http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/maga ... ?magid=904
Another new issue just arrived - and another great set of stories are inside - as you can see when you click on the link. Thanks as always, Tony!
The cover shows an illustration from the first story -
Hunt The Slipper its a good story but not exactly very exciting - however, I did like the fact that Daddy called the police - that gave an added punch to the story somehow! Again, it is a story that has never been published elsewhere - read it in the link above. It has some nice illustrations by Anne Read.
The
Editorial is quite interesting and informative as always, with Enid telling us some snippets of her life at Green Hedges. Enid writes –
Are you glad that February is here? I am! The birds begin singing so early in the morning and go on until it is almost dark...
Something I’ve not really noticed yet – although the birds around where I live are certainly trying. The dark gloomy weather isn’t helping their mood – or mine!
Enid also tells us of the two nesting boxes she had for Christmas – given to her by Gillian. She plans to hang them up high, out of the reach of Sugar the cat, so that she can watch them being used. She also tells us of how, a few years ago, some blue tits nexted in an upside-down flowerpot she had left by accident on the vegetable patch!
Enid always had some interesting ideas, and I must admit I’ve never tried hanging out a lucky bag for the birds – it’s something I might try this year! Enid writes-
I hope you will do what I am going to do again this spring – put out a ‘lucky bag’ to help the birds in their nesting. I use an old net bag and stuff it with anything I think the birds will like to use for nesting material. I pull moss from the garden and dry it ; I stuff in some straw from the strawberry bed; bits and pieces out of the carpet sweeper; odd bits of wool; feathers from the hen-run; hairs from the cat or dog, or out of my own hairbrush. Then I hang up the lucky bag in a tree, on a long string, well out of reach of our cat. I put it in a place I cans see from my window, for I do love to watch the excitement of the birds when they discover this ‘furnishing’ material for their nests. They perch on the bag, examine all the contents carefully, and then peck out the piece they want – and away they fly to their nest, delighted. Then back they come again, and often there is quite an excited crowd of birds pecking bits and pieces out through the holes of the net-bag. If any of you hang out one of these lucky bags, do let me know what birds come to it.
Enid goes on to tell her readers how many letters she receives from them each week. Its amazing to realise just how popular she was, considering there was no internet, no facebook page, no Enid Blyton publicity online. She tells us –
I have had a GREAT many letters from you lately – one week I had over two thousand. I read every single one, but alas, I cannot answer half of them, because it would take me all my time to do so. So please do forgive me if you didn’t have a reply, and know that at least I read and enjoyed your letters. You sent me nearly two thousand Christmas cards too – and these I have now sent to people who need them for many things, so they have not been wasted. Some of them were so beautiful that they were worth framing!
Lastly, Enid asks –
Has anyone seen their first snowdrop yet? My first snowdrop came out on Christmas Day – so I think I must have been the first to see a snowdrop, at any rate!
After Hunt The Slipper we have
Our Letter Page and letters from three members of Enid's various clubs, telling how they have raised money with sales of work, or by foregoing birthday presents and donating the money instead. It's interesting to see the ages of these children, given that these days Enid Blyton is considered to be for Children under 10, as far as where shops sell them, anyway. Two girls who sent their birthday money for a present for Enid's Children's Home were both 13.
Next we have chapter 10 of
Secret Seven Mystery - and the continuing story of Elizabeth Sonning. Again, it has a nice illustration by Burgess Sharrocks, which is not in the book version. Interestingly, Sharrocks draws the same scene from a different angle in the book version, but I prefer the magazine illustration below -
Next we have the
Puzzle Page and after last week's tricky bird puzzle this week's puzzles are much simpler. The Famous Five puzzle -
My first is in red but not in blue,
My next is in one but not in two
My third is in slope but not in hill,
My last is in Jack but not in Jill,
My all is a bird - in early morn
You'll find him him eating all the corn
And the Busy Bee puzzle -
Can you find the animal hidden in this sentence?
"The tub is on the floor."
Following on from this, we have our second uncollected short story -
Nancy's Coconut - another one which is based on a true story, apparently. Again, it's not really an amazing story - feels like a filler. In fact, none of the stories in this issue, in my opinion, are quite as strong as those in the last one. The illustrations for this are really nice though - I always love the illustrations that form triangles in the corners of pages, as there are here.
Next - an advert -
What About a Noddy Theatre for your BIRTHDAY? - with two sets of scenery, seven actors (Noddy and all his friends) and two booklets containing three plays. All this for 18 shillings.
Next - talking of Noddy - the continuing saga of
Noddy Went Too Fast! with Mr Tinny attempting to set Noddy's mind at rest - he's cleaned Noddy's house, swept the floors, made a lot of money using Noddy's car as a taxi - but he's made the money for Noddy, not for himself - and he hands Noddy a big bag of money...but Noddy doesn't smile - ungrateful thing - he howls and bursts into tears!! More next time!
Next -
Five Go To Billycock Hill chapter 20. Next week will be the very last chapter of this Famous Five story.
Next, we have a lovely
photo of
Our Magazine Club Party - showing the 100,000 member, Linda Hooks. You can see the photo in the link above. Thanks to Tony for adding this for me.
The last short uncollected story is
Micky's Muddle - my favourite story of this issue, although again, it isn't one of Enid's best, maybe. It's also a little confusing at the beginning - or maybe that's just me, lol - with various names such as Mr Shout-Alot, Granpa Twinkle, Old Man Trembly, Dan Do-Well and Ben Button-face. Great names, but they all come a bit thick and fast on the first page. Its a fun story - and aspects of it remind me of 'Pinocchio'...
Next - another advert - for Famous Five Puzzles - all 1/9 each - what a bargain! I wish I had them all!
They include -
Five in Camp, Five In Smuggler's Cave, Five At the Circus, Five Go To Sea, Five Have A Moorland Picnic, Five On Kirren Island (spelt 'Kirren'!) Five Help With The Harvest, and Five At the Airfield
Another advert - this time for FREE stamps -
The famous Monaco Grace Kelly - Prince Rainier Wedding Set - 3 handsome stamps for just 2d postage!
Next we have
Our News Sheet where Enid tells her Famous Five club members -
You will see, members, that the Famous Five serial is coming to an end next time so I shall, as usual, have letters from you with groans in them! But cheer up, I'll write another one for you as soon as I can. Any idea for titles? Presumably they came up with 'Five Get Into A Fix - one of those nondescript titles that indeed seems to prove that Enid was running out of titles!!
Enid also talks about her Sunbeams Club, saying
We have 16,538 members now - not nearly as many as our other three clubs of course... Incidentally, just this week I purchased a Sunbeams badge - so now I have a badge from each of Enid's clubs, which was a slight 'ambition of mine! The Sunbeams badge is harder to find than the other three - and I guess that's because it had fewer members.
One other thing caught my eye in the Club News, and that is
Address Please! in which Enid talks of a young girl, Sandra Crane, who didn't send her address, but sent Enid a gift
of all the ship-ha'pennies she had collected. I found this of interest because, by great coincidence the copy of 'The Troublesome Three which I received only today from eBay has the following dedication in the front -
"Paul Mullimuise in appreciation for collecting 444 ship-ha'pennies...and the name of someone I can't read - maybe the name of a Scout leader or teacher. I'd never heard of collecting ship ha'pennies before, although I have a few in my collection of old coins.
So ends this fortnight's issue of Enid Blyton Magazine. Another brilliant issue! Enjoy the stories!