Previous letters pages can be found here.

Letters page from Volume 3, issue 9. April 27th – May 10th, 1955.

OUR

LETTER PAGE

A letter from Busy Bee Janet Orton, Sheffield.
Dear Enid Blyton,
This afternoon we held our 8th Lecture Club Meeting, and I lectured on your Busy Bees.
The lecture made a great impression, for after school I had twelve girls round me all wanting to join! Then I realised I had enough Bees to make a new “swarm” of Busy Bees, and would have to choose a name for it. So we called it the “Hastoe Swarm” after the name of our house.
Lots of love, from
Janet Orton.

(Well done, Janet! I wish I had heard your lecture – it must have been a very interesting one. Congratulations on your Hastoe Swarm.)

A letter from Philip Arnold, Coleshill, Birmingham.
Dear Enid Blyton,
In a recent number of your Magazine I read of an idea to start a library. My friends and I began one, and we have our book exchanges in our dining-room on Wednesday afternoons. I covered three books this afternoon, which brought our covered books up to seventeen. Daddy gave me some old card with which to make the title tickets. We have made a set of rules for members, and each promises to help old people, look after animals, especially birds, and to make children happy.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Arnold.

(A very interesting letter, Philip, and I enjoyed reading it, I am sure your library will be a great success, as it deserves to be.)

A letter from Graham Eastwood, Bradford, Yorks.
Dear Enid Blyton,
I must write and thank you for my prize of a set of Famous Five Books. What a thrill I got when a knock came at the door, and there was a parcel addressed to me, and when I opened it and found 13 books for myself, all autographed by you. I was too excited to speak – and then I wondered how I could share my good fortune with someone else, and as it is only three weeks since my birthday, I decided to send 10s. of my birthday money as a present for the little Children in your Home – a birthday gift from me.
Love, from
Graham Eastwood.

(You are one of the extremely kind prize-winners who sent a thank you letter and a gift, Graham. Your parents must be as proud of you as I am !)

Two letters from boys this week – it’s much less common for boys to write in (or perhaps for their letters to be chosen?) – and Philip Arnold is a great Blyton-sounding name!

It’s funny to read that a set of Famous Five books only comprised 13 titles – but of course book 14, Five Have Plenty of Fun wasn’t published until 1955, and clearly it was later than April. [I’ve just seen an advert in a later magazine saying the book would be available from 21st July]

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone refer to groups of Busy Bees as a swarm – but it makes sense!