Enid Blyton fans, meet up

[Moonraker]

Sounds like you're possibly the one to organise that, Boodi!

[Boodi 2]

I'm afraid I'm not very good at organising things Moonraker, but obviously if there was any interest I would do my best, as we have plenty of castles, caves and islands here, which would make a very appropriate setting for a Blyton-inspired meeting/picnic!!!

[Boatbuilder]

... as we have plenty of castles, caves and islands here ...

I visited an interesting castle along the Rhine many years ago - Marksburg Castle at Braubach. Had a very enjoyable evening at the castle with lots of beer flowing and entertainment from an Oompah band and dancers. Also the company of the local Wine Queen and Princesses. That was 44 years ago and I wonder if they still have nights like that there. I'll try and find some of the pictures which were taken as slides which I scanned some years ago. I still have the stone beer mug from there.

[Katharine]

Once Covid is over, if anyone wants to buy me plane tickets to Germany and/or Australia, I'll happily come along for a meet up.

[Jomo]

And if I can’t rake together enough Old Blytonians to have a decent afternoon tea with in Melbourne, I’ll happily accept a fare to either Germany or the UK to meet up with all of you.

[Boodi 2]

That sounds wonderful John and there were still nights like that until the restrictions to combat the pandemic came into force almost two years ago.

[Boatbuilder]

Thanks, Monique. Yes, I could understand that it would have been affected by the last two years, but it's nice to know there were still having them and probably will continue to do so some time in the not too distant future.

[Julie2owlsdene]

As lovely as the meet ups sounds, and I've been on plenty over the years, sadly I wouldn't travel too far afield.

[Sallyh]

Just a thought on a meetup location - although Old Thatch is now sadly closed, the area around Marlow is obviously all Findouters country. Would it be an idea to meet say in Marlow or Cookham to have a pub lunch and a boat trip as we discussed before? There is a railway station at both Marlow and Cookham, I believe.

[Courtenay]

And if I can’t rake together enough Old Blytonians to have a decent afternoon tea with in Melbourne, I’ll happily accept a fare to either Germany or the UK to meet up with all of you.

I'm hoping to get back to Melbourne (where I come from) some time early in 2023 — assuming all travelling is OK by then — so I'd be delighted to meet up in the Dandenongs with any other Blyton fans! I can't remember if I've actually been to Miss Marple's Tea Room in Sassafras, but I've definitely been past it and I know where it is. Lovely area.

Just a thought on a meetup location - although Old Thatch is now sadly closed, the area around Marlow is obviously all Findouters country. Would it be an idea to meet say in Marlow or Cookham to have a pub lunch and a boat trip as we discussed before? There is a railway station at both Marlow and Cookham, I believe.

I would love to be part of this too, but unfortunately Buckinghamshire is a bit harder to get to from where I am now (northern Cheshire) than from where I used to live until last year (western Kent)!! But if I know of any Blyton meet-ups well in advance, there's a chance I could arrange to be there. I'm always amazed at how fast the trains are — only just over 2 hours from Manchester to London! — so it's not utterly impossible...

[Jomo]

Melbourne Old Blytonians meetup at Miss Marple’s could be happening



Depending on interest we might take a ride on Puffing Billy as well

https://puffingbilly.com.au/about/

- and you’re all welcome

[Courtenay]

Ooh wow, I haven't been on Puffing Billy since 2008! Definitely worth a trip, for anyone who hasn't been before and even for those who have.

Seriously, do we have any other EBS members who are in or near Melbourne or have connections with it? I thought we did, but not all the Aussies here post regularly (I know I've been slack lately too) and I can't quite remember where everyone's from...

[Jomo]

I assume we have some members in Melbourne, I’ll be happy if we can get a small group together and have a good time.
If not I could be having an Enid Blyton day out in the Dandenongs by myself.
I may read some stories to random strangers, who knows?

I once took my sister on a Famous Five adventure day - we just packed a picnic (chocolate and ginger beer included) and hiked a short distance to a beach with a sea cave at ‘Ghosties Beach’ on the Central Coast south of Newcastle NSW - sounds spine chilling doesn’t it? We couldn’t go in because there was still too much water in the caves and we couldn’t stay until low tide. It’s on a deserted beach with no car access close by. The beach is great.

[Courtenay]

Ooh wow! I hadn't heard of "Ghosties Beach", but where I grew up in Inverloch (150 km SE of Melbourne), there's a stretch of coastline nearby with two caves in the cliffs, known inventively as The Caves. We went exploring in them once or twice, but it was dark and a bit scary even with a torch and there were bats in there, so we didn't stay long. Those caves also flood at high tide and I remember us having to scramble out through rushing water and over wet rocks as the tide came pouring in. Which was pretty Blytonesque, as in her novella At Seaside Cottage (actually the first story to feature Peter and Janet from the Secret Seven, although I didn't know that when I read it), there's an incident where the children get trapped in a cave as the tide rises and they have to be rescued! Fortunately it never came to that for us...

[Jomo]

I have just realised that Enid Blyton Day as previously celebrated on the Second Saturday in May falls on the Mother’s Day weekend in Australia and New Zealand (I was consulting my fabulous Famous Five 2022 calendar). So the cafes in the Dandenongs are probably going to be full of people taking their mum out for lunch or perhaps High Tea!
We’ll have to do it on a weekday - about 8 weeks from now.
I had best decide on a date and get on with publicising the event