Old Lob

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Ivan
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Old Lob

Post by Ivan »

For years now I've been haunted by the memory of the books I learned to read with at school in the late '60's which were about a farmer called Old Lob and his animals. What makes these books even more perplexing is the fact that the only person I've ever met who was taught from them went to school in Glasgow in the early '50's; everyone else my age seems to have followed the route of 'Janet and John' who completely passed me by. After a fair bit of Googling I've learned they were written by E H Grassam (an author of umpteen early readers) and illustrated by Hugh Radcliffe Wilson (I've turned up several of his Old Lob pictures on the net which have real charm).

I was wondering if anyone on here knows anything about Grassam or Wilson or just has the same fond memories of Old Lob and his friends that I do.
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Moonraker
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Moonraker »

Sorry, Ivan - I've never heard of Old Lob. :|
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Eddie Muir
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Eddie Muir »

I started school in 1949 and I have vivid recollections of the Old Lob books, Ivan. They were among the first reading books I had at Areley Kings Infant School in Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire. It is a long time since I actually saw any of the books, but I also have fond memories of them. :D

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As far as I know Old Lob was replaced by Janet and John in the mid-fifties in schools in England, and so it seems rather unusual that you should have learned to read from them in the late sixties. Where did you go to school? I don't know when Scottish school stopped using the Old Lob books.
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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Ivan
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Ivan »

Hi Eddie. From poking around the internet I've discovered that Old Lob was first published in 1938 so they were pretty old when you were at school but the fact that they were still being used at my school in Leeds when I started there (in 1968 by my reckoning) is even odder. Trawling the internet for mentions of the series it seems that most people who do recall the series are met with disbelief when they mention it's very existence. I set up a facebook page about Lob a while back
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=welcome#!/OldLobsFarmyard" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and heard on there from a lady who'd read the books in Wales at about the same time as me so I can only assume that in the '60's there were a scattering of schools across Britain who were too tightfisted to invest in Janet and John.
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Eddie Muir
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Eddie Muir »

Thank you for the very interesting link, Ivan. You're probably right about a scattering of schools being too tightfisted to invest in the Janet and John books in the sixties. That would certainly explain your experience of the Old Lob books in Leeds in 1968. :D
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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Daisy
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Daisy »

My children who started school in 1965,'66, &'69 met Old Lob in their school in Gravesend, Kent. At an earlier date -1958 I was teaching reading in the same town, different school, from Janet and John! If I remember correctly, Mrs Moo was another character in the Old Lob books and I believe the use of a rather rude phrase by Alf Garnett in a comedy series 'Till Death do us Part' caused some consternation and the eventual dropping of the books altogether!
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Ivan
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Ivan »

That's interesting Daisy. I know Old Lob had a cow called Mrs. Cuddy but it would be wonderful if he had another cow which caused problems with Alf Garnett and a truly fascinating reason to end the series. It reminds me of an issue we had with a picture book when I was working in a library some years ago. The story was about the contents of a kitchen (talking cutlery, teapots etc.) and included a clearly female tea bag who was refered to in the text as "the old bag", a fact which did lead to a complaint from one library user.
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Daisy
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Daisy »

I thought Mrs Moo had been dropped - Mrs Cuddy was her replacement! It all comes back now - but the books had had their day. Jane and Peter came along and I think that was a very good reading scheme as there were work books which I found very useful in reinforcing the words as they were learned. Of course they are now considered to be dated and other schemes are used today. When my youngest started school,in 1973, I had already introduced her to Jane and Peter - having made sure another scheme was in use in the school she would attend. To my amusement she refused to try to learn the words her teacher introduced to the class saying "Those aren't my words". She took some convincing that the books at school were equally valid!
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Looking at the pictures I vaguely remember some books along those lines, but really it was such an age away that I can't remember fully!

I do remember when I first opend an arithmatic book, full of numbers and the back ground I'm sure was black!!! :?

8)
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Re: Old Lob

Post by poddys »

I don't remember Old Lob either, but I started school in 1959/1960 and I know I didn't have Janet and John.

Maybe I did have Old Lob, but it's so long ago I forgot.
I went on some great adventures reading the Famous Five books.
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Moonraker
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Moonraker »

Lovely Facebook page, and great illustrations. Sadly, I never saw the books.
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Daisy
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Daisy »

You didn't miss a lot Nigel! Sadly I had to use them for teaching reading in the mid 60s. I much preferred Janet and John although the illustrations were old fashioned even then.... the ladybird books were a welcome replacement.
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Moonraker »

Really, Daisy? Of course, I have only the illustrations to go by, so haven't any idea about the script. As for Janet and John, I much preferred Terry Wogan's slant on their adventures!
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Daisy
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Daisy »

Oh gosh so do I Nigel! They were brilliant! They usually brought tears of laughter to my eyes. :lol:
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Njb
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Re: Old Lob

Post by Njb »

I live in Cape Town, South Africa, and I remember Old Lob very well indeed. In the late 50s I was in my first year at school, and I was taught to read with Old Lob, as were no doubt thousands of us baby boomer children crowded fifty into a classroom. SA was still tenuously attached to Great Britain in those days, and my reading was entirely British, including, of course, Enid Blyton, the Beano (and the Beano annual at Christmas), while my sister read June (later, I think, June and School Friend). I also remember reading books by Christine Wear (Weir?), but can find no reference to them at all now. Gosh: memories. 'This is Old Lob. This is Old Lob's farm.' And so began my reading life...
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