It's that time again when the next Enid Blyton's Magazine is about to arrive, filled with goodies. The one thing I regret is not having these magazines as a child! I would have loved waiting for a copy to come through my letter box each fortnight!
This fortnight's issue - July 4th - July 17th 1956 - 60 years ago this week.
The cover has a nice (uncredited) illustration from the first story 'Ripe Strawberries'. It's interesting that the illustrator is uncredited, because they are a very talented illustrator and provided some illustrations that are worthy of a book rather than just a magazine. They were particularly good at drawing the dog, which features quite prominently in the story - see my photo below.
It's a good story with a good moral and a nice outcome - one of Enid's best stories of this type, and it's a shame it was never reprinted.
Enid's editorial this issue tells us all about the many baby birds that come visiting her garden - dozens of them. She tells us how they remind her of children - some inquisitive, some staying close to their parents, others disobedient and silly - the ones that get caught by Sugar, Enid's cat.
Enid explains why her cat is called sugar - because '
he was so sweet when we first had him!' and goes on to say "
A child who saw him said 'oh - he looks as if he is made of marmalade - he's just the right colour - and those darker streaks are like the strips of orange peel in the marmalade!' - so now you know what he looks like..."
Enid says she hopes she will see many of her readers in London on 24 July -
"I shall be in Marlborough House Gardens (the Queen has given her gracious permission for us to be there) for a children's party and fete, and I have promised to give aurographs to any child who comes up to me for one - special little autographs with a small photograph at the side - and will also autograph any book or album, and have a word with any boy or girl there. This fete is given to help invalid children and is a very fine affair. There will be pony and donkey rides, an aeriel derby, a giant slide, and goodness knows what else. Also a very nice tea! If any of you want to come, the tickets are 10s each, and you had better write in at once to the address on page 37..."
Following on from the editorial is the story 'Ripe Strawberries!' followed by the Puzzle Page for the various club members. these were always quite simple puzzles. For example, the Sunbeams Puzzle was to find the numbers in these titles -
'
Snow White and the.......Dwarfs
'The Famous.....'
'Ali Baba and the.......Thieves'.
The Famous Five Puzzle is more tricky...I can't come up with an answer! Can you? --
-
Rearrange 'Mary' to make another girl's name.
Is this possible? I haven't looked up the answer.
Following this - another uncollected short story - 'The Bear That Could Walk' - all about a clockwork bear and its unkind owner, and how the bear runs away when it gets fed up - a sweet little story 'to tell your little brother or sister'
Next comes a poem for July - taken from Enid Blyton's Book of the Year - 'The Swallows' and the letters page - including a letter from a girl who lived in Fiji - Enid, as usual, tells her readers to look it up in their atlases so they will know where Fiji is. This little girl is asking for penfriends who run nature clubs.
There's a letter from a little girl who sews brooches for charity, and and another from a girl who has a tortoise called 'Speedy'! Enid thinks this is a lovely name for a tortoise - and so do I!
Next we have the 'Some Things To Look For' page - scarlet poppies, which are now '
dancing by the wayside or shining in the cornfields' and also the sweet smelling honey-suckle - '
Pick sprays and bring them to your classroom - they will scent the whole room - but remember that the red berries coming later on are very poisonous!'
The serial story this week - after a Noddy strip story and a things to make page - is chapter 4 of Five Go To Billycock Hill -- thrilling to be reading this fortnightly! How did the children cope with waiting so long?!
There are 'Dog Hints' next - holiday hints - including the advice not to throw stones or jagged sticks for your dog to catch, because they could break the dogs teeth or damage its mouth - sound advice. She also suggests washing your dog in fresh water if it bathes in the sea, as the salt can irritate the skin, as well as other useful tips, such as not feeding your dog immediately before going on a train journey with it!
We have another short story to follow - one about 'The Three Golliwogs' - the usual plot, about them being mistaken for each other. Did a Three Golliwog story ever involve a different plot?! Interestingly, this story was later published in Enid Blyton's Bedtime Annual 1973, and is described in the Cave as 'A Tale of Golly, Sooty and Sammy' - which presumably were the names used in the 1973 version.
There are some interesting adverts in this issue - especially one for the latest Dinky car - number 163 - the Bristol 450 Sports Coupe - which Enid even gives a plug, telling us 'boys who know about cars will know what
that car has done!' There's also a 'New Improved Taller and Better Beautiful 'Darling Doll' for 10s - she walks, sits, speaks and prays in 'A real child's voice'! - sounds creepy to me!
So, with the 'News Sheet' to complete the magazine, our fun-packed issue comes to an end, with ENid telling us that the call for overseas penfriends in The Famous Five Club resulted in 'absolutely HUNDREDS!' of children writing in to her, asking to be hooked up with a penfriend. She has managed to pair 'about 50 of you' so far but promises to try to pair even more eventually - when other children from overseas write in. It really brings it home to me how much ENid did, apart from writing stories! How did she ever find time for golf or holidays in Swanage?!
