Articles About Dorset

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Chrissie777
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Courtenay wrote:If it's any consolation, Chrissie, a number of us who bought it were very disappointed with the Dorset article, as you can read earlier in this thread. :( But do read it for yourself when it comes (hopefully it will!) and see what you think.
Courtenay, this is the first time that I read in this forum that the DORSET article is disappointing. :cry:
Even though I checked every single EBS notification in my inbox that I've missed once we were back home on Saturday, I obviously did not receive any new notifications on the "Articles in Dorset" thread, but it doesn't surprise me as I had quite some trouble with Outlook/Hotmail lately.
It happens sometimes with other forums as well.
Will catch up on all posts since 11th of May now.
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Courtenay wrote:Superficial and stupid misreadings of Enid like that verdict above just go to show how many of her critics haven't read her books properly — they're just looking through the narrow lens of their own assumptions and prejudices and finding what they expect to find, even if it isn't actually there. :roll:
In conclusion, not an article I want to either keep for myself or share with my family after all! :x
Courtenay, I've not yet read Imogen's or Gillian's autobiographies either (I have both of them and keep post-poning it :roll: ), but watched "Enid" a few years ago and was not very impressed with it.
It reminded me a bit of the Joan Crawford biopic with Faye Dunaway, "Mommie Dearest" (1981), don't ask me why.

Sometimes when I read these negative articles on EB, I can't help but get very mad at the newspaper publishers for letting their staff writers get away with such negative comments and most of all incompetent claims which show real EB fans that these staff writers probably never finished reading a single EB book in their lives.
Almost as if they copy the text from each other (sometimes I could swear that I just read the same sentence or paragraph on EB a few months ago, but no, the newspaper claims it to be a new article).
Just my impression.

Well, if DORSET MAGAZINE really got lost in the mail, I guess I can live with it.
Actually I was hoping for lots of Soper illustrations and color photos of FF locations...something like that.
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Rob Houghton wrote:...Also, her unhappy childhood gave her a dislike of reality, which she would escape from as much as possible through her writing. That's why her writing is so wonderfully escapist. I tend to see Enid as a victim rather than a bad person.
I feel the same about EB. I know exactly where she's coming from, I had a rather unhappy childhood with very strict parents who later divorced, so since I was 10 years old every chance I got I started watching lots of movies and read lots of books for pure escapism.
Even though I haven't really needed any escapism for at least a decade, I still love to escape from time to time into EB's suspenseful world of brave children, castles, caves, underground passages, baddies, sunken ships and buried treasure. :D
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

timv wrote:...though this should apply to commerical TV not so much to the BBC. Worse is that reviewers and later article writers lazily mix up this with the truth. I am thinking of the TV drama starring Helen Bonham Carter as the principal culprit here, as the sort of stories dredged up in the 'Dorset' article seem to reference that version of Enid's life rather than earlier books on her early life and 'neglect' of her daughters.
Tim, what you wrote on Enid's daughters reminds me of another famous British novelist who was popular around the same time (Daphne DuMaurier) who was very absorbed by her writing and didn't spend enough time with her children, but she didn't get much blame for that. So I find it unfair that they all keep harping (is that the proper term?) on EB when they let it go with other authors like DuMaurier.
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

My DORSET MAGAZINE must be on a slow boat to China... :roll:
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Aussie Sue »

Chrissie, I ordered one too, back when this topic started, and I haven't received mine either. They don't seem to know how to post overseas, but they accepted our money at once. I've never had this problem before, despite buying many items from UK.

cheers
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Sue, once a year I order a lot at amazon.co.uk, usually in late February or early March.
Except of one item (the book "Greenway Devon" by Sara Burdett has not been dispatched yet, but I'm hopeful) they usually arrive within 2 weeks. Actually the British amazon is a lot better with sending items quickly to the US than the German amazon. Sometimes it takes as long as 5 or 6 weeks to get the last amazon.de books and DVD's.

If eBay really would be cheaper which they are not and less complicated (I don't like their auctions, the price goes up and up, somebody else is usually quicker or if I'm lucky the item costs me more than on amazon.de), I would consider ordering at eBay, but many of my desired items are not even available on eBay, so I rather order them at amazon. I wish there would be more variety, more online businesses sending books and DVD's worldwide without charging too much for shipping costs, but right now amazon and eBay seem to share the online ordering monopoly.
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Aussie Sue »

Chrissie, my Dorset Magazine arrived today so you should get yours soon, I would expect Australia to take longer than US.

cheers
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Hi Sue, good to hear from you :).
I sent them an e-mail this morning to check if they really sent it to the US. :?:
So far I did not receive an error message. They always tend to send from a "no reply" e-mail address these days, but I replaced it by "admin" and keep waiting for their answer. Of course it was afternoon in the UK when I wrote, so I might not hear back from them before tomorrow.

So what do you think about the FF article?
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Aussie Sue »

I have just finished reading the Dorset Magazine from cover to cover and I must say, unlike some you, I loved it.
The 7 page article on Enid had the usual disappointing bits criticising her but there were many more positive statements and overall a positive approach to her writing.
But the best thing was that the whole magazine mentioned and reflected Enid and her writings.

Maybe I enjoyed it more as being Australian, the whole magazine reflected the UK that I learned about from Enid’s books and magazines.
I thought the Editor’s comments on page 5 were great and explained well why ‘the food’ in Enid Blyton books was so important, at the time.
Art in Nature, page 16/17 is gorgeous, showed the lovely nature that EB talked about. And I particularly enjoyed it as my husband is a sculptor.
Page 19 Dorset Portrait, pleasant reference to Enid.
In the Footsteps of the Famous Five pages 32/33 may not be perfect but still a pleasant read with good references to Enid.
Pages 68/69 Hear my Song Spring Bird Events certainly reminds us of Enid’s love of nature and her wonderful Book of Birds.
Pages 98/100 Ideas for a splendid picnic, certainly fits the Enid theme and the recipes Rose’s Picnic Pie page 93 & Lizzie’s Dorset Ginger Cake sound worth trying.
Simply Smashing on page 103 is another interesting article that reflects the time of Enid’s writing.
Reawakening on page 127 is a very interesting article related to Dementia, this is of interest to me as my husband has Alzheimer’s but of course as we know Enid also had dementia.
Magnificent Gardens for May pages 140/143 could have been written by Enid, especially the section ‘Do you have a Wildlife Friendly Garden?
And the article ‘Buying in Famous Five Country’ on page 145, also has pleasant references to Enid.

So for a person who loves Enid Blyton I think this was a wonderful magazine to purchase, worth every cent.

I will regularly browse through it, dreaming of another visit to the UK.
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Aussie Sue wrote:Maybe I enjoyed it more as being Australian, the whole magazine reflected the UK that I learned about from Enid’s books and magazines.
I thought the Editor’s comments on page 5 were great and explained well why ‘the food’ in Enid Blyton books was so important, at the time.
Art in Nature, page 16/17 is gorgeous, showed the lovely nature that EB talked about. And I particularly enjoyed it as my husband is a sculptor.

Reawakening on page 127 is a very interesting article related to Dementia, this is of interest to me as my husband has Alzheimer’s but of course as we know Enid also had dementia.
Magnificent Gardens for May pages 140/143 could have been written by Enid, especially the section ‘Do you have a Wildlife Friendly Garden?
And the article ‘Buying in Famous Five Country’ on page 145, also has pleasant references to Enid.
I will regularly browse through it, dreaming of another visit to the UK.
Dear Sue, I very much enjoyed reading your positive post on the DORSET MAGAZINE article (I'm still waiting for it) and hope I'll feel the same as I'm not living in the UK and only spent very little time in Dorset in 1981 and 2008.
It's my favorite country for a vacation (together with France).

Very very sorry to hear that your husband has Alzheimer's. Life must be very difficult for you.

I'm also dreaming of another UK visit next year when we'll go to see the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland and Scotland. I just hope my husband won't wreck his back again like he just did in May in France...these rental cars sure have awful low quality drivers seats! :roll:
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Aussie Sue wrote:Chrissie, my Dorset Magazine arrived today so you should get yours soon, I would expect Australia to take longer than US.
Sue, my Dorset Magazine just arrived with our mail. I almost had given up hope!
My husband and I always wait with opening important mail until the three of us (our dog Cody) are together in the late afternoon and then we open long-awaited items together like Cody's BarkBox which arrives once a month. There's a German motto: shared joy is doubled joy. :D
So now I need to wait for André to come home.
The magazine is much thicker than I expected. I'm sure it will provide me with days and days of delightful reading on my beloved Dorset... 8)
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

So far I've only read the interesting editorial by Helen Stiles.
She writes about the "golden cohort", people born between 1925 and 1934 who live longer than most people born before or after.
Stiles must be right with her assumption about that generation eating less sugar, meat and cholesterol for years (and more veggies and fruit instead) which was ultimately leading to a longer and healthier life...my mom is 88 now.
I vividly remember that my dad already told me this decades ago: there never were as few heart diseases in Germany than between 1940 and 1949, because almost nobody had access to meat, fat and sugar.
However, as soon as the starvation years were over (which was slowly starting after the end of the Berlin Air Lift in May 1949) and the economy recovered, heart diseases climbed back up again to where they were before 1940.
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Chrissie777
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Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Aussie Sue wrote:Maybe I enjoyed it more as being Australian, the whole magazine reflected the UK that I learned about from Enid’s books and magazines.
I thought the Editor’s comments on page 5 were great and explained well why ‘the food’ in Enid Blyton books was so important, at the time.
Sue, I just put bookmarks on all pages/articles that you've mentioned and will try to read them ASAP.
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Chrissie777
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Location: Worcester, MA, USA

Re: Articles in Dorset

Post by Chrissie777 »

Aussie Sue wrote:I have just finished reading the Dorset Magazine from cover to cover and I must say, unlike some you, I loved it.
The 7 page article on Enid had the usual disappointing bits criticising her but there were many more positive statements and overall a positive approach to her writing.
But the best thing was that the whole magazine mentioned and reflected Enid and her writings.

Maybe I enjoyed it more as being Australian, the whole magazine reflected the UK that I learned about from Enid’s books and magazines.
I thought the Editor’s comments on page 5 were great and explained well why ‘the food’ in Enid Blyton books was so important, at the time.
Art in Nature, page 16/17 is gorgeous, showed the lovely nature that EB talked about. And I particularly enjoyed it as my husband is a sculptor.
Page 19 Dorset Portrait, pleasant reference to Enid.
In the Footsteps of the Famous Five pages 32/33 may not be perfect but still a pleasant read with good references to Enid.
Pages 68/69 Hear my Song Spring Bird Events certainly reminds us of Enid’s love of nature and her wonderful Book of Birds.
Pages 98/100 Ideas for a splendid picnic, certainly fits the Enid theme and the recipes Rose’s Picnic Pie page 93 & Lizzie’s Dorset Ginger Cake sound worth trying.
Simply Smashing on page 103 is another interesting article that reflects the time of Enid’s writing.
Reawakening on page 127 is a very interesting article related to Dementia, this is of interest to me as my husband has Alzheimer’s but of course as we know Enid also had dementia.
Magnificent Gardens for May pages 140/143 could have been written by Enid, especially the section ‘Do you have a Wildlife Friendly Garden?
And the article ‘Buying in Famous Five Country’ on page 145, also has pleasant references to Enid.

So for a person who loves Enid Blyton I think this was a wonderful magazine to purchase, worth every cent.

I will regularly browse through it, dreaming of another visit to the UK.
Sue, while Cody is outside in the backyard trying to catch another rabbit :roll: , I'll try to express my opinion on the first 65 pages of DORSET MAGAZINE.
So far it's not bad, except of page 31 with those very ugly new Famous Five illustrations. :roll: :roll: :roll:
But obviously the kids today like cartoon-like illustrations rather than the classy Soper illustrations. Oh well...

I've read the article on Blyton's Ripping Yarns, love the lay-out with the 2 EB photos and the 4 Soper FF illustrations. Even though I disagree with most of the text (I think Adam Lee-Potter made EB look worse than she really was) and hope he'll receive criticism from DORSET MAGAZINE readers for calling Sooty Lenoir a French schoolboy (?), I thought the rest of the article on page 29 was pretty interesting. This was the first time that I read that EB's womb stopped growing caused by her father leaving the family when she was 12.

Page 32/33 are lovely with "In the Footsteps of the FF" and the EB Trail on the Isle of Purbeck.
Wish my husband could once play at the Purbeck Golf Club!
Brownsea Island is also on my bucket list...

Not EB-related, but nevertheless interesting for me to read was the article on the Sherborne Abbey Festival on page 39. We found Sherborne and it's abbey by pure co-incidence in late August 2008 on the way back from Corfe Castle Village to Yeovil (our hotel) while looking for a tea room to enjoy Cream Tea and scones. We were hoping for something lovely located in the country outside a town, but we couldn't find a single place.
So we ended up in Sherborne.
When we walked by the abbey and heard a choir, we couldn't resist going inside. Somebody from the abbey told us that we need to be very quiet as the choir was recorded by a BBC team. We just listened for a while and then left. Very hungry by now we finally found a small café towards the end of the shopping street (I think there were no cars allowed, just a pedestrian zone). But the café had only one scone left, so we shared it and had something else like a flapper jack (sp?).

Too bad that the Lulworth Castle article on page 55 has not one single photo of the castle :(.
The next page where I found the FF being mentioned was on pages 64/65 (Dorset's wildest picnic spots).
Will continue in a few days...still almost 100 pages to read.
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