Once Upon a Time . . .

Did you attend the last event? Are you going to the next Day?
Tony Summerfield
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Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I belonged to the now defunct 'Enid Blyton Book and Ephemera Collector's Society' (at the time we were called 'The Enid Blyton Literary Society' but we dropped 'Literary' when the other one folded). Although they were based up North in the UK, they used to hold small gatherings in various parts of the country. I went to two of these.

A meeting at Old Thatch attracted 20 to 30 people and the owners (not the current ones) showed us round the house and let us wander in the garden. It was a good hour or two as Old Thatch was not open to the public at that time and it was also a chance for those present to meet both Gillian and Barbara Stoney for the first time.

My second meeting was slightly different. It was arranged to take place in a function room at a pub in Hay on Wye. I made the two and a half hour drive, parked and went to the pub. I was met outside by the organiser who told me that he had cancelled the booking at the pub as I was the only person coming to the event! This was before the days of the internet and he had been unable to get in touch with me to let me know. We went to his car that was parked round the corner and he showed me a couple of books that he had in the boot and that was the end of the meeting and we went our separate ways.

There are a number of relevant places for small gatherings that I can think of, Beaconsfield, Exbury and Dorset, spring to mind and perhaps this is where our future lies. I know that other Societies do this, using different organisers for each event, and of course we now have a website (and a Journal) to be able to co-ordinate this more effectively, so that hopefully we wouldn't just get one poor soul turning up on his/her own.

Just food for thought and hopefully it will have a bit of feedback.
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Daisy »

I belong to one such society and we have "local" meetings about 5 times a year. There are at present 8 -10 members in my area who manage to meet regularly. The radius is roughly 40 miles and we vary the venues, but almost always there is a secondhand bookshop in the vicinity! We meet for lunch - sometimes in a cafe or pub and sometimes at the home of a member (in which case lunch is 'bring and share'), swop and lend books, usually have a quiz concocted by one of us and a good time is had by all. This is in addition to an AGM which is sometimes a day event and sometimes a weekend. Attendance at these varies but I think an average would be 60-80. I think such an idea could work for us too. There doesn't need to be a local co-ordinator but usually someone emerges who reminds/informs others of what's on next! We have a member who is not on the internet, but it doesn't matter as she does have a phone!
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Tony Summerfield wrote:There are a number of relevant places for small gatherings that I can think of, Beaconsfield, Exbury and Dorset, spring to mind and perhaps this is where our future lies. I know that other Societies do this, using different organisers for each event, and of course we now have a website (and a Journal) to be able to co-ordinate this more effectively, so that hopefully we wouldn't just get one poor soul turning up on his/her own.
Any kind of meeting would be better than nothing at all so it would be interesting to arrange a Day like that and see how many turn up. Inevitably, however, such gatherings will attract far fewer people than the Big Day at Loddon Hall. Would people still make the journey from abroad for a less formal event, with fewer attendees and (perhaps) just people bringing spare books to swap/sell rather than having proper stalls run by dealers? How much advance notice would we be able to give, and would it be hard to pick a date which would suit as many people as possible? Saturday or Sunday would usually be the best days for me but I'm sure others might prefer other days. Meeting up in small groups shouldn't be too hard to organise but it is sad if Days where we have over a hundred fans getting together from across the globe are at an end (not your fault if that is the case, Tony, as you have run the Enid Blyton Day for many years and those of us who have attended are extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to a wide range of speakers, browse the bookstalls and chat to so many like-minded fans year after year). It does feel like the end of an era though. Still, whatever happens we still have the website and these forums. They also bring us together and enable us to communicate regularly even with people who could never make it to an Enid Blyton Day. We tend to take it for granted these days, but just a couple of decades ago there were no online communities of this kind and I would have had no hope of getting to know and talk to people like (for instance) Aurélien from New Zealand. It's only just over a decade ago that I thought I was probably the only adult in existence who still read Enid Blyton! :lol:
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Personally, with the amount of people who have attended the E.B.Day the last three years that I've been going, I would say that Loddon Hall is the perfect place and the programme for most people works fine. I'm one of these people who think that if a 'thing works' then don't fix it or alter it in any way. The fact that everyone so far has reported that they thoroughly enjoyed the E.B. Day and are planning to come back next year, is evidence that it all works. I do however realize that the organization for Tony must be a horrendous task, but Tony, you must be doing something right, as everyone is always happy with the 'Days' you've organized. :D

Trying to organize something on a much smaller scale, is just as difficult. For example, our art group, of which I'm treasurer, go on an outing once a year, or should I say, try to. I get everyone together at the meeting and then we get the problems of can't do that day, don't want to go there etc. And so last year it all fell apart and we didn't go anywhere. With the E.B. Day everyone knows it's on a certain date of the year and the same venue, which in a way makes it easier for everyone to plan to have a day off work months and months in advance.

If the book sellers were disappointed with sales, maybe they could think of reducing their prices just for that one day. Also maybe the price of the ticket could go up, and the stall that the sellers pay for could come down slightly. Just a thought.

But having said that I would attend no matter where the venue was and as Anita says, it's part of the fun to meet up with everyone and have a good old chat!!

For me the Famous Five guys were brilliant and I'd love to see them again. Maybe they could get in touch with the young lady who played Anne and get her to come and join them all next year. Just another thought. :D

8)
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Daisy »

I think the main headache for Tony is getting speakers which a smaller local gathering would render unnecessary. I think we all agree Lodden Hall and the format we have at the moment is ideal from lots of points of view, but if an attraction such as speakers gets harder by the year, as I'm sure it does, and the booksellers are less than pleased with their profits, then an alternative should at least be considered on an "if all else fails" basis. Perhaps the booksellers can take from the day the message that books are only worth what someone is prepared to pay, so as Julie suggests, a reduction in some prices might get their stock moving, and give them some return, even if not as much as they'd hoped.
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .Just My Thoughts

Post by Moonraker »

I have always believed in going out on a high. Far better not to have another Society Day than to have a downward spiral of alternative functions, which would be a shadow of the real thing, and probably fizzle out after a couple of years or so. We already have Viv's events at Corfe for those who like to congregeate around a Blyton theme. There are also attractions such as Old Thatch to visit. But neither of these - good as they may be - would substitute for a Day where people from all over the world, united by a love of Enid Blyton - congregate at a central venue to browse through thousands of books and memorabilia, listen to speakers of the quality we had this year and share in the fellowship of like-minded people.

If Tony cannot face another year of organising this event - and who can blame him if he cannot? I would rather remember good times past rather than attempt a third-rate event.

Julie makes some valid points. Dealers are renowned for their high prices, although there were bargains to be found. Having said that, £95 for a scruffy The Three Golliwogs did seem a tad high. I bought a copy locally of a book of short stories - including one about Golly, Woggie and Nigger - for £2. Even if T3Gs was worth £95, I didn't notice anyone buying it. I wonder what the dealer paid for it?

Jenny Thanisch, who played Anne, gave up acting and the public role, as far as I know. One strange fact about her was that she never told her children about her life as Anne Kirrin. Unless she has had a change of heart, I doubt if she would appear on a stage to talk about her television career. Obviously, Gary might know more about her.
Anita wrote:Any kind of meeting would be better than nothing at all


I can't argue with that sentiment, as some of us had a great time in the grounds of my stately home a few years back. However, sometimes you have to cut your losses and remember the good times. Nothing wrong with a "meet-up", but as an alternative to the Enid Blyton Day that we all know and love, it is not.


Don't look so sad, I know it's over,
But life goes on and this ol' world will keep on turning.
Let's just be glad we had some time to spend together.
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Eddie Muir »

I think that Loddon Hall is the ideal venue for the Enid Blyton Day and it would be a sad to have to change the present arrangement which has worked so well for the past ten years. Getting speakers is undoubtedly the biggest headache and I don't really know what the answer is here. However, I heartedly agree that some of the dealers should be charging less for their books if they want to increase sales. Some of the books on sale at this year's meeting have been on sale for several years running. I won't embarrass the dealer in question, but a book I would quite like to own has been on offer at £95 for the past three years and, sure enough, it was still on the dealer's stall for the same price this year. This clearly doesn't make any sense at all! Perhaps as an incentive to bring the dealers back next year, they could be charged less for their stalls. I'd be more than happy to pay more for my tickets to counterbalance any loss made in this instance. In fact, I'd be more than happy to pay far more for my tickets for the big Day anyway because, if Tony charged double the present rate for them, they would still be great value. I'll jump off my soapbox now! :D
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Eddie Muir »

I didn't read Nigel's post until after I'd posted my own, and I have now read it with interest and am inclined to agree with what this wise man has to say. :D

I also agree with the equally wise, Anita when she says that "any kind of meeting would be better than nothing at all". :D
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Just a thought, Tony, if the organizing of the E.B. Day is hard work, for one, which I've no doubt it is, would it be easier to take on a partner to help you? I was just wondering whether Norman, who introduces everything on stage, would be able to partner the help? This I know doesn't sort out the speakers!!

8)
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Eddie Muir »

Julie2owlsdene wrote:If the book sellers were disappointed with sales, maybe they could think of reducing their prices just for that one day. Also maybe the price of the ticket could go up, and the stall that the sellers pay for could come down slightly. Just a thought.

When I said I was in agreement with the dealers reducing their prices, etc., I should have mentioned that I plagiarized your wise words, Julie. :oops:
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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Tony Summerfield
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I think that the main problem for the dealers was that the vast majority of the audience had absolutely no interest in buying anything at all and they didn't even get as far as looking at the book prices, they just enjoyed the exhibition. As I said in a previous post had it not been for the new booklets (all of which made a loss anyway), it wouldn't have been worth having a Society stall as we sold next to nothing (and I promise you I sell everything as cheaply as I can). I also said that we picked up no new members despite there being about 30 people there who don't belong to the Society - both these statistics are records. If the dealers can sell books at the prices they ask (they are all very experienced and know what they are doing), why bother to come huge distances to an event where very few people are interested in buying anything - even cheap paperbacks.

I think the whole non buying process was nicely summed up by a couple who had their portraits done assuming that it was a free service. When they found it wasn't, they refused to pay for them.
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Aurélien »

Hmmm......mayhap an on-line 'virtual reality' day that everyone can attend? Something in glorious 3-D HD, and more exciting than so-called 'live' chats crossed with tele-conferencing...... :?: :?:

Stick-in-the-mud oldster, 'Aurélien Arkadiusz' 8)
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Lucky Star »

It is a conundrum indeed. There is simply no way to force people to buy books. Is this a problem which only occurred this year or has it been noticed before I wonder? If it is exclusive to this year then it may well be a mere hiccup caused by any number of factors such as the general state of recession the economy is in.

Finding speakers must surely continue to be the biggest headache and one that seems to be borne by Tony alone. I too would not blame him if he decided to call it a day. (No pun intended :lol: ) I agree with Nigel that we should not try to replace The EBS Day with something inferior but the suggestion that we all gather somewhere like Old Thatch or Bourne End or Corfe Castle once a year is a good one if The Main Event does not go ahead.

And how on earth could that couple have been so stupid as to think that their tickets entitled them to free portraits? :evil: Honestly. Did they not wonder why there were not lengthy queues for these "free" portraits? And even if I had made such a mistake I would be so embarrssed that I would pay up immediately. Unbelievable!
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Moonraker »

Eddie Muir wrote: won't embarrass the dealer in question, but a book I would quite like to own has been on offer at £95 for the past three years and, sure enough, it was still on the dealer's stall for the same price this year.
I wonder what the dealer's reaction would have been if you had pointed it out to him, and offered to pay him £40 just to get it off his hands? I have always believed that an item is worth what someone will pay for it. Clearly, this book can't have been worth £95.
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Re: Once Upon a Time . . .

Post by Rob Houghton »

Moonraker wrote:
Eddie Muir wrote: won't embarrass the dealer in question, but a book I would quite like to own has been on offer at £95 for the past three years and, sure enough, it was still on the dealer's stall for the same price this year.
I wonder what the dealer's reaction would have been if you had pointed it out to him, and offered to pay him £40 just to get it off his hands? I have always believed that an item is worth what someone will pay for it. Clearly, this book can't have been worth £95.
I'm sure I remember the book in question from previous EB Days, because I think it's a book I too would be interested in... 8)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
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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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