Blyton BBC Archive

[Tony Summerfield]

Just clarifying what Anita put here, she is referring to the links earlier in the thread. The links to the BBC on our Lashing of Links page all work okay.

[Moonraker]

I thought Anita had been at the bottle again!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Who'd have thought the Secret Seven's home-made lemonade was such strong stuff?

[Comerscroft]

If you go on to the BBC website--www.bbc.co.uk/archive and look under People, you will find letters and sound interviews with EB about her relationship with the BBC.

Fascinating!! A MUST!!

I've merged your thread with an older one on the same topic, Comerscroft. - Anita

[Moonraker]

Enid makes the front page on this excellent look at times past on the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What's more, the Society makes it to the top of the Blyton page links!

[Lucky Star]

What's more, the Society makes it to the top of the Blyton page links!

Excellent to see The Society in it's rightful place for once.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Hear hear!

Thanks for that, Nigel. It's nice to see Enid standing in front of her bookcase.

[Moonraker]

Sorry, I had forgotten there was already a thread on this subject!

[dsr]

Who'd have thought the Secret Seven's home-made lemonade was such strong stuff?

Home made lemonade does turn alcoholic if you leave it for a few weeks/months. You might have to pick bits of mould out as well, though.

Maybe you should stick to Just William's revolting-sounding liquorice water?

[Anita Bensoussane]

Home-made lemonade wouldn't last more than a couple of days in our house! I can't imagine liquorice water being a hit though!

[Pippa-Stef]

Mum heard this on the world service the other night. It's only ten minutes, but its little explanation of the BBC's problems with Enid Blyton.

I'm not sure how many people over seas will be able to hear it, but it is on the BBC so hopefully it can be heard quite widely.

Have a listen!

[Katharine]

I really enjoyed listening to that, thanks for pointing it out.

What never ceases to amaze me is the fact that for years Enid wrote for Teachers World, and her articles and stories were used by teachers up and down the country. Yet here is the BBC saying that she wasn't suitable for the Schools Dept. and was considered unsuitable by educationalists! Did they choose to ignore her qualifications, or had the tide of education turned by that stage and her ideas were no longer 'trendy'?

By the way, if Zaidi is reading this, you might like to know, that if I could choose to change my accent, I would absolutely love to speak like Enid and her daughter do in this clip. To me personally, that is English spoken at it's best.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks, Stef. Would you like me to merge this thread with the "Blyton BBC Archive" thread (under 'The Author') as the radio clip refers to that material?

As I've said elsewhere, we once went to a Noddy Day where we listened to Gillian Baverstock telling some of her mother's stories and we were spellbound. Gillian had a beautiful voice, rich and low, and her accent was Received Pronunciation (which is of course the accent taught to Eliza Doolittle by Henry Higgins in Pygmalion/My Fair Lady).

[70s-child]

That was very interesting. Thanks Pippa-Stef! I enjoyed hearing this clip. I am also glad that the narrator acknowledged that the BBC was being snobby towards Blyton.

Gillian had a beautiful voice, rich and low, and her accent was Received Pronunciation

Actually, outside of Britain, this is the accent that most people would associate with what they think of as the "British accent". And you are right, it is an absolute pleasure to listen to.

[Pippa-Stef]

Thanks, Stef. Would you like me to merge this thread with the "Blyton BBC Archive" thread (under 'The Author') as the radio clip refers to that material?

You can if you wish Anita. I wasn't sure where to put it and couldn't see a previous Radio thread. Bit of a naff title for a topic as well I'm afraid, but then when am I ever good at being creative?

Glad people like hearing it. My mother pointed it out to me because she caught the end with the 90's Famous Five TV Series Music and thought it might be a little interview with the actors. But still, I do like that she pointed it out to me all the same!