Author Archives: Fiona

Monday #527

Halfway through May now and there still hasn’t been much of an improvement in the weather. Came out of a solid week of mist to have one mild and sunny day before the rain returned. At least you don’t need … Continue reading

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Letters to Enid part 26: From volume 2 issue 14

Previous letters pages can be found here. I have been hunting for this issue for ages so I could continue this series. I still need volume 2, issue 15 though, so this series will need to go back on pause … Continue reading

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April 2023 round up

May is upon us, but spring seems to be dragging its heels. It feels like it’s getting colder instead of warmer…  What I have read I mostly stuck to the theme of bookshops and libraries with my reading in April, … Continue reading

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Monday #526

Last week I was called for jury duty, though I didn’t end up serving thankfully. That’s why I didn’t commit to writing anything – I didn’t know how much time or energy I would have. It’s over now, though – … Continue reading

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Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories then and now, part 6

Nearly half-way through, now. Previous parts look at story 1, stories 2 and 3, stories 4 and 5, stories 6 and 7, and stories 8 to 10. The Donkey on the Sands Originally published in Sunny Stories #192 in 1940. … Continue reading

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If you like Blyton: The Secret of Flittermouse Cliffs by Zöe Billings

Two years ago I reviewed The Mystery of Tully Hall by Zöe Billings. This was followed up by the second book last year – The Secret of Flittermouse Cliffs. My first and only reading of this one (so far) was … Continue reading

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Monday #524

Last week I did sit down, more than once, to write about Blyton’s best holiday locations. But somehow I just couldn’t get it written. I got myself a bit tied up trying to work out how much the locations could … Continue reading

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Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories then and now, part 5

Here we are, already at story 8 of 26! Previous parts look at story 1, stories 2 and 3, stories 4 and 5, and stories 6 and 7. John’s Hanky It looks like this was originally published under a different … Continue reading

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Monday #523

That’s the Easter holidays over now, and Brodie is back to school today for his last term of primary one! Surely it’s not too soon to be looking forward to our week away in July? Maybe it’ll even be warm … Continue reading

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Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories then and now, part 4

I would like to say that I am whizzing through these short stories but in reality it’s more of a steady plod. Which is fine! Reading each sentence of every story twice does take up quite a lot of time, … Continue reading

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My favourite of Enid Blyton’s stand-alone books

The big series always get the most attention, even here at the WOB. But what about all the one-off books? Well, here are my favourites. Those Dreadful Children I grew up with the Armada paperback of Those Dreadful Children and … Continue reading

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Monday #522

Happy Easter Monday, everyone. I hope you all had a good Easter weekend. Ours was fun, if rather cold! My favourite stand alone titles and Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories part 4 20 short stories from the 1930s, and around 96 … Continue reading

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Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories then and now, part 3

I have looked at the first three stories so far, and there were quite a lot of changes in the two I was able to compare. Let’s see what the next few stories bring. A Surprise for Jimmy This is … Continue reading

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March 2023 round up

It is Easter this weekend, which (this year at least) means it’s April and time for another round-up. The shifting of Easter always gets me, I never know when it’ll be without Googling it. I have a vague idea that … Continue reading

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Monday #521

I am writing this from my new laptop! The old one isn’t quite dead yet, but it has been on its last legs for the past few years (obviously it had more legs than I thought, though). I’m now trying … Continue reading

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Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories then and now, part 2

In part one I briefly looked at At Seaside Cottage – the first story in the Hodder collection of Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories. I’m not sure how many stories I will get through in this post – I suppose it … Continue reading

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The Five as you’ve never seen them before, part 4

With Eileen Soper being such a prolific illustrator for Blyton it’s not hard to find her work amongst the books on my shelves. So here are another few times she drew characters that look just like the Five, even though … Continue reading

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Monday #520

Until around 3pm on Saturday I was blissfully unaware that the clocks were due to change that night. Normally I’m counting the weeks until the end of March so that it’s finally light when I finish work on my late … Continue reading

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Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories, then and now

In case you missed it, I’ve recently read Enid Blyton’s Holiday Stories – the 2015 Hodder collection – to Brodie at bedtimes. This is the first in what will probably be a reasonably long series of posts as I half-review … Continue reading

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Five Are Together Again part 4

Finally, I have reached the post with the promised nitpicks, of which there are many. Random points This one’s set at Easter, as was Mystery to Solve so it’s a full year later. It makes sense for them to have … Continue reading

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