The Enid Blyton Society

Courtenay wrote:18 is The Berenstein Bears (favourites of mine when I was little - the books came from the same publisher as Dr Seuss, and there was a TV version as well, which I didn't like as much).

I used to read the Berenstain Bears books. From what I recall, the central comedy figure was the father who made out he was really clever to his wife and children, only to go on to prove otherwise!

Thought this was quite fascinating for fans of Winnie-the-Pooh:

The skull of the 'real' Pooh Bear goes on display

Here's part of A.A. Milne's introduction to Winnie-the-Pooh, which refers to the real-life Winnie:

You can't be in London for long without going to the Zoo. There are some people who begin the Zoo at the beginning, called WAYIN, and walk as quickly as they can past every cage until they get to the one called WAYOUT, but the nicest people go straight to the animal they love the most, and stay there. So when Christopher Robin goes to the Zoo, he goes to where the Polar Bears are, and he whispers something to the third keeper from the left, and doors are unlocked, and we wander through dark passages and up steep stairs, until at last we come to the special cage, and the cage is opened, and out trots something brown and furry, and with a happy cry of "Oh, Bear!" Christopher Robin rushes into its arms. Now this bear's name is Winnie, which shows what a good name for bears it is, but the funny thing is that we can't remember whether Winnie is called after Pooh, or Pooh after Winnie. We did know once, but we have forgotten....

A. A. Milne wrote:You can't be in London for long without going to the Zoo. There are some people who begin the Zoo at the beginning, called WAYIN, and walk as quickly as they can past every cage until they get to the one called WAYOUT, but the nicest people go straight to the animal they love the most, and stay there.

Crumbs, you wouldn't go to London Zoo to see just one animal nowadays! Tickets cost £20.70 for an adult and £15.75 for a child - or even more if you pay the requested voluntary donation. You can sometimes get a 2-for-1 offer if you travel to London by train though.

And imagine asking a keeper if your child could go into an enclosure and hug a bear...!

As an adult re-reading Blyton I sometimes find it hard to to distinguish between wish-fulfilment and social norms of the day.

Children interacting with bears are a case in point.

Come to the circus (?) the children take a bear cub for a walk along the beach,
Circus of Aventure Philip tames the circus bears
Oh yeah...

and yet here we see children being allowed to feed honey to bears inside their enclosure, and maybe Christopher Robin really did have a real bear hug.

I still can't believe that Jimmy in Mr Gallinos Circus would collect his new caravan by himself, riding on an elephant... unless someone knows different!

Viv

Viv of Ginger Pop wrote: and yet here we see children being allowed to feed honey to bears inside their enclosure, and maybe Christopher Robin really did have a real bear hug.

Well, the BBC article does include a photo of the real Christopher Robin feeding the real Winnie — who according to the article was "a star attraction for visitors and noted for her friendliness" — so I guess it was considered quite acceptable in the 1920s. Hate to think what not only the animal rights groups but also Health and Safety would have to say about children playing with bears nowadays!!

It is interesting to think that at least some of those scenes in Enid Blyton's books may not have been entirely unrealistic. I'll pass on the question of Jimmy riding an elephant to pick up the new caravan, though!

I got a Rupert the Bear annual every Xmas till I was bout 8. I loved the illustrations by Alfred Bestall. Years later, I was pottering around in Beddgelert in North Wales & happened to come across Alfred's cottage, where he did a lot of his illustrations for the RTB books. Funny how connections from your past pop up from time to time when least expected!

Thanks for that, Number 6. I've always wanted to go to Beddgelert, so if I do I'll have to look out for Alfred Bestall's cottage. I only had one Rupert Annual as a child but I read it dozens of times and loved the illustrations.

I didn't know about the cottage, but we did walk to the dog's monument.

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Thanks for that, Number 6. I've always wanted to go to Beddgelert, so if I do I'll have to look out for Alfred Bestall's cottage. I only had one Rupert Annual as a child but I read it dozens of times and loved the illustrations.

Alfred Bestall lived in 'Penlan' cottage at Beddgelert from 1956 to 1986. It is a very small property, so be warned, you wouldn't make a long journey to the village just to see the property! You can view it, but there is no public access into the cottage. There is a plaque on the front wall dedicated to Alfred. It's a lovely stroll to the cottage & only takes about 10 mins. Worth a visit, even if it's just for a photo or the walk itself!

Thanks, Number 6. I'd like to see the area anyway, so it would be nice to include a walk in the direction of Bestall's cottage.

Here's an interesting article for those of us who love Pooh Bear and the English language: Winnie-the-Pooh in the Oxford English Dictionary Shows how much the characters have become part of our culture in the past 90 years, with the number of words and names and quotes from the books that have made it into the Oxford Dictionary!

There was a delightful exhibition on Winnie-the-Pooh at the V&A in London earlier this year, too — I think I mentioned it in another discussion. I spent a lovely time there and was hoping to go again before it closed, but unfortunately it was completely booked out for its last several weeks. But I'm glad I got there the once, anyway, and bought the book of the exhibition, which is great to dip into.

I live only about an hour's drive from the real-life Ashdown Forest — Winnie-the-Pooh country — so I must get back there some day while the weather is good!

Thanks for the link, Courtenay.

Chick and I are both Winnie-the-Pooh fans and often visit the Pooh Corner gift shop/tea room in Hartfield, which is about 30 miles from where we live.

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We have been known to play pooh sticks in Hartfield.

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Yes, I've been to the Pooh Corner gift shop too, and seen the real Pooh Sticks bridge! Lovely area.

It is indeed a lovely area. The last time we were in Hartfiield we saw Alison Steadman there.

Oh, Alison Steadman as in Pride and Prejudice? ("Oh Mr BENNET!!!" ) How cool is that! I haven't seen anyone famous around there, but a work colleague of mine lives near Hartfield and it was she who first told me about the Pooh Corner shop, so of course I had to go and visit. I would probably go absolutely mad with delight in there if I were still 6 years old, but as an adult I'm somewhat more restrained (mostly) and have only bought a few books there.