Journal 72

[John Pickup]

Alas, my journal hasn't arrived yet but is eagerly anticipated. I too am sorry to hear of Imogen's passing.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Yes, my Journal arrived safely today, also. I too was very saddened to hear of the passing of Imogen. Such a lovely lady when I met her, and I remember she bought one of my Green Hedges jigsaws, and said she'd spend a lovely hour putting it all together one winter's day.

I shall enjoy reading it during the next few days. Thanks to Tony and all the contributors.

[Fiona1986]

I wondered if I'd missed the news about Imogen before seeing it in the journal but it seems not. Very sad news.

The only other bit I've managed to read was Anita's article on Malory Towers which was very good. I've only seen up to episode 11 but I agree that episode 10 has been the only misfire.

[Boatbuilder]

Alas, my journal hasn't arrived yet ...

Not to worry, neither has mine, John. It seems that the East of England is the other side of the world when it comes to getting the post on time, considering Tony posted them six days ago. They are good at delivering the junk mail, though.

[timv]

My Journal arrived yesterday, and I have now read through it. Many thanks to Tony for his hard work on this, as always, in unusual and trying circumstances, and to my fellow-contributors for some fascinating articles. Sad to hear of the passing of Imogen, which I had not heard referred to in the media - another link with the past gone. The Malory Towers TV series sounds really interesting and I will make time to take a look; this should be up to date enough in its themes within the 1940s framework (I'm relieved they kept that!) to bring in the viewers and I hope they go on to do the other books too. I would like to see how they treat Irene (as a sort of
vague and naive 'geek'?) , Mavis and Bill, not to mention Maureen who would today be a trendy 'Real Housewives' and 'Love Island' fan. The portrayal of Matron seems a bit different from that in the books - but is this so she can be a semi-'comic' grown up (in contrast to the books' portrayal of Mam'zelle which might seem a bit stereotyped for today's PC writers)or so she can turn out later to be quite nice under the bluster?

Interesting to read more about Mary Gernat, who I used to live near in Milford in the late 1960s but never met; you can still come across occasional copies of her paintings locally in antique shops. I also liked the articles on Five Get Into A Fix (an unusual FF book as a winter holiday one) , the Valley of Adventure (to me one of Enid's two most grown-up works and a good rejoinder to the argument that she 'never dealt with real life' and 'she sanitised/ left out the Second World War'), and the Find-Outers. It reminds us of how nasty PC Goon could be at times, eg in trying to frame the vulnerable Luke and get Buster shot, and so gives Fatty a reason apart from sheer mischief and boredom/ intellectual superiority to keep targeting him!

[Daisy]

Alas, my journal hasn't arrived yet ...

Not to worry, neither has mine, John. It seems that the East of England is the other side of the world when it comes to getting the post on time, considering Tony posted them six days ago. They are good at delivering the junk mail, though.

It is my guess that the journals would not get into the postal system until the Monday as Saturdays seem to be non-working days for posts these days. Incidentally I know of of at least one journal which arrived in Germany by Thursday.

[Boatbuilder]

I have to disagree, Daisy. If Tony went to the PO on Friday evening, they would/should go into the system on Saturday. I have posted items on a Saturday morning First Class and they get their Monday. I assume the Journals are posted Second Class so they should be delivered no later than Wednesday, even during the current situation. Even IF they only went into the system Monday, they should have still been delivered by yesterday. Your comment about a delivery to Germany is indicative of that.

[John Pickup]

Well, mine has arrived safely and I shall make a start on it after the cricket has finished this evening.

[Courtenay]

Mine hasn't arrived yet either, which is unusual, as previously it's been very prompt and I've nearly always had it arrive on the same day as the first few other members who've got theirs. But the post has been a bit weird and unreliable over the last few months, even within the one country, let alone overseas. My parents' respective birthday gifts from me (their birthdays are 3 weeks apart) each arrived in Australia about a month late. Meanwhile I've recently made a cross stitch bookmark as a special gift for a friend in the US, but haven't dared to send it to her yet in case it gets lost in the post somewhere!! Maybe things will be more normal by Christmas (well, that's what they're all saying)...

Well, mine has arrived safely and I shall make a start on it after the cricket has finished this evening.

First things first, hey John?

[Boatbuilder]

Our post has been delivered - and still no Journal.

However, I did receive a USB stick I ordered on Tuesday morning at 11-30 and which was despatched two hours later at 1:30 pm - and it was sent from Guernsey CI.

[Jack400]

My copy arrived, yesterday. Dreadful news about Imogen Smallwood-although, unlike many forumites, I have never met her - another link to Enid has been lost. I've so far only read Tony's editorial first (as always), Tim's FF TV series (part 7) and will, tomorrow, read Anita's article about the excellent BBC adaptation of Malory Towers. All in all it looks like another exciting journal despite being produced under 'lockdown'- well done and thanks, all.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I too was very saddened to hear of the passing of Imogen. Such a lovely lady when I met her, and I remember she bought one of my Green Hedges jigsaws, and said she'd spend a lovely hour putting it all together one winter's day.

You must have felt very proud, Julie. I always enjoyed seeing Imogen at Enid Blyton Days and having a chat. I was interested to read Norman Wright's tribute to her in the Journal. Many have spoken of her generosity and her caring nature. It was lovely to have Imogen's support, kindness and insight for so many years and she'll be sadly missed.

I'm sorry that some Journals are taking longer to arrive. The post office in Salisbury only recently reopened after being closed for over three months. It isn't very big, and the social distancing rules etc. mean that there is only one person behind the counter instead of three or four (plus a second person in the gift-shop area, who also has to manage the queue of customers waiting to come in). Tony took the Journals in last Friday (over 300 of them) but they all had to be "stamped" or "labelled" (involving four different postage costs depending on where they were going) and that was done over several days by the young man behind the post office counter, in between serving customers and doing other jobs. It's to his credit that he succeeded in getting them out as quickly as he did!

Thanks very much for your comments on my contributions, Fiona and Tim. I'll give my thoughts on various articles as time allows but the Journal has been an entertaining and informative read as usual. Thanks, Tony!

[Boatbuilder]

Thanks for the explanation, Anita.

I must say that I’m puzzled as to how a city like Salisbury can not have a post office for over three months. Our local PO in the village, about 100 yards from where I live, which is only small and inside a newsagents, has been functioning all through the pandemic.

[Courtenay]

Mine DID arrive today after all, so I will look forward to indulging in it over the next few days!

[Boatbuilder]

Mine has just dropped through the letterbox.

It is post marked Wednesday (22nd).