Would Kirrin Island be big enough to live on?

[Daisy]

How many if any of all the fan mail Enid received has survived I wonder?

Enid kept quite a number of letters from fans, obviously ones that she found interesting and also ones that she used in letter pages in her magazines.

If anyone is wondering how I know this, it is because I have them here now.

I read somewhere many years ago that Enid said she could often tell if letters she received came from children who might one day be writers themselves. It may be those sort of letters that she kept.

[dsr]

Kirrin Island must have had a lot of wild flora and fauna. Anyone know if the books mention anything about that at all?

Rabbits. Or as Timmy would have it, breakfast. Rabbits got mentioned every time they visited, I think.

Also weren't there a lot of rooks int he castle?

[Boodi 2]

If I can import him from Australia, I'll bring Harry the dog. Not quite as big as Timmy... actually, he's only about the size of a large cat (he's a Toy Poodle). But he's lots of fun and even if he can't fling himself on any baddies that come along, I'm sure he could nip their ankles like Buster.

I think that Harry would be a splendid addition and I would look forward to meeting him!!

A few years ago I would have wanted a stable for my horses, but now that I no longer have any it has become irrelevant.

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's good to know that you've got some of Enid Blyton's letters from fans, Tony!

Kirrin Island must have had a lot of wild flora and fauna. Anyone know if the books mention anything about that at all?

Rabbits. Or as Timmy would have it, breakfast. Rabbits got mentioned every time they visited, I think.

Also weren't there a lot of rooks int he castle?

I can't remember whether rooks feature but Enid Blyton certainly talks of jackdaws and gulls being on the island. As far as plants are concerned, there's plenty of gorse and I also recall primroses being mentioned at least once.

[Boatbuilder]

Harry's a lovely dog, Courtenay. - Suki's watching him with wary eyes ----------------------------------->>>

[pete9012S]

Surprisingly, Enid does not go into great descriptive detail about the island the first time the children arrive there in George's boat.

She does tell us the children were very excited and that the rabbits are tame due to lack of visitors, but this info about cormorants was something I had not remembered before:

"Were there any dungeons?" asked Dick.
"I don't know," said George. "I expect so. But nobody could find them now— everywhere is so overgrown."


It was indeed overgrown. Big blackberry bushes grew here and there, and a few gorse bushes forced their way into gaps and corners. The coarse green grass sprang everywhere, and pink thrift grew its cushions in holes and crannies.
"Well, I think it's a perfectly lovely place," said Anne. "Perfectly and absolutely lovely!"
"Do you really?" said George, pleased. "I'm so glad.

Look! We're right on the other side of the island now, facing the sea. Do you see those rocks, with those queer big birds sitting there?"

The children looked. They saw some rocks sticking up, with great black shining birds sitting on them in queer positions.
"They are cormorants," said George. "They've caught plenty of fish for their dinner, and they're sitting there digesting it. Hallo— they're all flying away. I wonder why!"
She soon knew— for, from the southwest there suddenly came an ominous rumble.
"Thunder!" said George. "That's the storm. It's coming sooner than I thought!"

[Deejay]

I agree that the books based in Kirrin and featuring the island were all great but some of the strongest books in the series took place miles away, namely Hike, Trouble, Smugglers Top and Fix.

Yes that's very true, John. Good point!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks for posting the information about the cormorants, thrift, etc., Pete.

There are trees on Kirrin Island in Five Are Together Again - "She [George] guided the boat towards some trees whose branches overhung a tiny creek that ran a little way inland" - but have they ever been mentioned previously?

[pete9012S]

Good point about the trees Anita. At least we don't have to trawl through the twenty one books to glean more about Kirrin Island's topography.

I didn't know much about cormorants so I tried to find a pic to match George's description:

They saw some rocks sticking up, with great black shining birds sitting on them in queer positions.
"They are cormorants," said George.

[Courtenay]

We have cormorants in Australia too — black ones and pied ones. I've often seen them on the rocks down at the beach. They stand with their wings out in that funny position because their feathers aren't fully waterproof and they need to dry them after they've been diving for fish!

I think that Harry would be a splendid addition and I would look forward to meeting him!!

Thanks, Boodi! But I'd have to convince my parents to part with him (he's their dog) and I'm not sure they'd be too happy with the idea...

Harry's a lovely dog, Courtenay. - Suki's watching him with wary eyes ----------------------------------->>>

So she should. Harry unfortunately gets a bit over-excited around cats, as we've found when my sister brings her cat, Olive, to visit. Harry hasn't grown up with cats around (our previous dogs did, but we no longer have any cats) and so he just thinks this funny creature is a new playmate, but he doesn't quite understand that cats don't like playing the way he does. They don't appreciate being jumped on and they have unfairly sharp claws!!

[pete9012S]

There are trees on Kirrin Island in Five Are Together Again - "She [George] guided the boat towards some trees whose branches overhung a tiny creek that ran a little way inland" - but have they ever been mentioned previously?

I can't find any mention of trees on Kirrin Island until we reach Together Again as you say Anita.
But, although trees are not mentioned in the text of the early books about the island we do get a visual clue about trees on the island from Eileen Soper:


A very well established tree - masterfully drawn by E.S.

Of course Eileen Soper might have used poetic license, but this early cover would surely have had to have been approved by Enid Blyton herself?

[pete9012S]

Even a humble little boat like George's would be adequate to come and go from the island.

These illustrations are similar, but do have differences, oar I could be mistaken.
No Tim in first pic - I'm sure you know why.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I hadn't registered that Eileen Soper had drawn at least one picture showing a tree on Kirrin Island, Pete!

We have cormorants in Australia too — black ones and pied ones. I've often seen them on the rocks down at the beach. They stand with their wings out in that funny position because their feathers aren't fully waterproof and they need to dry them after they've been diving for fish!

I've often seen cormorants on beaches in North Wales. There are also quite a lot on and around the Thames, and in London parks like Crystal Palace Park. I was pretty close to one in Woking about three years ago when it caught and swallowed a sizeable fish. I tried to take a photo of it with the fish in its beak but I was too late!

[Fiona1986]

If there aren't any trees then the jackdaws are making a lot of trips to the mainland to pick up their sticks.

[pete9012S]

What a fantastic observation.
Fiona you are the brains of this thread - what a mutt I have been to overlook that!