The wisdom of Enid Blyton (quotes on various subjects)

[Ming]

It never ceases to amaze me that is unacceptable for that particular story to be around, but it is perfectly okay to have books (and movies) about drug addicts and gangsters.

[Moonraker]

Wavering further off-topic, Anton du Beke (BBC Strictly Come Dancing) gets admonished and has to apologise for saying his dance partner (off camera) looks like a Paki (she had some fake spray tan on). A snooker commentator refers to Neil Robertson as "an Aussie" and not an eyelid is raised. Why are certain terms so derogatory yet others are fine?

Maybe I will have to forego my Moonraker title soon, as it belittles Wiltshire folk.

[Tony Summerfield]

Wavering further off-topic, Anton du Beke (BBC Strictly Come Dancing) gets admonished and has to apologise for saying his dance partner (off camera) looks like a Paki (she had some fake spray tan on). A snooker commentator refers to Neil Robertson as "an Aussie" and not an eyelid is raised. Why are certain terms so derogatory yet others are fine?

Maybe I will have to forego my Moonraker title soon, as it belittles Wiltshire folk.

I can always change it to Nigel Rowe if you prefer, I am sure that wouldn't be insulting anyone!

I do agree with you that some perfectly harmless sounding things are taken as insults, but I am sure that Ming wouldn't object to being called a little Bangle! I have been referred to as a Pom, a Limey and endless chants of Whitey when I was in Jamaica, but I didn't mind a jot. I am sure our friend in New Zealand wouldn't tear what's left of his hair out at being called a Kiwi. It is a strange world we live in sometimes, political correctness has gone mad!

[Moonraker]

I can always change it to Nigel Rowe if you prefer, I am sure that wouldn't be insulting anyone!

Tony, you have revealed my identity! I seem to remember being 'reported' to our webmaster for revealing one of our forummer's real name.

[Tony Summerfield]

I will have to report myself!!

[Anita Bensoussane]

And I'll have to don my Dame Slap outfit!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I recently read a Blyton tale with a similar message, when a boy feels bad as he is poor and cannot give out any presents, so his mother tells him smiles are free. He smiles at an old man who realises he cannot be as nasty as he thinks he is if a child smiles at him, so he is cheerful and buys a several new suits. The tailor is then happy as he has made lots of money, and send money to his nephew for his birthday. His nephew buys his dog a license, and that dog then saves the first boy's life when he nearly drowns. So his smile saved his life!

That's a great story, Fiona - 'What Happened to a Smile' from I'll Tell You a Story. I didn't come across it until three or four years ago and it struck me as a marvellous illustration of the Islamic concept that all the simple acts of kindliness, generosity, friendship and brotherhood that we carry out quite natually as part of our daily lives are acts of "charity." The Prophet Mohammed said that, while charity work may involve donating money or going out of your way to help someone, and may at times include elements of striving, duty and social responsibility, those with a truly compassionate heart will perform many acts of charity numerous times a day without even realising it, as true charity is about being generous of spirit. He said, "Even to greet someone with a smile is a form of charity." Enid Blyton's story demonstrates beautifully how greeting someone warmly or even just acknowledging their presence can make a difference to the way they feel and the way they act towards others.

I have just got The Second Holiday Book, which contains the gloriously non-pc title The Golliwog who smoked.

Needless to say, it is a very moral tale about how smoking is bad for toys (and children), and how a terrible and soggy fate befell the smug golliwog.

You inspired me to look up the story in its Toyland Tales incarnation, Viv. That collection contains quite a few stories featuring golliwogs and most of them are wise and kind - in fact Blyton often portrays golliwogs (perhaps because they're usually smartly-dressed and cheerful-looking) as leaders in the world of the nursery. We've talked before of how Enid Blyton, when writing about a certain part of the anatomy, is careful to avoid the word "bottom" or even euphemisms like "behind" (e.g. when writing about the invisible chalk trick in Second Form at Malory Towers, or about Goon falling off his bike in one of the Find-Outers books). I was amused by the story 'Tubby Makes a Mistake' in Toyland Tales, in which Tubby the teddy-bear sits on some mistletoe berries and the golliwog talks of Tubby having "sticky berries on his little sit-me-down"!

Anita

[Moonraker]

it struck me as a marvellous illustration of the Islamic concept that all the simple acts of kindliness, generosity, friendship and brotherhood that we carry out quite natually as part of our daily lives are acts of "charity."

Charity is often thought to mean help for the poor, these days. How often do you hear people say, "I can manage without resorting to charity..."? Charity comes from the Latin, caritas, which means love. This is the true meaning of Charity, and as you rightly quote, Anita (although not unique to Islam!), the acts mentioned are acts of charity, or given its true meaning, they are acts of love.

[Fiona1986]

As someone (Ming?) said recently, Anita, you ARE an encyclopaedia.

[Anita Bensoussane]

it struck me as a marvellous illustration of the Islamic concept that all the simple acts of kindliness, generosity, friendship and brotherhood that we carry out quite natually as part of our daily lives are acts of "charity."

Charity is often thought to mean help for the poor, these days. How often do you hear people say, "I can manage without resorting to charity..."? Charity comes from the Latin, caritas, which means love. This is the true meaning of Charity, and as you rightly quote, Anita (although not unique to Islam!), the acts mentioned are acts of charity, or given its true meaning, they are acts of love.

Yes, I believe that Paul's famous words from his letter to the Corinthians can be translated from Greek into English as either "faith, hope and charity" or "faith, hope and love." It's a pity that the word "charity" is now associated primarily with handouts (of either money or material goods) and has even acquired negative connotations.

As someone (Ming?) said recently, Anita, you ARE an encyclopaedia.

Not a very good encyclopaedia then, as I just noticed that I accidentally referred to Toyland Tales as Tales of Toyland in my previous post! I've corrected it now though.

Anita

[Fiona1986]

A modest and occasionally innacurate encyclopaedia? How does that sound?

[Anita Bensoussane]

[Jeffery Greyling]

Maybe I will have to forego my Moonraker title soon, as it belittles Wiltshire folk.

I don't think you should Nigel, I like the tradition of your username. Perhaps I should change mine to Banana Bender so mine's traditional too

[Anita Bensoussane]

Some more words of wisdom:

"Uncle, you do know a lot. I think you're the most interesting person I know."
"Well, the more interest you take in things the more interesting you become yourself," said Uncle Nat.

(Peter talking to Uncle Nat in Rambles With Uncle Nat.)

[Anita Bensoussane]

On mothers: "Mothers were much too sharp. They were like dogs. Buster always sensed when anything was out of the ordinary, and so did mothers. Mothers and dogs both had a kind of second sight that made them see into people's minds and know when anything unusual was going on." (The Mystery of the Hidden House.)