Famous Five 90s Style: Five Go Down to the Sea, part 2

Posted on October 16, 2015 by pippastef

We looked at Part One of Five Go Down to the Sea last week, and now I’m going to bring you part 2.

Last week we left off with the Five staring at the flashing light on the cliff at Tremannon. They then found themselves back at the farm and coming across a surprising thing! The Barnies’ Guv’nor hiding out on the barns! They knew that something fishy was going on and decided to explore that old tower where they saw the lights flashing from.

Before that can happen, there’s the Barnies’ show to watch and help out with. By all accounts it’s a hilarious show and the dinner afterwards is first rate. Now is the time for tom-foolery however as the boys discover that the precious head of Clopper the show’s big draw has been left unattended in the barn. They agree to take the Guv’nor over some supper and have a go with the pantomime horse. No one can work out why Clopper is so well guarded but the boys don’t worry about that as the find all the parts and climb into the suit.

Unfortatunatey for Dick and Julian the zip gets stuck so they have to manouver their way towards the kitchen to get some help. Mr Penruthlan comes out, thinking one of his horses is loose and manages to catch them and unzip them, much to the boys disgruntlement. They deposit the costume back in the barn with the Guv’nor and run back to dinner.

The next day the Five go to explore the tower and find nothing much but splashes of oil, presumably spilled from the lantern as it’s carried up the stairs. The funny thing is that Anne thinks she hears someone inside the old tower, and wants everyone to be careful, but as everyone knows, Timmy would bark if there was someone inside, and he doesn’t even growl.

Laughing at Anne for being scared, rather unkindly as it turns out, everyone makes a search of the tower for where the most oil has been spilt, hoping to find out where the secret passage is. Timmy eventually finds it in an old fire place and the Five find the passage and start to make their way down it. There isn’t a lot of jostling between the boys in this episode, it must have been before Williamson’s broken leg because Julian and Dick’s roles are still as they are in the books. Julian, unsurprisingly then, leads the Five through the tunnel, and tells George that she’s not to go back for Timmy as they think he’s run off to look for rabbits.

Alas, Timmy has gotten himself trapped by one of the smugglers and the Five, in an hope to rescue him get stuck as well. Desperate to escape but out of ideas how, all they can do is sit tight until the smuggler, whom they assume is Mr Penruthlan, lets them go when all the work is finished.

What they do not count on is Anne’s funny noise and feeling from the tower earlier. This turns out to be Yan! None other than the funny little boy who had latched on to them from the beginning. “No wonder Timmy didn’t bark!” they all exclaim when they work it out. Sometimes I wonder that they work mysteries out at all! With Yan having set them free, they follow the passage to the cove where they see someone signalling to the boat off shore and then creep back through the passage that takes them back to the farm.

One of my favourite scenes in the book, which becomes over acted and cringe worthy on screen is the one where Julian suggests to Mrs Penruthlan that her husband is a smuggler and gets a box around the ears by the lady of the house. In the adaptation there is no actual boxing of the ears but a short sharp scene where Mrs Penruthland gets very upset– and no wonder because then walks in her husband and puts them all to rights. He’s been searching for the smugglers, and not one himself.

Now there is still a mystery to solve, how are the drugs being transported and Dick comes up with the clever suggestion that its the Barnies! How can these happy, smiling people be in league with smugglers? Well, lets say the Guv’nor isn’t squeaky clean.

Now I won’t say much more because I’ll give away the surprise ending. Lets just say that the Five get their man and Yan, gets some well deserved sweets.

Overall, again not a bad adaptation; the format of the books is clearly more translatable onto screen through two twenty-five minute programs. They get a lot of detail in, but of course as lover of the books, even longer would have made a better episode. The cast are at their best here, older than they were in the first series, more settled in their characters and all this is pre-leg breaking, and the move away from the natural order of eldest first.

Five Go Down to the Sea has almost always been a favourite book of mine, with the scenes it depicts and the rugged Cornish coast, what could be any better? So I’m happy with these two episodes, they are quite true to the story, and definitely work well as  two parter.

What do you think?

Paul Child as Dick, Marco Williamson as Julian, Jemima Rooper as George and Laura Petela as Anne

Paul Child as Dick, Marco Williamson as Julian, Jemima Rooper as George and Laura Petela as Anne

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My favourite Enid Blyton quotes

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Fiona

This post was inspired by an article on the Guardian site: Six of the best Enid Blyton quotes which was published in honour of Enid Blyton’s birthday this year. Two of the quotes were no surprise as they are always floating around the internet (usually attributed simply to Blyton rather than noting which book they came from) but it was interesting to see which other quotes they picked.

The best way to treat obstacles is to use them as stepping-stones. Laugh at them, tread on them, and let them lead you to something better.” (Mr Galliano’s Circus),

It wasn’t a bit of good fighting grown-ups. They could do exactly as they liked.” (Five on a Treasure Island)

and

I think people make their own faces as they grow.” (The Naughtiest Girl)

are often seen (by me anyway) on Pinterest in particular but also elsewhere on the web.

The other Guardian picks are perhaps less well known:

I’m good at exploring roofs. You never know when that kind of thing comes in useful.” (The Rubadub Mystery)

I don’t know why, but the meals we have on picnics always taste so much nicer than the ones we have indoors.”  (Five Go Off in a Caravan)

Mothers were much too sharp. They were like dogs.” (The Mystery of the Hidden House)

There are probably many quotes that could have been used for the”food always tasting better out-of doors” theme, most of them coming from Anne and Lucy-Ann of The Famous Five and Adventure Series respectively.

So, now to my personal favourites. I’m being quite loose with the definition of a quote here – there’s nothing as concise as in the Guardian article and some are more like paragraphs or pieces of conversation. But never mind, they are my favourites at any rate.

LINES I USE AS MY SIGNATURE ON THE ENID BLYTON SOCIETY FORUMS

“It’s the ash! It’s falling!” yelled Julian, almost startling Dick out of his wits.

“Listen to its terrible groans and creaks!” yelled Julian, almost beside himself with impatience.

There’s some lines in between these in the book but those two are my favourites and make me smile every time I read Five Go to Smuggler’s Top.

Julian warns everyone about the falling ash tree in "Five Go to Smuggler's Top" illustrated by Eileen Soper.

JUST ONE OF THE REASONS IRENE MADE MY TOP THREE CHARACTERS

“Clear out,” yelled everyone, and Irene brandished her hairbrush fiercely, almost knocking Belinda’s eye out.

Again, this quote – from In the Fifth at Malory Towers this time – makes me grin every time I read it. It’s just such an Irene thing to do.

Irene brandishing her hairbrush so fiercely she nearly hits Belinda in the face in "In the Fifth at Malory Towers" illustrated by Stanley Lloyd.

BLYTON’S MOST ICONIC PHRASE

Two Trees.
Gloomy Water.
Saucy Jane.
And Maggie knows too.

From Five on a Hike Together, there can’t be a more quotable, repeatable, memorable line from a Blyton book. Most things whispered through a window in the dead of night, particularly by wide-eyed, bullet-headed escaped convicts would be, though.

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FOR THE SHOCK AND RELIEF OF THE FIRST READ,
AND FAMILIAR JOY THEREAFTER

Don’t forget Bill Smugs!

It’s Bill, coming to the rescue in The Mountain of Adventure. An iconic moment even if most readers rate Mountain as the weakest Adventure book.

ONE SUMMING UP A FINAL TOUCH THAT MAKES A HOLLOW TREE A HOME

“I guess we’re the only people in all the world that have a room in  a tree, with a window in the trunk and a curtain for it made of leaves.”

I just love the house they make in Hollow Tree House – with the branch shelf and the clock from home – but my favourite part is when they make a little window complete with a leafy curtain. Blyton was a master of making caves and trees and other unusual places into safe, comfortable places to live. All it takes is a sandy or mossy floor, a fern curtain, a shelf to put the food on and some candles to light it up after dark.

ONE OF KIKI’S BEST MOMENTS – AND SHE DOESN’T EVEN SPEAK!

Suddenly Kiki gave an alarming screech, lost her balance and fell right off of the tower! She disappeared below and the children leapt up in horror. Then they sat down again, smiling and feeling rather foolish – for, of course, as soon as she fell, Kiki spread out her wings and soared into the air!

A particularly funny moment in Castle of Adventure. I’m sure the readers are just as worried for a moment.

AND FINALLY, JULIAN AT HIS SHARP-TONGUED BEST

Battling with Mr Stick:

“Now, now, look ‘ere,” sid Mr Stick from his corner.

“I don’t want to look at you,” said Julian at once.

“Now, look ‘ere,” said Mr Stick, angrily, standing up.

“I’ve told you I don’t want to,” said Julian. “You’re not a pretty sight.”

(One quote isn’t enough…)

“Supper! The best things out of the larder – bought with my uncle’s money, cooked on my aunt’s stove with gas she pays for – yes, supper!”

(And neither is two)

“Let me offer you our supper – bread and cheese, Mrs Stick, bread and cheese!”

All of the above are from Five Run Away Together, with Julian masterfully facing off against Ma and Pa Stick. I could have ‘quoted’ whole pages here but I tried to keep it down to a minimum (!).

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Likewise I could have come up with a lot more quotes I’m sure. Blyton wrote so many brilliant books. I haven’t even begun to explore Kiki’s best lines or the descriptions of Kirrin Island or the glorious feasts served up in so many farmhouses. But I have to stop somewhere, preferably before I reproduce entire chapters.

So what are your favourite Blyton quotes?

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Just another Manic Monday

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Fiona

We are steaming through October now, it’s the middle of the month already! Who can believe that? I started my new job last week, and it already feels like I’ve been there ages!

Anyway, from Fiona this week, we will be getting a look at her favourite Blyton quotes, and from me, the second part of Famous Five 90’s style: Five Go Down to the Sea.

It doesn’t look like we have any blog news this week. Please do remember that we are always looking for blog submissions!

I shall leave you with a couple of pictures I took on Saturday night when I was out with a friend, of some autumn leaves and pretty lights.

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Famous Five 90s Style: Five Go Down to the Sea, part 1

Posted on October 9, 2015 by pippastef

Five Go Down to the Sea is another two part adventure in the 90s Famous Five listing. A lot of the second series were two parters and not usually for the better but that said, Five Go Down to the Sea works quite well in two parts.

We start with joining the Five on a bike ride down a country lane, which Julian (Marco Williamson) proclaims “All these Somerset lanes look the same!” Now in the book we know, being the clever readers that we are, that the Five are actually supposed to be in Cornwall. Now for those of you who don’t know, Somerset isn’t too far from Cornwall, but it is certainly not where the Five are meant to be.

So, locational issues aside as you can almost forget that Somerset isn’t Cornwall for the purpose of these two twenty-five minutes episodes. The story telling is almost spot on during the two parts and the first episode is quite close to the mark, save the Barnies showing up on the Five’s route into Tremannon Farm, they actually get told about them through a poster in a shop, if I remember correctly.

Ian Brimble makes an excellent brooding Mr Penruthlan, and Maggie Wells is the chalk to his cheese as Mrs Penruthlan who makes up for her husband’s silence by chattering on and on and interpreting his grunts. One of the scenes I find fairly cringe worthy in this episode is where Dick tries to mimic Mr Penruthlan’s grunts and ahs and ums. It isn’t something I see a member of the Five doing. However in the book it is said that they wanted to answer the same way as Mr Penruthlan but didn’t dare. The fact is that in the books, the Five are much politer. In the TV series people have to make them feel more ‘normal’, more ‘human’ and relatable, which is where the very un-1950’s behaviour comes in. This was definitely the screenplay writers way of making the Five a little less polished for a more modern audience.

Anyway, after this part, where I always have to mute, you get the Five going down to a beach and musing about wreckers, who play a big part in the whole story. They start to explore some caves and after some very suspicious editing, the beach which was clear of water is suddenly in danger of being cut off from the mainland. I am only nit-picking I know, but that’s what I’m here for! There is still a lot to fit in 25 minutes.

A character who is very present in the books and in the TV series is Yan, a local boy who befriends Timmy and tags after the Five, much to their annoyance. However, Yan’s grandfather is of great interest to the Five and when they visit him he tells them about the wreckers and how the light shines still on a stormy night. The boys make a pact to go and see the light. This scene with Grandad is good because there are lots of nice props to use; a wooden shepherds’ hut, a shepherds’ crook, and of course, lots of sweets. Apparently these ‘props’ kept being eaten in-between scenes. I suspect someone had to do several sweet runs!

The episode draws to a close with a late night stormy stroll with Julian and Dick, who fail to see the light, but find Mr Penruthlan out in the woods, and almost get caught by him. Could this mean he’s up to no good? And then the next night they take the girls out and again almost get caught. We’re left on a cliff hanger, waiting to see whether the Five are discovered in their little hide away. I suppose we shall have to wait for the next episode to find out!

The Five on the beach in Tremmanan (L-R) Paul Child as Dick, Laura Petela as Anne, Connal as Timmy, Jemima Rooper as George and Marco Williamson as Julian

The Five on the beach in Tremannon (L-R) Paul Child as Dick, Laura Petela as Anne, Marco Williamson as Julian

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The Famous Five Adventure Game book 2 as played by Fiona

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Fiona

Based on Five Go Adventuring Again this seems to be partly a book and partly a game. It’s not quite like the ones where you create your own story by choosing what direction to go in, as it’s based on an existing story. Rather, and this is where it becomes a real game, you have choices to make and can either go from A – B in one go (if you get the question right) or you have to take a series of steps along the way thus picking up red herrings. The less red herrings you pick up along the way, the better your score. That’s how I understand it anyway, having flicked through the first few pages.

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It’s just as well I’m not doing a textual comparison here as the first page is a truly hacked at version of the original – but it gets the point across that they can’t go to Anne’s home over Christmas, but must head to Kirrin where they will have a tutor. The whole story is chopped into fragments, so in order to read it it starts with section 1,  then jumping to 7 then 10 (which is somewhat time consuming!).

In section 10 our first choice comes when they head to the train station. George insists the Kirrin train always leaves from platform 6, but their teacher tells them that’s wrong and it’s platform 8. Which platform do you go to?

I deliberated for a while, actually. George is so hot-headed and stubborn that I wondered if she might be wrong just this once. In the end I trusted her and chose platform 6 (moving to section 14), which turned out to be right.

This is where my problem starts. After section 14, you’re directed back to section 5 and continue the story. But I needed to know what would have happened had I got it wrong (I hate missing part of a story even if it’s just alternate events) so I skimmed through sections 19, 3 and 13 to rejoin the main story at section 5.

RED HERRINGS ABOUND

The next question doesn’t seem to have a right or wrong answer. Either Uncle Quentin is there to pick them up, or he isn’t. I chose to say he isn’t – to match the book. If I had chosen to say he did meet them at the station I would have taken an alternative route through the next sections, and actually pick up one red herring, so it seems that was a wrong answer. (There were two red herrings for picking the wrong platform earlier.)

I’ve picked up a red herring now, though! I honestly didn’t believe that Timmy would bark at Uncle Quentin coming home, but apparently it’s because he’s driven up in his new car. Hmm. (Incidentally they still have the pony-trap which featured in the previous choice for the reader).

I’ve had to stop playing at section 205 (there are 355 in total) as reading it the way I am, it takes a long time! If I’d just going through the sections related to my answers it would have been quicker, but I’m obsessive and I’m reading every section back and forth…

Reading/playing is already slowed down by having to flick pages back and forth to reach each section in turn. Sometimes – regardless of which route I took – I had to jump through four or five sections to get to the next choice but I suppose that might be necessary to prevent cheating. It’s obviously carefully organised so that you don’t reveal any answers too early, and thankfully are never sent more than 15 or 20 pages in either direction at any time. I did sometimes find it hard to remember where I’d come from though. At the start of many sections there was italic text stating “if you have arrived from section#, score 1 red herring”, etc. Considering I was jumping back and forth even more than necessary I struggled to remember what section I had just been on!

I have to say that having read the book many times really helped. I just had to pick whichever answer fitted the book best – like what Mr Roland looked like, or who found the secret items in the farmhouse.

There were sometimes that it was purely luck though. One choice was between turning right or left on the way to the farmhouse – the wrong way would have given me FOUR red herrings, plus another one if I’d answered another question wrongly along the way.

Basically picking a wrong answer leads to a longer story, full of plotlines that aren’t from the book. If you say that the angry voice in the hall is “someone else” rather than “Uncle Quentin” you get led down a side-track about sheep which have escaped their pen, picking up multiple red herrings along the way. That would make it easier to guess, I think, as some would clearly add more to the story.

All of those factors make me confused as to how this is supposed to be a game with a score. There’s no puzzle factor to the questions, simply choices like which room to look in first. It’s so arbitrary and random sometimes that to get red herrings seems very unfair! There are even one or two instances where the “correct” route and the “wrong” route are the same length and have arbitrary differences, so it makes red herrings even more redundant.

TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS

The main text is lifted from the real book, but as I mentioned at the start it is pretty much mutilated. It has to be shortened to fit in – as this book is already 366 pages long. Around 30 or 40% is additional material for the red herrings, which unfortunately doesn’t leave room for the less essential parts of the story. It’s all there, but only in a bare-bones sort of way. Plus it’s horribly updated with “mum” and “dad”, torches instead of candles and there are even shell suits in the illustrations (if you’re going to use ‘modern’ illustrations at least use ones from the current decade! These game books were originally published in the 80s, so I’m assuming these are the original illustrations that came with them. It’s such a pity Hodder didn’t reinstate the Eileen Soper ones.)

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According to Goodreads I’m almost 60% of the way through the book and at my count I’ve picked up six red herrings. I’ll let you know how many I’ve accumulated by the end of the book – I’m aiming to be under 25 so I can consider myself “very good indeed”.

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First Monday of October

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Fiona

After Stef hurriedly threw together a Monday post last week we’ve switched so it’s my turn now. No wonder neither of us ever knows if we’re coming or going! Anyway, we do have a plan for the week:
blueeeblog

So we’ll see how that turns out.

In other news: Blyton made it to #20 in a list of the 50 greatest Britons, and Hachette have revealed some of their ideas for adding to the ‘Blyton Brand’.

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Stef’s six favourite Blyton books

Posted on October 2, 2015 by pippastef

So Fiona did her favourite six books for you last week and I promised I would do the same this week, so here goes. It is quite hard doing six! That sixth favourite was quite a hard choice to make.

The first book on the list is: Five on a Hike Together.

Five on a hike together audioHike has been one of my favourite Famous Fives since I came back to the books at about age eleven. I mostly think this was because I developed a bit of a crush on Marco Williamson who played Julian in the 90s TV series and the copy of Hike that I had, had him on the front. The story however remains one of my favourites, even after the crush faded, because its like a proper mystery, with the escaped convict, the treasure hunt and the villains, Dirty Dick and Maggie. A proper get your teeth into it, Famous Five adventure.

The second book on my list is: In the Fifth at Malory Towers

In the Fifth at Malory Towers has always been a fun story for me. I had it on cassette when I was little and used to listen to it over and over, and I would love the imagery of the pantomime coming together and the girls finally being old enough to see very grown up and sophisticated to little me. I loved the fact that Mary-Lou comes out of her shell and becomes the lead in the panto and that Alicia is finally humbled. Its such a colourful story that its my comfort reading. I love going back to In the Fifth, it feels like home.

In the Fifth at Malory Towers 1957 reprint by Lilian Buchanan

In the Fifth at Malory Towers 1957 reprint by Lilian Buchanan

My third book is: The Circus of Adventure

Now as you progress into the Adventure series people don’t seem to like them  very much, but Circus to me seems to have a real draw to it. Possibly because we get to really understand Jack Trent a bit more, and admire his absolute derring-do! What with Kiki on his shoulder he makes an amazing asset to the circus in which he travels and we have to follow Jack on his travels before everyone is reunited. The series could have ended there as River seems to pale in comparison to the others, and Circus could have been a very strong finish for the series.

The Circus of Adventure Dustjacket

The Circus of Adventure Dustjacket

Book number four is: Five go to Demon’s Rocks

Dustjacket of Five Go to Demon's Rocks

Dustjacket of Five Go to Demon’s Rocks

This is a book I love for the imagery. I love the idea of staying in a lighthouse, and the dramatic pictures of the wind and the rain against the windows of the light house and the dramatic ending. This is a five book that has it all, tunnels, treasure, escapes, rescues, thefts, in fact the only thing I think it doesn’t have is a kidnapping! With such a thrilling adventure with fun around every turn and plus the wonderful world of light houses at your fingertips, who can blame me for loving this story?

 

 

The fifth choice is: The Castle of Adventure

Illustrated boards by Stuart Tresilian

Illustrated boards by Stuart Tresilian

I enjoy The Castle of Adventure. I always imagine the whole story set in the Scottish borders, or up by Shropshire in the border with Wales, where ruined castles are the norm. In fact the old castle in the book is reminiscent in my head of Clun Castle in Shropshire (Can you tell I read Malcolm Saville as well?) The thrillingness of the story envelopes you, even though it all starts off a bit slowly, and at times stalls. Jack’s work with the eagles is wonderful to imagine and I’m jealous that he has the patience to sit in that hide all day and watch for the eagles. Again its one of Blyton’s best for scenery and imagination. The landscape in my head is of an unrivaled beauty and that, I’m sure, is what she was hoping for when she wrote her stories; that children could take her words and make the magic happen in their own heads. I’m sure we can all say, that is exactly what has happened.

My sixth and final choice is: Third Year at Malory Towers

Now this one I like because one my favourite characters is introduced, Wilhelmina Robinson, otherwise known as Bill. Bill is one of my favourite characters because she never becomes one of the silly girls. She’s a nice strong independent woman who knows her own mind and will think nothing of breaking the rules if she thinks something is unjust. The devotion between Bill and her horse, Thunder, is lovely to see as well. I’m one of these people who can appreciate the beauty of the horse from the right distance away, but I’m not any good up close and personal with them. I admire people who are though and who have that special bond with animals to make them fall under their spell. I also like this story because it has a nice dramatic ending which isn’t really seen in the last three novels. The late night dash through the rain to find the vet, is very much a vision of my dreams, especially as a child, such language and imagery created the perfect setting for a young, moldable mind.

Third Year at Malory Towers, dustjacket by Lillian Bouchanan

Third Year at Malory Towers, dustjacket by Lillian Bouchanan

So there you are, my six books! Do you agree with any of them? What would your six be and why? Drop us a comment or a blog and let us know!

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My twentieth Noddy book – Noddy and the Tootles

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Fiona

I can’t believe I’m almost done with the Noddy series now. I only have one more that I can review, then I’ll have to source the three I’m lacking. (Those would be Noddy Meets Father Christmas, Noddy and Tessie Bear and Cheer Up Little Noddy. I do have the last one but it is missing the first 18 or so pages!)

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As with Noddy and the Bunkey I start with a question before I’ve opened the book. What, or indeed who, are the tootles? Judging by the cover they’re some sort of musical people, and I’m sure I will discover more as I read.

The tale begins with Noddy in trouble for speeding (yet again!) and then comes along a horse-drawn caravan, also speeding. Out of it pours a band of raggedy children (at least 8 as shown in the illustration). The driver of the caravan introduces himself as Mr Tootle. His occupation: tootling. His children – or indeed his toots – are Tommy Toot, Timmy Toot, Tilly Toot, Tabitha Toot… 

As silly as it all is I do like all the alliteration and all the toot/tootle/tootlings.

So Mr Tootle has a tootle which is a sort of recorder or flute which he plays. It is somewhat Pied-Piper like as suddenly even Mr Plod wants to dance along. Dancing does not put him in a good mood, however, and he refuses to let the Tootle family park up their caravan and stay in Toy Village.

There wouldn’t be much of a story if the Tootles obeyed Mr Plod and really went away, though! So naturally Noddy discovers they have set up camp in the field at the bottom of his garden. He, Bruiny Bear and Bumpy-Dog pay them a visit and the little toots persuade him to bring his little car around to drive them about. This goes fine until three of them drive the car themselves and run it into a ditch. Mr Tootle promises to have it pulled out by the garage but it isn’t done by Noddy’s bed time and so he goes home without his car.

I was already getting a bad feeling about the Tootles. Mrs Tootle is not ill, despite what her husband said to Mr Plod while asking to stay. He also seems to not try very hard to get Noddy’s car sorted.

It comes as no surprise really, when the next morning the car is missing. Mr Plod is completely unsympathetic to Noddy’s plight; blaming him for getting involved with the troublesome Tootles in the first place. He certainly doesn’t intend to go traipsing about the whole of Toyland looking for them, no, Noddy can just make do with using the Tootles’ old horse that they left behind.

The Tootles’ horse has a terrible case of the sneezes, however, and rather enjoys eating leaves from trees instead of actually travelling from a to b. After an unfortunate crash with Big Ears the horse bolts, and leaves Noddy without even a sneezy mode of transport. He and Big Ears try to follow the horse and happen across the Tootles and more importantly his car. They claim he willingly swapped his car for their horse, and Noddy is rightfully outraged.

Mr Tootle, as if he is being so very generous, says Noddy can have his car back IF he returns their horse. Of course the horse has run off though, so it all seems hopeless. Using his tootle Mr Tootle tootles and makes Big Ears and Noddy dance, preventing them from doing very much about the car. It has the side effect of bringing the horse to them, though!

This is another story with a bit of a wishy-washy ending. Ok, so Noddy gets his car back but the Tootles intend to move off the next morning before Mr Plod could do anything about the theft. They never admit to having done anything wrong, nor do they apologise. Mr Tootle has left a little tootle for Noddy, though, as if that then makes it all fine.

Maybe it’s just me but I think such blatant wrong-doing deserves punishment!

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Whoops! It’s Monday!

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Fiona

So, er, yes; We forgot it was Monday today! Silly us! As Fiona has a busy morning ahead of her before she starts work, I’m just stepping in to bring you the schedule for this week.

Fiona will be bringing you her next Noddy review, which should be Noddy and the Tootles. I shall try and pick my six favourite Blytons to go with Fiona’s post from last week!

Oh! And for all of you who need to know, the cherry cake was lovely and moist but a little dense.

With that said, here’s one of my favourite pictures from a walk I did a few weeks ago, and I found this little snail clinging to a dead flower. Hope you like it!

Snail on Dead Flower by Stephanie Woods

Snail on dead flower by Stephanie Woods

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Making Blyton’s Food: Cherry cake

Posted on September 25, 2015 by pippastef

This week as I mentioned on my Monday post, we’ve got an extra special Making Blyton’s food because this cherry cake recipe comes from the woman herself!

The cherry cake recipe, which I found in the Enid Blyton Society Journal was actually first published in a book called ‘As We Like it’ Cookery Recipes by Famous People which was published in 1950.

How could I resist baking the actual cake that Blyton used to bake or had baked for tea and supper? Well, I couldn’t quite frankly but there was a problem. Due to my lateness in finding the recipe, I seem to inadvertently missed cherry season. There is not a supermarket down here in the south east that seems to have cherries in anymore. So I had to go to my fall back option: glacé cherries. In fact it was Fiona’s suggestion because I was panicking that I wouldn’t be able to make the cake.

So, let’s start with the ingredients Blyton provides us with:

  • 1/2lb of margarine (or 226g. Also I used butter)
  • 6oz of Castor sugar (or 170g)
  • 6 oz of Flour (or 170g)
  • 3 Eggs
  • 6 oz of Cherries (170g)
  • Few drops of Vanilla essence.

As you can see, its a fairly simple ingredients list and at first I wondered about not having any visible rising agent in the mix, but as the baking progressed it turned out not to be a problem.

So, worry not as I discovered. Now here’s your method:

  1. Beat the margarine and sugar til soft and creamy.
  2. Drop in eggs one by one and beat well in between each.
  3. Add flour gradually
  4. And lastly cherries and flavouring.
  5. If too stiff, add a little milk
  6. Bake in a moderate oven (I used gas mark 6) to start (about 30 minutes) and then drop to Regulo 3. (I took this to mean gas mark 3. Seemed to work well!)
  7. It takes about 1 and a half to 2 hours to bake. (In my oven it took an hour before the skewer came out clean- but see how you go!)

And that is literally all to the cherry cake! Such a simple thing! However there is no note of how big the tin ought to be, or how you should go about greasing the tin. I chose a smallish tin, with a removable bottom which helped with getting the cake out after baking and greased the tin with a little bit of the butter I used for the mixture.

Anyway the cake rose nicely and looks like a lovely vanilla-y sponge with some cherries inside. I’m just sorry that I didn’t get to make it with fresh cherries. However, next time!

Let me know what you think of the cake, and give it a try! We as Blytonites should have a proper go at this cake as it was written by our favourite author!

Posted in Food and recipes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Fiona’s six favourite Enid Blyton Books

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Fiona

I was rather stuck for a post this week as I didn’t want to subject you all to Noddy too many weeks in a row. This post was Stef’s idea as I hadn’t thought of anything myself and she assures me that she will do a post of her own at some point.

I’m actually pretty terrible at picking favourites (just think back to my three favourite characters post…). Ask me my favourite book and I’ll look horrified. I can’t even pick a favourite song (though I do have a favourite band)… and I’m just as bad with TV shows and movies. If you narrow it down to favourites from a particular author or genre I can sometimes come up with something, though.

So I have picked six, and I considered ranking them 6 to 1 but I think everyone knows what would come in at number one. With that in mind; in no particular order…

FIVE GO TO SMUGGLER’S TOP

This is my favourite Famous Five book, my favourite Enid Blyton book and one of my all time favourite books. I’m not sure I can explain why, it just has always been my favourite. I’ve always enjoyed the scene at the start with Julian waking up the sleeping household to warn them about the falling ash tree, and Smuggler’s Top has secret passages galore which I love. Block is a sinister (and clever) baddie and some combination of all those factors just puts this one at the top for me.

Julian warns everyone about the falling ash tree in "Five Go to Smuggler's Top" illustrated by Eileen Soper.

Julian warns everyone about the falling ash tree in “Five Go to Smuggler’s Top” illustrated by Eileen Soper.

THE CIRCUS OF ADVENTURE

My favourite title from the Adventure Series. Again, if you put it under the microscope it’s hard to identify exactly what makes it my favourite. I just love Kiki vs Gussy in the early chapters and then Jack insinuating himself into the circus to rescue the others. Then there’s that brilliant scene with Philip taming the bears, plus all the fun of disguising Gussy and the others as circus-folk to escape.

The Circus of Adventure without Dustjacket

Philip and the bears on the board of The Circus of Adventure

FIVE ON A HIKE TOGETHER

Another Famous Five title, but I can have 2 out of 21, cant I? I love this one for the thrill of an escaped convict and secret messages in the night. Two Trees, Gloomy Water, Saucy Jane, and Maggie knows as well! Treasure hunting at its finest.

Dick receiving Nailer's message in Five on a Hike Together

Dick receiving Nailer’s message in Five on a Hike Together

SECOND FORM AT MALORY TOWERS

I tend to like Malory Towers as a whole rather than adoring any individual book but I do have a soft spot for the second form in particular. It introduces Belinda, who along with Irene, is a great source of mirth. Plus it contains what has to be the most exciting scene from any Malory Towers book – Daphne rescuing Mary-Lou from the cliff top in a storm.

Second Form at Malory Towers dust jacket 1957 reprint by Lilian Buchanan

Daphne and Mary-Lou on the cover of Second Form at Malory Towers

HOLLOW TREE HOUSE

This was one I read over and over as a child. I loved the idea of making a house in the woods (I was one of those girls who was always playing ‘house’ and ‘mother’ in whatever tent I could rig up or shed I could get into) and my favourite parts of this book are actually the packing, moving and making of their new home.

Armada Paperback of "Hollow Tree House" cover uncredited.

The Armada paperback I had as a child.

THOSE DREADFUL CHILDREN

I also read this time and time again as a child. I know the title is meant to be ambiguous – we aren’t meant to know which set of children truly are the “dreadful” ones. As a child though, I always assumed it referred to the Taggertys as they were wild and grubby. It’s only as an adult that I can see that the prissy, sensitive Carletons are just as dreadful, just in a different way. Anyway, I always loved this story of two sets of children learning to get along despite their differences.

Armada paperback of "Those Dreadful Children", cover uncredited

Armada paperback I had as a child.

Posted in Personal Experiences, Reading Recommendations | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Monday Again

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Fiona

Once more we are faced with another Monday and another week of blogs.

This week I am going to try and bring you a cherry cake from a recipe in the Enid Blyton Society Journal. This is a recipe that the woman herself supplied for a book, and I’m hoping to try and replicate. Its a shame that I discovered it just at the end of cherry season! Still I hope I can find some in the supermarkets!

Fiona will surprise us all (and herself I suspect) with a blog this week as she isn’t quite sure what she’ll be doing!

This week I’m leaving you with a few pictures from a walk of mine to a place called Sonning a few weeks ago. These are some of the pictures from the church yard. Hope you like them!

 

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Famous Five 90s Style: Five Have a Wonderful Time, part 2

Posted on September 18, 2015 by pippastef

After promising you this blog last week and failing to write it, I hope you don’t mind me bringing you the second part of Five have a Wonderful Time, part 2. Part 1 can be found here if you need to refresh your memory.

So we start the episode with Dick on the phone to Julian, updating him on their progress and the face at the window of the tower at Faynights. Julian, in his wheel chair at the holiday cottage, warns them to be careful and its clear to see that he’s fed up of being at home while the others are off having a wonderful time (see what I did there? ;)) However, here isn’t much he  can do and hangs up, not before we get a lovely little domestic scene between Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny. Basically it seems to be that Aunt Fanny is at the end of her tether with Quentin’s absentmindedness and is blinkered view of the world. Its not a scene that would really happen in the books because Aunt Fanny seems to be the most patient of souls but I suppose everyone has their breaking point. Its a funny little scene to inject some humour into the episode, although you would have thought with Dick being in charge there was enough of that going on!

Sniffer plays a big part of this episode, more than he did in the other one, mostly because in the book Jo steps up to a bigger role, and the absense of Julian means that there is more scope for Lee Turnbull as Sniffer. Turnbull and Paul Child (Dick) almost have to compete with each other for the lead of the Five. Jemima Rooper and Laura Petela as George and Anne respectively just seem to be the steadying influence to the boys and let them bicker before settling on a decision. Its a shame that we don’t have more of a feisty George from Rooper because a three way battle to lead the Five would be something worth watching.

Another thing I have noticed about the second series that Rooper’s George becomes much more mature and doesn’t have the temper tantrums that she does in the books and in the first series. Maybe it was because the characters seemed to mature between series or maybe it was to show the Five in a different light. Again, its one of the questions I would love to ask the producers. Perhaps I shall have to dig out my Sherlock Holmes style detective skills and see if I can track anyone down for a Q&A!

The episode feels fairly clunky if I’m honest, the viewing of the castle, the arrival of Timmy in the castle and then the discovery of the secret passage is… not the most elegant. The secret way into the castle turns out to be an old wooden door that, literally anyone playing around near the castle could have found, and its sort of an anticlimax. There is very little excitement in the discovery, and the exploration of the secret passage. Its all done very methodically and carefully, taking the fun out of the episode. Unfortunately I can see why this one has been made into a two parter, but I wish it hadn’t. Had it not been for Marco Williamson’s (Julian) broken leg, the episode would have fitted quite simply into one 25 minute episode, and given that there are other books that would have benefitted more from a two parter, its a shame that this one had taken up that option for other adaptations.

The rest of the episode gallops through rather quickly, not really spending a lot of time looking at the finer parts of the story. Julian however has given the others a two hour time limit to do some exploring and then phone back. However surely he must know that’s not long enough?

However, given that the others and sniffer get themselves into a bit of a pickle, maybe its a good think Julian only gives them two hours to get back to him. At least then it means that he’s perfectly justified in telling the ‘responsible’ adult a.k.a Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin of what has been going on.

Well long story short, the episodes of Five have a Wonderful time, could be much better executed but its all really down to the fact that Williamson had a broken leg and so much had to be changed to accommodate the injury.

What are your thoughts on the episodes? Do you think they did alright? Let me know in the comments.

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Noddy Goes to Toyland – How has Blyton’s original text fared in a modern edition?

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Fiona

A while back I picked up a 2007 “classic treasury” of Noddy in a charity shop. It contains the first five books (which I already have) but at £3 it seemed a bargain for such a big chunky book. I’m aware that some newer editions of Noddy have been altered beyond just removing the gollies so it will be interesting to see what this one is like.

DSCN3716 (640x480)I think I’ll deal with the text first then do a bit about the illustrations. At first I thought there weren’t going to be any and this would be a very short blog, then they started appearing!

A couple of changes seem to have been introduced for clarity. When Noddy is riding behind Big-Ears on his bike it originally said he [Noddy] clutched at his pointed ears in fright, which could I suppose be mistaken for Noddy clutching his own ears. It has become he clutched at the brownies’ ears, although in the next sentence Big-Ears is scolding him for holding his ears and so makes it clear anyway.

Also, when Big-Ears takes Noddy house hunting it was said that it was no good, there were families in each one [house]. That could sound like there was more than one family in each house and so has become there was  a family in every one. 

Gollies have been removed from the text completely. Golliwog Town has been replaced with Monkey Town, with three monkeys rather than gollies boarding the train there.

Gay wooden carriages are now bright, and for some reason it is now Toy Town and not Toy Village. (Perhaps to tie in with Monkey Town/Toy Cat Town etc?) At the station there is a Bouncing Ball (and a spinning top) with the capitals being lost in the treasury which makes sense, I think.

Originally the pair are advised to go to the market as the shops are so dear. In the treasure it is because it’s much cheaper there. When they go to buy bricks to build a house there saw that a toy soldier guarded the place. This has become a toy soldier stood on guard outside. 

Mr Tubby’s wife was once much fatter than he was. Now she is just as fat as he was. At least they aren’t Mr and Mrs Healthy-weight-for-their-height. After that she is referred to as his wife, instead of his fat little wife. 

The usual modernisation have occurred with some hyphens being removed (side-window is now side window) and there are no longer full stops after Mr and Mrs.

Finally, the judge at the end of the story has become a woman. She was the judge instead of he. Instead of sir/ Mr Judge, she is called miss/ Miss Judge which seems a little odd.  Surely the equivelent should be madam? Teachers are sir/miss usually but when women hold important offices they’re not usually called miss.

A few mistakes have crept in too. A new speaker is not given a new line at the end of a chapter (almost looks deliberate to keep it from going over onto the next page) prompting me to think NSNL! Or maybe it was NSNNL – New speaker needs new line as was so often scrawled in homework jotters! Also thinking has been misprinted as thiking at one point.

Onto the illustrations, then. All the illustrations have been reproduced, bar the very last one with Noddy in his chair asleep. That’s been replaced with a plain picture of Noddy.

DSCN3714 (640x480)

All the illustrations have been enlarged to fit the pages which are twice the size of the originals. They appear to be the originals by Beek as his signature appears in some (he didn’t sign all the illustrations in the original but there are some in the original which feature a signature which is missing in the treasury). They do appear to have been touched up slightly, however as some have bolder outlines in places. The colours have been altered too, and given a paler tones. For me they have lost much of their warmth and no longer capture the bright, jolly atmosphere of Toyland.

The gollies have been removed from the illustrations too – or at least those that accompany the first story. There is a golly on the contents page still.

Gollie replaced with dark-skinned doll
Gollie replaced with doll
Gollie replaced with monkey and elephant
Gollie replaced with monkey
Gollie replaced with monkey
Gollies replaced with monkeys

DSCN3715 (640x480)

So we can see the gollies have been replaced with a variety of other Toyland inhabitants. In pretty much every scene the new character is in the same position and is a like for like swap but the Gollie Town/Monkey Town scene has been entirely redrawn as shown below.

DSCN3709 (640x480)

The Toyland triangular trees have been replaced with ‘regular’ shaped ones and several characters are completely different like the mother and child instead of a bike rider. It doesn’t resemble Toyland at all, now.

So those are all the changes I could see. Incidentally the stories began perfectly aligned (and I mean perfectly word by word), which made it much easier to read and compare but as it went on it somehow began to slide. There’s one page which has the illustration above instead of below the text as well, and the full-page illustrations have been given captions.

Posted in Updating Blyton's Books | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Monday

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Fiona

Last week was a wash-out blogging-wise so this week we’re just going to attempt to  do what we were supposed to have already done? Clear as mud? Good.

mintblog

Posted in Blog talk | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Apple Song – A poem by Enid Blyton

Posted on September 11, 2015 by pippastef

I’m bringing you a poem today about apples from The Enid Blyton Poetry Book. I decided on this poem over others because there are so many apples around at the moment, falling from wayside trees and leaving a plentiful bounty for those happy foragers to pick that I just had to share it!

Apple Song

Apples on the apple trees, brown and red and yellow,
Apples on the grass below, juicy, sweet and mellow,
Apples in our baskets, apples by the score,
Apples in the apple-room, hundreds there and more!

Apples on the sideboard, polished till they gleam,
When the firelight flickers, how they wink and beam!
Apples in the kitchen, shivering in their skin,
Wondering why Cook has fetched her biggest baking-tin!

Apples in an apple-pie, baked a golden brown.
Apples in a dumpling, with a sugared crown.
Apples in a pudding, with custard for a tweet,
Apples raw and juicy, crisp and very sweet!

Oh, sing a song of apples, the nicest fruit of all,
Apples big and rosy, apples round and small,
And when we’ve finished singing, we’ll go and help ourselves,
And choose some lovely big ones from the store-room shelves!

So there we are, doesn’t it make you want an apple right now? And does anyone know what an “apple room” is, as mentioned in line four? Is it just basically a pantry?

Hope you enjoyed the poem.

 

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First Monday of September

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Fiona

Well we have reached September, the weather has been increasingly colder and I’ve already dug out my winter jumpers and pyjamas. Have you been getting cold?

Anyway way we’re up for an exciting week this week. Fiona is going to do a comparison between old and new editions of Noddy books, and I shall be reviewing the second half of Five Have a Wonderful Time from the 90s TV series.

I don’t think there’s much news again this week, so I’m going to leave you with a selection of pictures from a recent trip to Oxford.

The Ashmolean Museum
War monument
One of the Oxford Colleges (I can’t remember which!)
The Pitt Rivers Museum
Postbox set into the wall
The Bodleian Library
Church steeple in nightlight

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Famous Five 90s Style: Five Have a Wonderful Time, part 1

Posted on September 4, 2015 by pippastef

George, Anne, Dick and Julian, after Julian's "Accident".

George, Anne, Dick and Julian, after Julian’s “Accident”.

I have decided to do Five Have a Wonderful Time in two parts, because it is a two-part episode and because I think that this adaptation needs to be looked at in two different chunks. A lot of character development and shifting of control in the Five happens in these two episodes all for one actor’s little mistake.

The actor in question is Marco Williamson, who managed to break his leg at some point between filming episodes for the second season. This disrupts the smooth running of the story lines, particularly in this episode and Five go off in a Caravan. This episode starts out fineish, with the Five sitting on some old steps in a church yard and moaning about the fact that there is nothing to do on this holiday while they are staying at the rectory. I assume by this point in filming that the lack of motion from the Five and the fact that you never actually see them moving around that Williamson had already broken his leg and they were doing their best to hide it.

Anyway this is the first major change in this episode because George isn’t the one who’s ill and joins the others later on. They all start off on holiday together. Uncle Quentin isn’t supposed to be working of course, which is the whole point of this holiday, but he has invited colleagues to the house which annoys Aunt Fanny (she gets into a rare mood with him- frustrated at his lack of holiday mood I suppose) and then invited the scientists, Derrk Terry-Kane and Jeffery Pottersham to dinner.

The Five are bored stiff at the conversation betwen Pottersham and Uncle Q, but Terry-Kane tries to talk to George about Timmy before he’s rudely interrupted by Pottersham saying that he thought they were discussing science.

We switch scenes to the Five being in bed and the assumption that its late at night or possibly early in the morning as it seems quite light outside. Julian wakes from his sleep when he hears people leaving the house, climbing out onto a tree outside his window he observes that the scientists are being kidnapped and in trying to get a better look at a clue “falls” out of the tree. In all honesty I am assuming this was a stunt double because I do genuinely think that Williamson had broken his leg before filming.

This however, is the way in the story that Julian breaks his leg. He makes up the story with Dick’s help that he was climbing the tree (in the middle of the night), fell out and broke his leg while watching the scientists being led away. Uncle Quentin doesn’t believe him however and raves about how rude it was of them.

With one thing and another the other four, Dick, George and Anne with Timmy get to go off camping with Julian being left behind. They take tents, another deviation from the book where they camp in caravans, but still have the problems with the fair folk in the same field. The reason they decided to go and camp where they did, at the bottom of a ruined castle, is because Julian’s clue that he discovered on his fall from the tree, is where the scientists are being kept there as prisoners.

The adventure seems to be over before it begins however because the fair folk seem determined to rid themselves of the Five from their field. The day is saved however when Sniffer turns up and tells the fair folk that Dick, George and Anne are his friends.

A big change from the book as I’m sure you know. Chronologically we’ve not met Sniffer properly yet (played by Lee Turnbull) because his only proper adventure with the Five is in Five Go to Mystery Moor. For some reason the producers decided not to use Vanessa Cavanagh as Jo and replaced her with Sniffer. This is one of those non-nonsensical changes that probably made sense at the time of filming but without any notes or information to hand, seems baffling to a fan. Anyway, here is Sniffer, who saves the day with the fair folk and gives the remainder of the Five chance to investigate.

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A new dynamic comes out in this episode, and in fact starts to appear as a reoccurring theme throughout the second series, with Dick having to be in charge, because he’s the boy. Paul Child gives a good go of a young boy muddling through without his elder brother, having waited for this moment all his life to be in charge, but then not really delivering the result his sister and cousin are used to. George and Anne tease him something rotten about how Julian would have figured this all out quicker, and dismiss his theories about the missing scientists.

From this however, comes a changed Dick where he begins to override Julian, take charge more and challenge his brother. For Julian this is all a bit sudden, new and strange, and you can certainly see that in the later episodes. Five on a Hike Together is a good example on how Julian reacts to the challenge in authority.

From the point of the fair folk and exploring the castle, the story seems to be mostly faithful to the book, but there are a few fair niggly bits for a fan like me. Why Sniffer for example?

Anyway. That’s all for now, and I shall review part two of Five Have a Wonderful Time, very soon! What do you think of part one though? Can you see why Sniffer was chosen over Jo? If you can, please let me know what you think in the comments.

Posted in Blyton on Screen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

My nineteenth Noddy book: Mr Plod and Little Noddy

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Fiona

I’m hoping this book isn’t going to be continuing the feud between Noddy and Mr Plod as I wrote enough complaints about it last time. The fact that the cover features Mr Plod in hospital doesn’t fill me with confidence! Noddy and Mr Plod really remind me of the relationship between Mr Goon and Fatty though I usually felt Mr Goon deserved the bad treatment he got a lot more.

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After several absences we are back to a typical start with the Milkman’s morning visit and Noddy’s nodding head. The main plot of the book is really about paint and not Mr Plod. A better title would have been Noddy and the Paint, perhaps!

First Noddy is sent off to fetch paint for the Tubby Bears next door and end up getting himself some paint, too. He worries Mr Plod might stop him for driving too fast but as it turns out Mr Plod is up a tall ladder painting the police station. From there he can see the whole of Toy Village and the visitors arriving at Noddy’s house.

Noddy heads home to greet Tessie Bear and Bumpy Dog who is as badly behaved as ever. Bruiny Bear (I can’t recall ever seeing that name before for the Tubby Bears’ son?) has returned Noddy’s red stool to him so they sit inside before Noddy has to go stop Bumpy Dog digging up his garden. Only then does he discover he has been sitting on a freshly painted stool and now has red paint on his shorts. Bruiny Bear strikes a second time while Noddy’s looking at the mess, and paints red spots all over Bumpy Dog.

Before anything can be done about it though, the news comes that Mr Plod has fallen off his ladder. Given their previous animosities Noddy was rather considerate earlier, hoping that Mr Plod wouldn’t fall off the ladder. When he hears that the policeman has hurt himself however, he begins to gush.

Well- I’m VERY VERY sorry… Mr Plod is cross with me sometimes, but I do like him, Big-Ears, and I think he’s a good policeman. I’m SO sorry he’s fallen off his ladder. I’ll take him to hospital at once in my car.

Well that’s a rather abrupt change of tune. Perhaps it’s just his impetuous nature but in previous stories Noddy has said some fairly harsh and angry things about Mr Plod.

Anyway, the toys of Toy Village are up in arms now that Mr Plod is in hospital.

Who will protect them against robbers? Who will direct traffic and make sure cars don’t go too fast? Who will stop Mickey Monkey being rude and pulling faces? they ask. Seems like Mr Plod is an exceptionally busy policeman. The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is that Big Ears will do the policing!

He’s certainly fierce but he can’t be everywhere at once (goodness knows how Mr Plod manages it) and there is a spate of robberies all of a sudden. Noddy does the investigating while Big Ears directs traffic, and he is remarkably clever in his deductions. Probably cleverer than he ever has been before and it isn’t long before he has rounded up the criminals (showing more bravery than ever before!)

So for a book with Mr Plod in the title he doesn’t actually feature very often! It’s a reasonable story if a little segmented. It would actually be useful as a story for showing children that hospitals aren’t scary as several characters say how awful it must be to be in hospital, then they find out Mr Plod is having a wonderful time. It might be an idea to omit the mention of his favourite cigarettes sitting on his bed, though!

One strange thing I noticed is when it comes time for Noddy to confront the thieves the book suddenly switches to Blyton talking to Noddy and it goes on for almost a whole page of “Be careful, Noddy… Hurry Noddy…” and so on. Then, instead of going back to the usual past-tense narrative (Noddy walked along the road) we have the rest of this chapter in present tense (Noddy walks along the road). Then in chapter eight we go back to past-tense. I’m sure children won’t notice that, but I did!

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Last Monday of August

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Fiona

August (and the bit of summer that finally arrived) is almost over now. August saw the 13th and final instalment of The Island of Adventure comparisons – a project I started in October last year. So September will mean a new title for me to work on.

Coming up this week:

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I’ve even checked my book has all its pages this time, that’s how organised I’ve been!

My new flat is in the perfect place to capture the suns setting over Dundee and the Angus hills so I will end on a few photos taken from the hill just behind where my books and I live now.

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