The Enid Blyton Society

Posted: **16 Feb 2017, 20:13**

Your squirrels sound very friendly, Rob.

I hadn't heard of Lottie dolls before either, but I've just had a look at them and I think Lighthouse Keeper Lottie would have been the one for me if they'd been around when I was a child. I liked the thought of living in a lighthouse and operating the light!:

https://uk.lottie.com/collections/all/p ... ottie-doll" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Posted: **16 Feb 2017, 23:03**

Ooh, I think I would have wanted Forest Friend Lottie. She looks like she might find a home for herself in the Faraway Tree!

Aha, looking elsewhere on the site, I found the explanation of Lottie's home of Branksea — scroll down this page:

Lottie’s adventures take place on an imaginary island called Branksea, which is loosely based on a real-life island called Brownsea Island in Dorset, England.

With its rich and varied history including Romans, pirates, Elizabethans and Victorians, as well as woodlands and wildlife, it is an ideal storytelling context for Lottie’s adventures and escapades. Now owned by the National Trust, Brownsea Island is also notable for being the birthplace of the Scouts and Girl Guides movements; it was the location for the first Scout camp in 1907 and was the setting for an Enid Blyton ‘Famous Five’ adventure too.

Branksea is not quite a Utopian world but it is one in which girls and boys can be who they want to be; it’s full of adventure, both fun and educational, whilst encouraging kids to enjoy the outdoors and use their imagination.

Several of the storyline synopses that appear on each Lottie doll box allude to Branksea.
Going forward, Branksea will play a pivotal role in Lottie’s activities, and the development of Lottie’s world will take Lottie’s strong ‘pro girl’ feel beyond toy, into book format too.

Here's something else that's nice to see on the same page...

Lottie is a feisty character; she can stand on her own two feet and whilst she occasionally makes mistakes, she learns from them. She is not perfect. Lottie loves adventure and the outdoors and uses her imagination. In many ways, she is inspired by the spirited female characters in books we loved as children: Anne of Green Gables, Pippi Longstocking, Jo in ‘Little Women’, Nancy Drew and George in the ‘Famous Five’.

Posted: **28 Aug 2017, 20:50**

I had a few Blytonian moments out in the garden yesterday. First of all, I found a frog in the shed when I went to get the lawnmower. I was delighted as I hadn't seen a frog in the garden for ages (we haven't got a pond or any water source out there). Later, two more frogs hopped quickly away from a patch near the fence where I was pulling up weeds and I also uncovered two slow-worms. Then, as I was putting the tools back in the shed, a heron flew overhead. Not quite Old Thatch, I know, but I do like it when I see something other than the usual garden birds, butterflies, worms, snails and slugs!

Posted: **28 Aug 2017, 20:56**

Sounds very Blytonian, Anita! i hope you were writing your post sitting on the veranda with your laptop - I mean typewriter - on your knee!

I've never had the pleasure of seeing a slow worm in the garden!

Posted: **28 Aug 2017, 21:24**

We had a heron in our garden a few years ago, Anita, but it wasn't a welcome visitor for it made off with most of the fish in our pond.

Posted: **28 Aug 2017, 22:58**

Sorry to hear about your fish Eddie. Nature isn't always very welcome!

Anita your garden sounds great, I've been tidying up ours this summer, but haven't seen anything more exciting than a blackbird, a robin and a neighbours cat! I'm feeling a little guilty, as I've cut back hedges which were taking over the garden, where a large number of sparrows like to gather. I may end up having to cut back even more, but for now they still have a bit of shelter. It's hard in a small garden to try and balance having an outdoor space that works for us, with making it wildlife friendly.

Posted: **28 Aug 2017, 23:13**

Eddie Muir wrote:We had a heron in our garden a few years ago, Anita, but it wasn't a welcome visitor for it made off with most of the fish in our pond.

I've never seen a heron in our gardens, even though our neighbour has a big pond with quite a few fish in it - but I think we are protected from herons because the canal runs right at the back of our houses, and there are always plenty of fish for herons in there! There are three or four herons I see regularly when I have a walk along the towpath.

Posted: **29 Aug 2017, 10:41**

Sorry to hear about your fish, Eddie. I've had to stop a cat and a magpie attacking slow-worms in the past.

Posted: **29 Aug 2017, 14:17**

The heron appeared in our garden very early in the morning, Anita. In the dull light, Chick thought it was a swan. By the time we realised that it was in fact a heron it was too late to save our fish. We did get some more fish to replace those taken but not before we had put a net over the pond.

Posted: **29 Aug 2017, 20:01**

A few years ago, I saw a long, mammal-like creature running across a field in broad daylight. I can't be certain, but I think it was a weasel.

I've seen quite a few foxes when driving at night, and even a couple of deer. But I've still yet to see a live badger. And outside of zoos, I've never seen a snake, apart from a slow-worm someone once showed me as a child.

My friend, who has a canal at the bottom of her garden which used to contain a pond had an otter approach her one night!

As for rats and mice, I've always found them to be absolutely fascinating creatures. Last year at a pond when a friend and myself were feeding the ducks, I was far more interested in throwing bread to the mouse or rat (I'm not quite sure which) that had emerged from the nearby undergrowth - although I wouldn't be foolish enough to try and pick a wild one up.

Posted: **29 Aug 2017, 22:03**

My greatest encounter with nature was undoubtedly the badger who visited our garden nightly for around 6 months a couple of years ago!

We have foxes and rats and mice though I rarely see them, and we regularly have an owl hooting in the tree at night, and see bats flickering above the trees in the evening. There are herons around the canal, as I said earlier, and as a teenager I saw a king fisher dive into the canal and bring out a fish - something I've never witnessed since.

We're quite lucky to have the canal behind us and a small wood, plus many green space that edge the canal, so plenty of wild life. Don't see any rabbits though, and never seen any snakes - though my friend's brother next door to us had a grass snake once.

Posted: **29 Aug 2017, 22:51**

I'd love to see a kingfisher, Rob - and an otter like your friend saw, Stephen. I've seen otters in zoos but never in the wild. I did recently see a stoat in the wild, though, for only the second time in my life.

Posted: **30 Aug 2017, 08:30**

I've been extremely lucky to see a varied amount of British Wildlife. As a former contracted Conservationist, I was able to visit areas where the public had restricted access. This meant the Wildlife was undisturbed. I've been privileged to experience wonderful close-up encounters with Badgers, Foxes, Otters, Deer, & numerous other beautiful creatures. I still watch/study Badgers for various Wildlife Trusts in my spare time, which helps their understanding/knowledge of this fascinating mammal. My recent watch was in Dorset, where I split my holiday in two...Daytime wandering the New Forest, & then Badger study back in Dorset in the evenings! Best of both Worlds, I think!

Posted: **30 Aug 2017, 16:35**

Sounds brilliant, Number 6!

I've never seen a badger, but I would love to.

Posted: **30 Aug 2017, 17:01**

Try contacting your local Wildlife Trust, Courtenay. They may run organised Badger watching during the Summer months. A lot of Trusts do.

The Enid Blyton Society

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