Father Time and His Pattern Book

[pete9012S]

Father Time and His Pattern Book - ENID BLYTON'S GAY STREET BOOK 1951


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[Poppy]

I have just read this story and it certainly made a wonderful read. I thoroughly enjoyed the magical flavour and intriguing style. Such a simple, beautiful idea but so effective. It reminded me of a story I read just recently from Enid Blytons Book of the year which I think was called New years Party. It has the same idea considering the patterns of the year.

EDIT: There are also some other lovely Blyton short stories in the book I read this in (Sunshine Book) including the wonderful Father Christmas is Surprising a lovely Christmassy read. The bad tempered Queen was also interesting as well as Ring the bell and run away!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I like all those stories too, Poppy. Another memorable one from the same book is 'Whatever Next!'

Many of the stories in Sunshine Book appear to have been illustrated by Grace Lodge, whose drawings of children and and the "little folk" are exquisite. I'm particularly fond of the illustrations for 'Ring the Bell and Run Away'. They're lively and full of movement with hair, grass and clouds being stirred by the wind, and there's that creepy picture of Mr. Snappy-Man with spindly limbs, billowing coat and a face contorted in anger, leaping into the room in a rage. The illustrations for 'Santa Claus is Surprising' are gorgeous too - especially the one of haughty, spoilt Prue in her fur-lined hood and cape. And of course there's 'Father Time and His Pattern Book' itself, in which Father Time with his great scythe looks wonderfully wise, solemn and purposeful. It's good to see the orange-hued pictures, Pete, as the ones in Sunshine Book don't have the orange tint.

I like the way Enid Blyton captures both hope and poignancy in the figure of Old Father Time, who has "dreamy, happy eyes and a sad mouth." For many people New Year's Eve is a curious mixture of joy and melancholy - a time to look forward but also to look back. The idea of the patterns is thrilling yet just a little sinister, and as a child the story made me marvel but made me shiver as well.

I agree that 'New Year's Party' from Enid Blyton's Book of the Year is similar, Poppy, though it's a lot shorter and didn't make as much impression on me as 'Father Time and His Pattern Book'.

[Poppy]

Yes, its a lovely book and so far Father Times Pattern Book had definitely been my favourite. Yes, I prefer it to New Years Party, too. It shows much more moral and I much preferred Father Time to the angel. He was much more characteristic somehow and I could really imagine him wandering about in the snow.

[Lucky Star]

I read this story only quite recently, a few months ago in fact. It was a nice little story but I can't say it made a huge impression upon me. I can't even remember where I read it. Cave here I come.

Edit; Good old Cave, it was Enid Blyton's Sunshine Book which I picked up for a few pence a while ago.

[Petermax]

I recall reading this story many years ago. The concept of patterns being allocated to each personality was an interesting one although somewhat alarming as well. I rather disliked Father Time showing to the main character, Robin, a barely visible pattern of a boy who just happened to be shy. Enid could sometimes be rather harsh on her more introvert characters at times!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I often re-read 'Father Time and His Pattern Book' on New Year's Eve. For anyone who doesn't know the story and would like to read it, Pete's link (see the first post in the thread) still works. Cheers, Pete!

[Lucky Star]

A great little story. I enjoyed reading it again.

[IceMaiden]

Every New Year's Eve when I'm thinking back on the last 12 months this story comes into my mind. As I sit and ponder on what I've got done or not got done, particularly good days or any not so good I wonder what would my own pattern look like for that year. Would I be happy with it or dismayed? Would I get a pleasant surprise or an unpleasant shock? One thing I would definitely hope not to see are patches of wasted hours as I try never to sit around wasting time for I'll never get it back. Father Time and His Pattern Book must have resonated very strongly with me as a child.

[Courtenay]

A slightly unusual and quite beautiful and thought-provoking story from Enid — thanks for reminding us of it, Anita (and Pete for the scans, of course).

I agree with someone earlier in this thread that Enid does seem a little hard on the boy who
was very shy and fearful — I was like that as a child at times myself (and sometimes still am). But perhaps she was trying to encourage children to be more kind and supportive towards those who seem timid, instead of ridiculing or ignoring them. It would be fascinating if we really could see the pattern we and others have made each year — but probably a bit daunting too...

Anyway, Happy New Year to all!!!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Happy New Year!

Yes, it's Leslie whose pattern is "a smudge of dingy colours" because he "has put no brightness into his pattern, no happy moments, no kindness - only shyness and fear." I think you're right that Enid Blyton was prompting readers to offer gentle encouragement to timid children, Courtenay, in an attempt to bring them out of their shell a little and encourage them to join in. Father Time urges Robin to help Leslie over the coming year. However, Enid might also have hoped to make shy children think about whether they could find it within themselves to venture out of their comfort zone at least some of the time. If Leslie can't overcome his shyness to some extent, he may miss out on all sorts of opportunities in life - as well as friendships - and never achieve his potential. Shyness might also prevent a person helping others, and it's significant that Father Time says to Robin, "Tell him [Leslie] to have courage and not to be afraid of doing kindness to anyone - then his pattern will glow and shine." Being shy will make it difficult for Leslie to reach out or put himself forward in a situation where he could be of help to someone else, e.g. he'll probably be less likely to introduce himself to a nervous newcomer and show them around. His shyness might even be interpreted by others as rudeness or indifference. Enid is often dismissed as a "simple" writer but many of her stories give the reader plenty to think about!

[Courtenay]

Well, as I said, I was very shy and timid as a child too (and sometimes still am) and I know how much it does for one's confidence and self-worth to be around friends who are kind and encouraging and reassuring, rather than ridiculing or dismissive, so Enid's advice to Robin regarding Leslie does ring true for me. And of course she's right about the other things that spoil one's pattern, such as bad temper and selfishness and cruelty and untruthfulness — all things that can easily become habits if we're not alert to them and determined to do better.

I've just started reading Enid Blyton's Book of the Year, which I've dipped into before but never read in full — I'd like to read it week by week this year. I mention it because it has the similar but much shorter story, "New Year's Party", that others have mentioned in this discussion. I'm guessing Enid wrote that one first and "Father Time and His Pattern Book" later, taking the same idea and expanding on it. "Father Time" is definitely the more deep and interesting story.

In fact, having re-read it in this thread and really enjoyed it again, I've just decided to buy one of the books that it's included in so I can have my own copy. Thanks to the Cave of Books, I decided on Enid Blyton's Sunshine Book, which has lots of other titles in it that sound just lovely — obviously a lot about flowers and gardens and the English countryside! Plus what are obviously the opening chapters of The Children at Happy House, which is a book / series I haven't read, but I'm aware of the recent discussions here about it and the rare third book (Benjy and the Others) in particular. If I enjoy these excerpts in the Sunshine Book and become a fan, I may end up becoming the latest seeker of the elusive Benjy!

(That's making me think of the film that was around when I was little — Benji the Hunted — but that was about a dog, not a boy. )

[Anita Bensoussane]

Enjoy Enid Blyton's Sunshine Book, Courtenay. It contains some wonderful stories.

Benji the Hunted must be one of the sequels to a film that was on when I was little - Benji.

[Courtenay]

Enjoy Enid Blyton's Sunshine Book, Courtenay. It contains some wonderful stories.

Sounds like it! I found it on eBay and it should arrive by the end of the week.

Benji the Hunted must be one of the sequels to a film that was on when I was little - Benji.

It is! There were several Benji films — I don't actually recall watching any of them, but I looked up Benji the Hunted just to confirm I wasn't remembering wrongly, and it turns out that the dog who played Benji in that film (and a couple of the others) was in fact the daughter of the dog who played him in the original film.

[IceMaiden]

Oh my Benjy the Hunted! I drove my mum mad with that film when I was little, I was obsessed with it! Ithink I rented it out of the video shop so often nobody else ever got the chance to borrow it! I have also seen the first Benjy film which is also quite enjoyable. Both are well worth a watch if you like dog/animal films.