The Enid Blyton Society

Daisy wrote:It was quite a thrill to make my first visit to the place where Scouting began, in the centenary year of the first camp there.

Yes, I could imagine how thrilled you must have felt on your first visit to the Scouting Camp, Daisy. I, too, visited the island in the centenary year. As I remember, it was cram packed with Scouts/Guides from all over the World!

Rob Houghton wrote:I can't remember when I first read 'Mystery To Solve' - think I was about 28...but then I didn't really read a Famous Five novel until I was 23!

Really, Rob. I'm quite surprised at that. I thought like maybe the rest of us, you would have devoured most of Enid's books in childhood. Nice to see you did finally read the books though.

My sister had them all, with the Maxey covers, but I thought they were for teenagers (as my sister is 6 years older than me) so I never read them. I read two Famous Five annuals from the 1980's (Mystery Moor and Smuggler's Top) but nothing else until I read 'Five On A Treasure Island' aged about 23 or 24. It was the only EB series (Apart from Malory Towers and St Claire's) that I never really read as a child!

Oooooh! Just found this photo. It's the same Brownsea Red Squirrel from my previous post. He's a young un!

Another great photo, Number 6.

I love looking at your photos, number 6. Like you, I love nature, trees, animals and the sounds of wind, ocean, birds. They give peace to my heart.

Thanks Eddie & Sixret! I can't seem to get the sharpness with the photos I post. They always look slightly blurred!

I've always loved Wildlife, as far back as I can remember. I used to be a full time Conservationist when I was younger, but these jobs dried up & a lot of them went to volunteers, etc. A cheaper labour force for the Conservation bodies. I used to do all sorts of work, ranging from habitat management to dry stone walling. I still do the odd, occasional job in this field, but it's a rarity. I do miss the day to day challenge that Nature threw at me. Ah, the good old days!

That Red Squirrel again! Eating lunch...My Lunch!

He really is lovely, Number 6. I've made friends with a few squirrels over the years but they've always been grey squirrels.

He's so cute.
Look at him sitting there holding his lunch just like we hold a sandwich.
And he's got lovely little elbows and feet!

He looks like he's smiling in that last photo!

Grey Squirrels are great as well, Anita. We've got a few who visit our garden every day. I put monkey nuts out for them & I love the way they sit on the bird table nibbling through the shell to get the nut inside! It's great to watch them run around the garden, trying to find a place to bury a few for another day!

Definitely cute, Carlotta! He sat by my feet for around 15 mins, scoffing his little face with peanuts & a bit of digestive biscuit. He even nicked a bit of my bread. Cheeky little chap! Despite his table manners, it was certainly lovely to share a picnic with a Red Squirrel on such a beautiful sunny day.

We have two or three grey squirrels. Sometimes, they have nested in our pine tree in our garden, and now that the tree is mature enough it has pine cones, which they love to eat. We also feed them monkey nuts and if there aren't any nuts left for them, one of the squirrels comes to look in through the glass door and stands on his hind legs, almost banging on the pane to get our attention, and chattering. He even takes nuts from my dad's hand.

Great stuff, Rob! The Grey's do get a bad press at times, but you can't help but love them! You've been quite lucky to have had them nesting in your garden, & having one almost knocking on your glass doors is certainly a bonus! I bet your dad was pretty chuffed when the Squirrel took nuts from his hand!

The island that Lottie dolls live on is also based on Brownsea Island. I think it uses an archaic name for Brownsea Island.

That would be Branksea, which is indeed an older name for Brownsea: https://uk.lottie.com/collections/all/p ... 1260556387" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hadn't heard of Lottie dolls, but almost wish they'd been around when I was little — much more my kind of thing than Barbie!