Well, here we are at 'that' week - the final ever issue of Enid Blyton's Magazine. I can only imagine how the children must have felt. They missed the magazine all through the summer - probably wondering if it had finished - and then - just as school starts again, they are treated to the next issue! Hurrah! the Magazine hasn't finished after all! Then they open it and begin to read, and realise, with a shock maybe, that this is indeed the last ever issue! Dark winter nights, school, lessons, and no ENid Blyton Magazine!
Here's the last issue -
The cover shows an illustration from the title story,
A Dog Called Timmy - which is part two - the concluding part - of a long short story started in the last issue. I wonder if any children had to reread the first part? Anyway - hopefully it will be available to read shortly, by following the link.
Enid's
Editorial Letter' gives details of why Enid is ending the magazine, and also suggests keeping in touch. She mentions the printer's strike, which prevented the magazine from being printed through out the summer, then goes on to explain how the magazine is a very big job for her, as she writes everything in it, and makes the excuse that if she gives up the magazine she will be able to do other things - such as the Noddy Pantomime, Noddy TV show, etc, as well as records and overseas programmes. She also lays some of the 'blame' on her husband who is 'now retired' and 'naturally wants me to go about with him a good deal and share the things he loves so much - his farm in Dorset, golf, and travelling here and there about the world'. She seems to paint quite an exciting picture...but I'm not sure her life hereafter was quite so full of delights as she imagines.
Enid finishes her letter by explaining that she is going to finish the Secret Seven series off with 'two chapters' (actually its three) and also says '
The Bom story, I fear, will have to come to a sudden end - but the Bom book will soon be in the shops, and you will be able to read it there!'
After the cover story, we have an uncollected Noddy story -
What A Good Idea, Noddy! - featuring Mr Wobbly-man and Mrs Golly - who, rather unfortunately, wears what appears to be a grass skirt in the uncredited illustrations! Its all about how poor Mr Wobbly-man gets stuck in 'narrow alley' and how Noddy manages to pull him out! No prizes for guessing how he achieves it! It makes quite a refreshing change that Noddy acts intelligently in this story, rather than being completely silly!
Next, we have the final part of
The Goblin Shop - and the fact it is the final part makes me wonder how Enid managed to time the last issue with the last installment of this rhyming story. It seems a remarkable coincidence - but there can really be no other answer for it than that!
This is quite an unusual issue of the Magazine - because Enid does manage to tie most things up very neatly - including the end of
Bonfire Night For the Secret Seven. To do this, she includes the last three chapters in this issue - although strangely she fits them all into one chapter. In the 'Editorial' Enid actually suggests she is including 'two chapters instead of one' but in actual fact the book splits this episode into three chapters rather than two. So in the magazine, the story appears to have only 18 chapters, and ends with 'Jack Has A Sudden Idea' - while the novel continues with two more chapters - though the story is exactly the same.
There are a couple of really good illustrations accompanying the magazine version of the story - they are fairly good quality for Burgess Sharrocks! Unfortunately the novel omits one of them altogether and gives us a slightly different version of the other, where the baddie is attacking Scamper with a shovel. The Magazine version is much better drawn!
After all those chapters squeezed into one, there's no room for much else, except a page that says '
IMPORTANT! Be sure to keep these pages - club information and addresses' and then goes on to give details of addresses for The Famous Five Club, The Busy Bees, The Sunbeam Society and - believe it or not - The Magazine Club...even though there will be no magazine!
You can view details of the magazine by following the link -
https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/mag ... ?magid=965
Crumbs - she'd be better off putting the duster down every so often and reading the books instead of merely cleaning them obsessively!
I thought the same! I also thought 'you can tell from this that Enid didn't do much dusting herself!' I'm sure if she had she would never have suggested it was done 'every day' - unless you have a maid to do it for you! 
