Journal 71

[Boatbuilder]

Mine has just arrived as well.

[Rob Houghton]

Mine has arrived also! Looks a great read, as always. Thanks to Tony and the other contributors.

[Eddie Muir]

Mine has also arrived. It looks great. I shall enjoy reading it over the weekend. Many thanks, Tony. My cheque for resubscription is already in the post.

[Courtenay]

Mine's arrived as well and I'm just now reading the editorial over lunch.

"... I have managed to cobble together something for you to read" — Tony, for goodness' sake, it is EVERY BIT as beautifully done as it always is and obviously chock-full of goodies, even more than usual!! THANK YOU for soldiering on and keeping it together even in the face of such huge technical difficulties. Whatever is to blame for the drop in re-subscriptions, it certainly isn't you.

Thanks in advance to all the contributors, too! Now on to some articles...

[Rob Houghton]

I personally feel that the drop in subscribers is always simply due to Enid being less in the spotlight. When the 'Enid' Tv biography was out, interest went up, I think...and maybe when the new Malory Towers series on TV finally gets shown, interest will go up again. Hopefully!

[Moonraker]

My cheque for resubscription is already in the post.

That made me think of the old days when we'd put a sticker on our windscreens saying, "Tax in the Post"!

Not an unlucky Friday the 13th for me, as I didn't realise the Journal was due. A lovely surprise to see it on the mat. Thanks Tony et al. I look forward to devouring it over the weekend.

[Wolfgang]

I personally feel that the drop in subscribers is always simply due to Enid being less in the spotlight. When the 'Enid' Tv biography was out, interest went up, I think...and maybe when the new Malory Towers series on TV finally gets shown, interest will go up again. Hopefully!

I wonder if "Five on the case" boosted the number of subscriptions - I suppose "Five for grown-ups" didn't...

[Kate Mary]

Thanks to Tony for another brilliant edition of the Journal, I'm looking forward to reading it I need something to cheer me up with all the gloomy and scary news. I have already sent off a cheque to renew my subscription.

[Lucky Star]

Mine has arrived safely as well. It looks wonderful, a perfect antidote to all the doom and gloom going about at the moment. I shall enjoy it over the weekend.

[John Charles]

Congratulations to Tony and all the contributors for another great Journal. My copy arrived yesterday on a lovely, sunny Spring Day. Just to thing to cheer us all up!

[Nicko]

Thanks as always to Tony for putting this together so well.

I always look forward to reading it here in Japan as it gives me a link to both my childhood and to the U.K.

[timv]

Thanks as usual to Tony for his great work on this, and to all the other contributors. Rob's piece on the family books was particularly interesting, as i never read 'The Put-Em-Rights' as a child and only had a vague idea what it was about. Also Angela on Brownsea Island; I have come across photos of the Italian statuary scattered about the woods there and suspect Enid had either seen some or talked to people who had been over to the island before it was shut off. I have come across the story of the 'Scandinavian fitness instructor' woman throwing someone in the sea in local publications, as it seems to have been a favourite bit of scandal , but did not realise it ended in court!

I hope susbcriptions pick up; probably this will happen once the Malory Towers TV series is out and is reviving interest. Nowadays it seems that an author has to be permanently in the public view to keep up their profile with a restless public quick to move on to something new, giving Jane Austen and Dickens with their TV adaptations a head start for sales; and younger potential fans do less reading now than 30 years ago.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Still reading through the Journal yet. You made a good point in your article, Anita, questioning George as a'dog lover'.

I also think that with George, it's the person she took a dislike too, such as Edgar, Berta etc, and as a child one would expect her to think, I don't like you, so I don't like your dog.

Thanks to all the contributors and to Tony for it's publication.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Good point about "I don't like you, so I don't like your dog," Julie!

Journal 71 is a smashing read! Well done to Tony on getting to grips with new methods and new programs (having gone from Windows XP to Windows 10) and producing a high-quality publication as always. The cover alone - a beautifully sunny picture from the rare Peggy in Fairyland - raises the spirits at this time of global doom and gloom. Further illustrations can be viewed in the Cave and they really are delightful:

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/boo ... ustrations" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tony's editorial, although penned with his usual wit and flair, is sobering. Is there anything we can do to increase the number of Journal subscribers, I wonder? Whether the new Malory Towers television serial will help revive interest in all things Blyton, as Rob suggests, remains to be seen. The programme is for children while the Journal is aimed primarily at adult enthusiasts - though there's always the chance that parents, guardians and grandparents will watch the Malory Towers adaptation with youngsters and find their own childhood memories of Enid Blyton being rekindled.

Talking of Rob, I found his "Cookery Book" article most enjoyable. I like the expression "perceptive realism" as it conveys perfectly the essence of many of Enid's family stories. Interesting thoughts about whether the Jacksons in The Family at Red-Roofs ought to have been more dysfunctional! With reference to the weeping willow in Those Dreadful Children, my sister and I had a birch tree in our garden whose branches drooped to the ground and we had fun playing "caves" etc. beneath it.

We're lucky to have contributions from Enid Blyton herself and I thought 'The Wood at Night' and 'Witchery' were both extremely whimsical. "Cuckoo Wood" features regularly in Enid's work around this period and appears to have been a pet name for a real wood in Beckenham, though by the time 'The Wood at Night' was published (January 1925), she and Hugh were actually living in Chelsea. It's amusing to think of Enid, then in her late twenties, climbing out of the bedroom window and sliding down the cherry tree!

John Lester's piece on Enid Blyton's orphans was a good read, as was Ilsa Cheeseman's 'George Goes to School', which is in tune with the original books. Crumbs - I never expected to see Ilsa writing about a "Gay-orgy"! To be honest, I'd have thought the name would be pronounced "zhORzh" in French. Tim Venning's article on the 1970s Famous Five TV series contains some fascinating snippets of information as always.

Reading 'From My Window - Little Pleasures' made me think about the little pleasures that mean a lot to me and brighten everyday life - a chat with a friend, a scrumptious slice of cake, a favourite picture, spring flowers growing en masse, a good book (or Journal!), the unexpected sighting of a bird or other wild creature, the sound of a clock chiming, etc. The week before my school closed, a couple of days were enlivened by spotting a pheasant and a green woodpecker in the grounds - and sharing the sightings with children and seeing their delight.

That brings me to the Uncle Nat stories - 'Moonlight Adventure' and 'The Birds Dress Up' - which are short but sweet and just the job for encouraging children to take an interest in nature. Mary's whispered comment about the nightingale paints a vivid picture - "It's singing with all its body. It's quivering all over! Oh, doesn't it sound happy, Uncle Nat?"

'Easter Time at Granny's' is the sort of cautionary tale I loved as a child, and it's interesting to hear of Easter eggs filled with tiny motor-cars or little dolls. I'm glad Tony didn't leave us in suspense regarding the name of the kitten!

Once again, in William E. Ferguson's piece it's great to hear about some of the insightful discussions provoked by a class reading of Five Go Off to Camp, and to see the creative work produced by pupils.

The letter about the P.E.N. Society, sent by Enid Blyton to solicitor and playwright Harold Rubinstein in May 1948, is fascinating as it tells us something new about Enid. The society must have been overjoyed to welcome such a prolific writer as it meant a well-stocked drinks cellar!

Toys! For Girls and Boys, which is featured on the back of the Journal, has a gloriously bright and attractive cover by Agnes Richardson and sounds very interesting. It's lovely to learn about these scarce Birn Brothers titles.

Thanks to Tony and all contributors for a brilliant read!

[Chrissie777]

EBS Journal # 71 arrived in the US this afternoon. Thank you, Tony! Can't wait to read it.