Previous letters pages can be found here.

Letters page from Volume 5, issue 2.
January 16th – 30th, 1957.

OUR
LETTER PAGE

A letter from Keith Williams, Aberdare, Glam.
Dear Miss Enid Blyton,
One day when I came home from school my mother was busy knitting. I asked her if she would do me a favour by knitting a lady’s jumper to raffle, so that I could send some money to the Centre for Spastic Children. My mother there and then put down what she was already knitting and asked me what sort I would like. She got out her box of patterns and I chose one. After two days knitting by my mother, we sold the jumper, and the result is a cheque of £5 5s. od. which I am sending to you. Hoping that it will help to give enjoyment over Christmas to the children.
Yours faithfully,
Keith Williams.

(We were surprised to have your large cheque, Keith, and delighted to hear that you had persuaded your mother to knit what must have been a truly lovely jumper. Please thank her VERY MUCH for me. I am awarding you the letter-prize because you wrote your letter so well.)

A letter from Peter Smith, Streatham, London.
Dear Enid Blyton,
Thank you very much for that lovely birthday cake you sent me. It arrived safely a few days before my birthday, and looked absolutely lovely. I had a very nice party. We had some super games, and a jolly tea, with lots of laughing. While I am writing to you I would like to say how much I like your books. I have all the “Famous Five” and “Secret Seven,” and my little sister loves Noddy. Thank you again for the lovely cake.
Yours very sincerely,
Peter Smith.

(Yours is one of the nicest thank you letters I have had, Peter, and I did enjoy hearing all about your party!)

A letter from Judith, P.O. Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya.
Dear Enid Blyton,
At Christmas time here in Nairobi the swallows sit in long rows on all the telegraph lines, and on our roofs near Lake Naiurasha. One morning when we were having breakfast, we heard the boy shout and we looked out of the window, and there was a giraffe eating the top of a thorn tree in the garden!
Love from
Judith.

(Well, Judith, there isn’t a child in England who could have put that in a letter! How exciting to have giraffes in your garden.)

I hope Keith really did thank his mother seeing as 99% of the effort for raising the money was hers. She probably had to knit for 10-12 hours each day to get it done.

I wonder what Peter did to get a cake? It wasn’t a letter prize, but there were a lot of competitions and things in the magazine so it may have been one of those.

I can think of one child – June Mottershead – who might have been able to put that in a letter. June was the daughter of George Mottershead who founded Chester Zoo in the grounds of their house. I can’t prove there were giraffes there in 1957, but there definitely were ten years later!