The Enid Blyton Society

The Ginger Pop Shop at Corfe Castle will be open this summer 2015 but faces an uncertain future.

Our venture in Poole closed at the end of 2012. So many things went wrong, most of which were totally beyond my control. I was fed-up with anything to do with Blyton and started another project, leaving Fiona to run the Ginger Pop Shop at Corfe Castle. That is why I gave up looking at the Forums - I couldn't face it!

Autumn 2013, and a new set of problems arose at the Corfe shop. The National Trust owns the building, the Post Master owns the lease on the building, and I sub-let from him. However the Royal Mail decided that all Post Offices in the UK were to either become LOCAL (as part of a village shop, open 7 days a week, extended hours, and paid a pittance) or a main office. This meant that the Corfe Castle post office would have to move, but there was a problem in that the village shop was itself changing hands. At that time I took the decision that there was a 50% chance that Ginger Pop would still be open summer 2014 and kept Fiona employed. Last autumn I decided that there was only an 20% chance that we would be open this summer and so had to make Fiona redundant, losing a staff member with many years of experience and more patience with customers than I have!

All this has been totally unfair on Post Master Ian, my landlord. His money is tied up in the lease of the building, which is now up for sale. He will let me stay as long as is possible, but after that it depends on who buys the lease and what they want to do with a very odd building (it is an amalgam of bits of three buildings, propped up on one side by the graveyard, and goes around the bend!) The move to the village shop is now scheduled for the end of July, which is too late for anyone to push me out before the summer season!

If Ginger Pop is to continue the emphasis will have to change. Enid Blyton book sales have collapsed, following a binge of pile-it-high and sell-it-cheap promotions by the publishers. This works well with things you use weekly like toilet rolls and baked beans, but we all know that even paperback books last 30+ years. These box sets sold in their thousand and are appearing as-new in charity shops and car boot sales. Everytime someone came in and told me that I had "a lovely shop" and walked out having not found a single thing to buy, I took as a vote for closure.

Hodders have no intention of working with me. Last week, at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, I discovered that they have made arrangements to work with the National Trust and will be running an Event at Corfe Castle on 11th August. This sounds very much like Enid Blyton's Birthday Party, which I single handedly organised for 10 years.

So, I live in interesting and uncertain times.

Viv

So sorry to hear your news Viv, I hope it works out ok in the end. What a shame about Hodders not working with you. Definitely their loss I would say.

I'm hoping you will be able to stay open, and I'm glad I managed to visit last year, and I'm glad I wasn't one of those 'customers' who enjoyed the shop without buying anything. If memory serves me right, we left with an old Noddy jigsaw, one or two new miniature jigsaws and a golly or two. Unfortunately it's unlikely we'll be visiting again this year because of the distance.

I do hope all this uncertainly works out for you Viv.

I do try and pop in when I'm down as you know, and will give you a hand with your second hand books when I next get the time.

I wonder if Enid Blyton is slowly losing her readers? Or is she just as popular as ever? We all love her, we know, but I wonder what the rest of the children are interested in these days.

My own grandson is a Blyton fan, which I've promoted, but so far the other two are not!

Sorry the future of the Ginger Pop Shop is so uncertain, Viv. It's a great little shop, full of imaginative and unusual goodies. I hope things work out for you.

Sorry to hear this news, Viv - I hope things improve soon.

Last week, at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, I discovered that they have made arrangements to work with the National Trust and will be running an Event at Corfe Castle on 11th August. This sounds very much like Enid Blyton's Birthday Party, which I single handedly organised for 10 years.

That is dreadful. They obviously liked your ideas and have stolen them for themselves. Have they given you any reason why they have chosen to do this event themselves?

There has been no contact with Hodders for ages - even my sales rep has left!

I've decided that I'm not too bothered. If they do lots of publicity for a one day event, I'll get the benefit for the rest of the year!, and for no effort on my behalf!

Oh heck - I've just got somone in the room-

Her - "is this a shop where you can buy things?"

Me - "yes - this is a till that is very greedy for money"

It's not been a good day so far - the first four in the door this morning told me it was "a lovely shop" whist walking out

(all forgiven - she spent over £5!)

I'm sorry to hear your news, Viv. Here's hoping that things improve for you in the not-too-distant future. Corfe would not be the same without the lovely Ginger Pop shop.

I've cheered up - a lady age 70+ has just bought her first Famous Five book!

This is terrible news for you Viv and I'm so sorry. You have worked extremely hard over the years and have touched and affected many people. Blyton's legacy has definitely been enhanced and perpetuated through your efforts.

Ginger Pop is a lovely shop (sorry) and I hope it stays open. If your current location has to close could you moive it to somewhere else? Swanage or Wareham perhaps? Just thoughts. Stay positive if you can. Good luck.

Absolutely dreadful news, Viv! I know it's no real comfort to you, but the things you're going through are happening all over the Country. It's seems everything is falling around our ears & there seems no solution to the problems. I can't see how this Government can blatantly say we, as a Nation, are now prospering!

I popped into the Ginger Pop shop a few times whilst I was in Corfe last Summer & had a good chat with Fiona, Who was lovely & very enthusiastic about Blyton. There were plenty of folk in your shop but, like you said in your post, no one was really buying! How frustrating for you. I do hope all works out for you, Viv, & you can re-employ Fiona again!

PS: I did buy a few items during my visit to your shop last year!

Very upsetting news, Viv. Like everyone else here, I love your shop and hope things do work out somehow for you to keep going.

Even apart from all the wonderful Blyton-related items, Ginger Pop is a wonderful place for '40s/'50s memorabilia and nostalgia. Is there any way you could build further on that, perhaps - not losing the Blyton connection but having a more general emphasis? It's a little disturbing to think that Enid's popularity might be waning at last, but if that's so, maybe it suggests all the "modernising" and deletion of golliwogs etc. hasn't had a positive effect after all...

I'm pleased to be able to say that I've bought something every time I've visited - the Corfe Castle shop twice, the Poole shop (when it was there) once - and would drop in regularly if only I lived a bit closer to Dorset! You and your shop are a real asset to the world of Blyton fans, Viv, and we never want to lose you.

So sad to hear your news Viv... and do hope there is some kind of satisfactory outcome. Like everyone else I have been so pleased to see your lovely little shop which you showed me when I came to help with the Secret Island day seven years ago. All the very best to you and here's hoping there will be a positive outcome for you.

I've only had the chance to visit Viv's businesses once (Eileen Soper's Illustrated Worlds and the Ginger Pop Shop were both open at the time). They were fantastic and I bought a 2010 copy of Five Go Off in a Caravan from her. I wanted it so I could compare it with my 1970s paperback rather than actually "read" it - it's the version in which Nobby has become Ned! Fingers crossed that there is a future for the Ginger Pop Shop - it deserves to survive and thrive!