The Mr Goon Intro!

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The Mr Goon Intro!

Post by pete9012S »

I've always loved the little thumb nail sketch Enid includes in each Find-Outers book about the childrens strained relationship with the village bobby Mr Goon.

If you read through all the intros to each book in the series you can see that Enid gradually fades out the standard Goon intro and just introduces him quickly into each story.

Towards the end of the series you get the feeling that Mr Goon was so well known to Enids readers as the Find Outers chief protagonist that the standard intro of earliers books was no longer needed!


1. Burnt Cottage

Mr. Goon, the village policeman, was there, directing men to throw water on the flames. He saw the children and shouted at them.
"Clear orf, you! Clear orf!"
"That's what he always says to children," said Bets. "I've never heard him say anything else."

2. Disappearing Cat

I haven't even seen old Clear-Orf for weeks."
Clear-Orf was the burly village Policeman, Mr. Goon. The children always called him Clear-Orf, because that was what he said whenever he saw them. He didn't like children, and they didn't like him.

3. Secret Room

. “Any one seen old Clear-Orf yet?”
Clear-Orf was the village policeman Mr. Goon, detested by the children. He in turn detested them, especially as twice they had managed to solve problems before he himself had.
No one had seen Mr. Goon. Nobody particularly wanted to. He was not an amiable person at all, with his fat red face and bulging frog-eyes.

4. Spiteful Letters

The four children went to the front gate and looked out. There was no sign of Fatty and Buster. The baker’s cart drove by. Then came a woman on a bicycle. Then up the lane plodded a most familiar figure.
It was Mr. Goon the policeman, or old Clear-Orf as the children called him. He was going round on his beat, and was not at all pleased to see the four children at Pip’s gate, watching him. Mr. Goon did not like the children, and they certainly did not like him. There had been three mysteries to solve in their village of Peterswood in the last year, and each time the children had solved them before Mr. Goon.

5. Missing Necklace

"I'm bored! I want the others to come back so that we can have games with them. I want a mystery—a really good one. And I want to solve it before Old Clear-Orf does!"
Old Clear-Orf was Mr. Goon the policeman. He told children and dogs to "clear-orf" whenever he saw them. He disliked all the Find-Outers intensely, and never
had a good word to say for them. Pip and Bets hadn't seen much of him in the summer holidays, and were very glad, for he had often been to their parents to complain of the behaviour of the Five Find-Outers. Bets was afraid of him, because when he lost his temper he shouted, and was very unpleasant indeed.

6. Hidden House

They had been very good indeed at solving all kinds of peculiar mysteries
when they came back from boarding-school. Mr. Goon the village policeman, had done his best to solve them too, but somehow the Five Find-Outers always got a little ahead of him, and he found this very annoying indeed.

7. Pantomime Cat

"Any one seen old Clear-Orf these hols.?"
Clear-Orf was the name the children gave to Mr. Goon, the village policeman. He couldn't bear the five children, and he hated Buster, who loved to dance round the fat policeman's ankles in a most aggravating way. The children had solved a good many mysteries which Mr. Goon had tried to puzzle out himself, and he was very jealous of them.
"He'll say 'Clear-orf!' as soon as ever he spots one of us anywhere," said Larry, with a grin. "It's sort of automatic with him. I say—I wonder if there'll be any more mysteries these hols. I feel I could just use my brains nicely on a good juicy mystery!"

8. Invisible Thief

You haven’t done any disguising at all these hols. You aren’t tired of it, are you?” “Gosh, no,” said Fatty. “But for one thing it’s been too- and for another old Goon’s been away, and the other bobby in his place is such a stodge. He never looks surprised at anything. I’ll be quite glad when Goon comes back and we hear his familiar yell of ‘You clear-orf!’ Old Buster’ll be pleased too - you miss your ankle-hunt, don’t you, Buster?”
Bets giggled. “Oh dear - the times Buster has danced round Mr Goon’s ankles and been yelled at. Buster really is wicked with him.” “Quite right too,” said Fatty. “I hope Goon comes back soon, then Buster can have a bit of exercise, capering round him.”

9. Vanished Prince

. “We nearly always have a mystery to solve in the hols. I haven’t always liked our mysteries - but somehow I miss it when we don’t have one.”
“Well, find one then,” said Pip. “What I miss most is old Buster.”
“Oh yes,” said Bets, thinking of Fatty’s joyful, mad little Scottie dog. “I miss him, too. The only person I keep seeing that I don’t want to see is Mr. Goon.”
Mr. Goon was the village policeman, a pompous and ponderous fellow, always at war with the five children. Bets seemed to meet him three or four times a day, cycling heavily here and there, ringing his bell violently round every corner.

10. Strange Bundle

“Fatty can do anything,” said Pip, with the utmost conviction. “I’ve been lying here for days, and most of the time I’ve been remembering all the mysteries we’ve ever solved with old Fatty. I’ve never had time to do so much thinking before. Old Fatty’s a wonder.”
“I knew that without having to do a lot of thinking,” said Bets. “All his disguises - and the way he works out the clues - and the tricks he’s played on Mr. Goon.”

11. Holly Lane

do you suppose Fatty will be in disguise — just to have a joke with us?"
"I hope to goodness you are not going to get mixed up in any nonsense again these holidays," said her father, entering suddenly into the conversation again. "I'm getting tired of having that fat policeman, Mr. Goon, round here complaining of this and that. As soon as that boy Frederick appears on the scene something always seems to happen."
"Well, Fatty can't help it," said Bets loyally. "I mean — mysteries keep on happening, Dad, you can't stop them. The papers are full of them."
"There's absolutely need for you to be mixed up in so many," said her father. "That boy Frederick — or Fatty as you so rightly call him — ought not to poke his nose into them. Leave them to the police!"
"Oh, but Fatty's much cleverer than our policeman, Mr. Goon," said Bets. "Anyway, I don't expect there will be time for anything exciting these hols."

12. Tally Ho Cottage

Goon can’t have had anything to do at all!’ Goon, the village policeman, had indeed had a peaceful fortnight. Not even a dog had chased a sheep Goon, the village policeman, had indeed had a peaceful fortnight. Not even a dog had chased a sheep, and nothing as exciting as even a small burglary had happened. Goon had had plenty of time for snoozing in his big armchair.


13. Missing Man

….look out - here’s Mr. Goon on his bicycle. My word - I ought to offer him a few hints about a slimming diet.”
Mr. Goon bore down on them, his uniform almost bursting at the seams. He was not at all pleased to see the Five, and even less pleased to see Buster, who immediately flew at his ankles. Goon kicked out at hirn.
“That dog!” he said in disgust. “Call him off! So you’re back again for the holidays, are you? Well, no meddling in what isn’t your business, see? I’m going to be busy the next week or two, what with a fair coming here, and that there Conference of colly - colly - er...”
“Collie-dog breeders?” suggested Fatty, innocently.
“Oh - so that’s what they are, is it?” said Goon, with displeasure. “Bringing a whole lot of dogs with them then, I shouldn’t wonder. Dogs! As if we hadn’t got enough running about in this town!”
He kicked out at Buster again, but the little Scottie kept well out of reach. “You’d better keep that dog of yours on the lead, if there’s collie-dogs wandering about,” he said. “Vicious, some of them are - and they’d make mincemeat of that dog of yours. Good thing too!”
And away sailed Goon on his bicycle, feeling very pleased at having ticked off the five children. Buster sent a volley of barks after him.
“Don’t say such rude things, Buster,” said Fatty, gravely. “Remember that other dogs are listening.”

14. Strange Messages

Mr. Goon is Angry.
Mr. Goon, the village policeman, was in a very bad temper. He sat at his desk, and stared at three pieces of paper there, spread out before him. Beside them were three cheap envelopes.
On each sheet of paper separate words were pasted in uneven lines. "They're all words cut out of some newspaper," said Mr. Goon. "So's the writer's handwriting wouldn't give him away, I suppose! And what nonsense they make—look at this one now—'TURN HIM OUT OF THE IVIES!' What does that mean, I'd like to know. And this one—'ASK. SMITH WHAT HIS REAL NAME IS.' Who's Smith?"
He stared at the last piece of paper. "CALL YOURSELF
A POLICEMAN? BETTER GO AND SEE SMITH."
"Gah!" said Mr. Goon. "Better put them all into the waste-paper basket!" He took one of the envelopes and looked at it. It was a very cheap one, square in shape, and on each one was pasted two words only.
Mr. goon.


15. Banshee Towers


Buster gave a yelp of delight and raced across the road at top speed. Ah, here was his old enemy! What about dancing round his ankles and pretending to nip him? Buster felt just like a little exercise after his long ride on the bus!

Mr Goon glared at the excited Buster in disgust. "Ha - you little pest of a dog! So you're back with your master, are you? Get away, now! Clear-orf!"

"Buster's only telling you how pleased he is to see you," said Fatty, as the burly policeman tried to skip away from Buster's attentions. "My word, Mr Goon, you ought to learn dancing! You're really nippy with your feet - almost as nippy as Buster is with his teeth! Heel, Buster! The Dancing Lesson is over!"


By the last book Banshee Towers,Mr Goon is so well established he is simply referred to as Busters 'old enemy' no further explanation is needed to explain Mr Goons status! :D

Regards

Pete
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Re: The Mr Goon Intro!

Post by Lenoir »

I enjoyed reading though that list.
Collie dog breeders indeed!
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Re: The Mr Goon Intro!

Post by Fatty »

Interesting, but #10 (Strange Bundle) sounds like an intro for Fatty. Surely Goon's introduced in better detail elsewhere in the book?
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Re: The Mr Goon Intro!

Post by pete9012S »

Fatty wrote:Interesting, but #10 (Strange Bundle) sounds like an intro for Fatty. Surely Goon's introduced in better detail elsewhere in the book?
After this:

10. Strange Bundle

“Fatty can do anything,” said Pip, with the utmost conviction. “I’ve been lying here for days, and most of the time I’ve been remembering all the mysteries we’ve ever solved with old Fatty. I’ve never had time to do so much thinking before. Old Fatty’s a wonder.”
“I knew that without having to do a lot of thinking,” said Bets. “All his disguises - and the way he works out the clues - and the tricks he’s played on Mr. Goon.”


Shortly after the above we get Bets encounter with Goon....but we dont get the usual 'anyone seen old Goon'..etc...or the short descriptive passage about how much they detest each other!

Bets looked out of the garden door. Should she take her bicycle or not? It was so much quicker on a bike. She decided against it. The roads were slippery that frosty January day.
She walked down to the village and spent a good deal of money on enormous bull’s-eye peppermints. Half for Pip and half for Fatty. If Pip had got to the convalescent stage of craving for sweets then presumably Fatty would soon reach it too!
She came out of the shop in time to see Mr. Goon, the village policeman, sail slowly down the road on his bicycle, his nose purple with the cold air of the morning.
He saw Bets and put on his brakes too quickly. His bicycle immediately skidded on the slippery surface and Mr. Goon found himself sitting down very suddenly in the middle of the road.
“Gah!” he said, glaring at Bets as if it was her fault.
“Oh, Mr. Goon - are you hurt?” cried Bets. “You sat down with such a bump!”
Mr. Goon had plenty to sit down on, so he wasn’t hurt, only considerably shaken. He got up and brushed down his trousers.
“These here slippery mornings’ll be the death of me,” he said, looking at Bets as if she were responsible for the slipperiness. “I just put my brakes on, see - and down I came! That’s all I get for wanting to be polite and to ask after your friends. I did hear they were all down with this here ‘flu’.”
“Yes - but they’re getting better,” said Bets.
Mr. Goon muttered something that sounded like “What a pity!” He straddled his bicycle again. “Well, I must say it’s been a real change for me not having that nosey-parker of a fat boy sticking his nose into my business all the time he’s home for the holidays,” said Mr. Goon. “It’s a funny thing how that boy sniffs out anything that’s going, and gets you all into it. A good thing he’s had to lie up in bed where he’s out of mischief. You’ll be back at school again in no time - and for once in a way you won’t have made nuisances of yourselves.”
“You’ll get the ‘flu’ yourself if you talk like that,” said Bets, stung into boldness. She was usually very scared of the policeman, especially if she met him when she was alone. “Anyway, there’s still time for something to crop up - and if it does, we’ll be on the job long before you are, Mr. Goon!”
And, feeling rather victorious after this unexpected meeting and exchange of talk, Bets marched off with her head in the air.
“If you’re seeing that fat boy, tell him it’s nice to know he’s been kept out of mischief for once in a way!” Mr. Goon shouted after her. “I’ve been having a nice peaceful time, I have, without you five round my feet all the time - to say nothing of that little pest of a dog!”
Bets pretended not to hear. Mr. Goon pedalled off, well satisfied. He guessed Bets would repeat everything and he knew Fatty would be mad with him - but before he could make himself a nuisance he’d be back at school again. Toad of a boy!


Regards

Pete
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Re: The Mr Goon Intro!

Post by Ming »

I loved reading through that list. The tone is so jolly - no wonder it is one of my favourite series, and perhaps my most re-read series too. :D
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Re: The Mr Goon Intro!

Post by MJE »

     I'd never noticed that Mr. Goon was taken more and more for granted as familiar, and thus less explained as the series progresses. I originally bought the books out of series order years ago, and thus read them out of order - and I've never re-read them in order since.
     My thoughts about writing a series of books, though, is that it's probably best to introduce important characters each time with at least enough information that you can tell who they are, and know important things about them. An author probably shouldn't assume that readers have always read the previous books, and, even if characters develop through a series in a way that can be detected only if you read the books in order, each book should still be as self-contained as possible. And Enid Blyton's little notes to readers at the front of her books often stress how each story is self-contained.
     Still, it's never occurred to me that readers would have any difficulty in knowing who Mr. Goon is in reading any of the books. So it's probably not a big issue.

Regards, Michael.
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