Teachers World Letters, Jan 1930 - July 1934

[Jack400]

For a real challenge , try pressing Control and - (Minus)

[John Pickup]

I'd just about given up trying to read this weeks letter until I saw Tony's advice about pressing Ctrl and +. That has certainly helped.

[Kate Mary]

Another bumper children's page this week, no photograph, sadly, but we must have Enid's longest ever poem. I remember my dad collecting flower seeds and storing them in envelopes until the following year, especially runner beans, he kept them in old shoe box in the shed. I'd forgotten that until I read Enid's letter.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/blyt ... perid=1017" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anita Bensoussane]

Plenty happening at Old Thatch as always - I love hearing about the birds, animals and flowers. Fancy a teacher sending Enid Blyton some home-made butter and cheese.

I've met Mister Stamp-About in a few stories but I didn't know he was a wallpaper man!

[Katharine]

I really enjoyed the story. I like the way Enid says that he sat down on it, and it was stuck to his overall 'at the back'. No need for the use of bottom, backside or any of the other words that would be used today.

I enjoyed reading about the seeds, I know people who still keep their seeds in envelopes. I wonder how many of the flowers mentioned are widely grown today? I have to admit I've no idea what Clarkia is/are. (I will Google later). I had to chuckle at the thought of Enid encouraging the collecting of dandelions - she had obviously never encountered neighbours armed with bottles of weed killer!

I really liked the way that Enid tries to cater for all children when she suggests the growing of seeds in pots on a windowsill if they haven't got a garden. Just because she lived somewhere with a massive garden, she was obviously sensitive to the fact that not all children would have the same.

I also loved the description of the horse returning to its farm, I wonder if the farm is still there?

[Rob Houghton]

I presume the farm is the same farm that is located a few yards up the lane from Old Thatch? It was still there last time I visited...or rather, the buildings were still there - not sure if it was still a farm. It's known as Spade Oak Farm.

Here's a link to a property for sale at Spade Oak Farm - although it says the property has been removed for sale - but you can still view it.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... 63958.html

[Katharine]

Wow, that's a lovely property Rob. I have been to Old Thatch a couple of times, but don't remember much about the area, other than the walk from the station along the river path.

[Anita Bensoussane]

An absolutely fascinating page this week. Enid sees a big steamer come in, describes how a binder cuts the corn and tells us about the three horses who work on the farm. I like the photo, although on glancing at the caption I misread the last horse's name at first! Bobs' letter about the kittens is interesting, and we also have a simple puzzle and an entertaining story. A wonderful glimpse of bygone days.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/blyt ... perid=1018" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Courtenay]

I loved reading about the corn-cutting and the binder too, and Boxer the horse being stuck in the mud! I wonder what the teachers' excursion on the steamer was about — it was obviously something official that was planned (perhaps by the government department in question, whatever it was called then?), especially as Enid obviously knew about it and went to watch them go by.

The story was fun too, although I thought it was less satisfying than a lot of Enid's stories along similar lines, where a thief or other wrong-doer gets his comeuppance — he did in this case, but the stolen goods weren't returned to their owners, so there wasn't such a sense of justice as there usually is in Enid's stories. But it's always interesting to read works by her that weren't later reprinted elsewhere, especially from her early years as a writer — we can already see a lot of the elements that she would develop more and more as her style matured.

Can't help wondering about Patabang's kitten liking the taste of ink!!

[Kate Mary]

A super Children's Page with a lovely photo of the farm horses working. Sometimes these letters show just how much life has changed. The description of the corn being harvested by a three horse reaper binder and the shocks stacked behind is very interesting, it's all done by one man now on a combine with huge bales seen in the fields instead of stooks or shocks. It's intriguing about the teachers' trip on the river, was it just a day out for the hard-working teachers of Buckinghamshire perhaps?

I loved the story and the puzzle and especially the last line of Enid's letter; 'Bobs smiled all over his face'. Brilliant.

[Anita Bensoussane]

As usual, an interesting account of the goings-on at Old Thatch this week:

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/blyt ... perid=1019" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The "funny sort of wave" that came to Old Thatch has come to Essex too, over the last few days. Poor Bobs - I certainly wouldn't want to wear a fur coat in this heat!

I like the imaginative poem about the patchwork quilt!

[Rob Houghton]

Very interesting poem! I found it unusual for Enid, as she gives us an imperfect rhyme, choosing to couple 'bright' with 'nights' - although it does sort of rhyme, I just found it unusual, as its not often she would do this.

I remembered Bob's letter from the 'Letters from Bob' book I have (the reprint Tony did a while ago). Such great letters, I love how Enid so cleverly sees things from the animals point of view, and manages to be comical without being 'cutesy'.

[Kate Mary]

I wrote last week that the letters show how much life has changed, but they also show how much stays the same. Eighty-four years on we are having a heat-wave, a friend of mine has just found homes for some kittens and my mother-in-law used to bottle fruit until recently. And another lovely poem I haven't seen before.

[Kate Mary]

A charming poem this week to accompany Enid's and Bobs' letters but it's not the one quoted in the strapline. I checked my copy of The Enid Blyton Poetry Book and that is the same as the strapline, so we most likely have an uncollected poem with the same title.

Interesting to see the first publication of Round the Year with Enid Blyton began in this issue. I think I'll dust off my copy and read the chapters in the book as they appear weekly in the TW.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Interesting about the poem, Kate. Like Enid, I love to see dew-spangled cobwebs - though it feels a little early to be looking out for them. We went for a country walk on Sunday and found that the blackberries were nowhere near ripe yet, though the leaves on the trees are already turning crisp and golden.