and I did in late September 2008 on a very warm Sunday when he was working in the UK for 11 months, but I simply worried that my English isn't good enough for that.

And William Ferguson who published several articles himself in the EBS Journal suggested that we could co-write an article on Kirrin Castle and it's origins as André and I visited the Channel Islands in May 2014, a place which most likely inspired EB to create Kirrin Castle and Kirrin Island in the FF series of books. I took dozens of photos which would look nice in colour...don't know how they would come out in b & w?

[Chrissie777]

Constructive suggestions from long time subscribers like yourself on the sort of articles you would like are always taken on board by Tony in my opinion - heck, he's even inserted quite a few Betty Maxey illustrations for me.
Pete

Yes, your Betty Maxey banter ALWAYS makes me chuckle!

[pete9012S]

[Moonraker]

However, some 5 or 6 years ago I thought about writing an article on our walk along the Thames river between Marlow and Bourne End, but I simply worried that my English isn't good enough for that.

Your English seems excellent to me, Chrissie!

[pete9012S]

Yes, you speak and write great English, your Journal subscription is up to date - go for it Chrissie.

Why don't a few of us join Chrissie and give Tony the fright of his life by bombarding him with new and exciting potential Journal articles!

[Katharine]

Chrissie, I definitely don't think you should worry about your English 'not being good enough'. From what I've read of your posts on the Forums, it always seems pretty good to me.

I wouldn't worry either about repeating something that you've posted on the forums. I'm not sure of the figures, but I suspect that a lot of the Journals go to people who don't look on-line, so they might not have seen your previous posts anyway.

If you are unsure about writing something, maybe you could start with a short article?

[Moonraker]

I'm not sure of the figures, but I suspect that a lot of the Journals go to people who don't look on-line, so they might not have seen your previous posts anyway.

Probably 95% of Journal subscribers never look at the forums!

[pete9012S]

I always wonder about that.
I ponder sometimes over what the reason could be?

[Anita Bensoussane]

I'm busy with family at the moment but I enjoyed Journal 77 very much and will have more to say about it in a few days. All feedback on the contents is of value. Since the Journal deals with all aspects of Enid Blyton's life and work, it's only to be expected that readers will be drawn to different things and perhaps have little interest in some items while getting a lot out of others. It would be great to see articles by Chrissie, Pete and anyone else.

Thanks for working on the Pennant Readers, Tony. What a treat to be able to read these gems and admire Eileen Soper's gorgeous illustrations. I see that Number 7 has now been added.

Anita's "Stories to put a spring in your step"...had me tracking down the stories in my collection, I have them all except Buttercup Day and Anita includes some of my favourites Mr Grumpygroo's Hat, Tom the Scout-Cub and It Came Back To Him In The End. A summer selection next time perhaps Anita?

I certainly hope to pick out a summer-themed selection, Kate. It's fun revisiting old favourites. Thanks to everyone who has commented on my article.

[John Pickup]

There will always be articles that don't appeal to some members but do to others. This will be true of any magazine or journal.
As an occasional contributor, I enjoy reading other people's thoughts and comments on the various articles. I think it's important that members leave their opinions in the thread, not only so the contributors can see how their work was received but also so Tony can gauge which of the many works of Enid's are popular with the membership.
The journal isn't just about the articles though. For me, the highlights tend to be the ephemera, letters and obscurities that Tony digs out for us every issue.
Our editor spends an enormous amount of time compiling and formulating the journal which, as an end product, must rank as probably the best publication dedicated to one particular author anywhere in the world.
I sincerely hope that others will consider submitting an article, I'm sure Tony will welcome any new material.
For me, the Journal and the Cave is the society. My thanks go to Tony for ensuring we have both.

[Boodi 2]

Fully agree John Pickup, it is always the case that magazines and journals contain articles that appeal to some people and not to others, as everyone is different. I also commented on a previous occasion that sometimes when I see the list of contents I think "article XX sounds wonderful, but article YY does not really interest me". However, when I actually read them it can turn out that article XX did not live up to my expectations, while article YY was more interesting than expected.

Chrisse, believe me your English is fine and I speak from my experience as a language editor/proofreader!

I have often considered writing an article from the perspective of Boodi and providing a bit of information about Iceland ponies, but thought it might be a bit too "horsey" for the journal. However, perhaps I should write it anyway and let Tony decide !!!