Corinna’s Confession: Five on a Treasure Island

Posted on August 28, 2013 by worldofblyton

I have a confession to make – I just bought my SIXTH copy of Five on a Treasure Island!  This might seem slightly barmy, but bear with me, and I’ll try to explain why.

I think it makes sense to talk you through each of the editions in chronological order from when I acquired them.  I will also talk a little bit about the condition of the books – I’ve based my judgement on some good old Googling, but I am in no way an expert.   So with that disclaimer, here goes…

My first copy of FOATI was bought for me for my birthday in 1992, and is treasured for purely sentimental value – it bears the inscription “Happy 8th Birthday, love from Mum and Dad” and was my first introduction to the Famous Five.   The copy I have is a two-in-one book which also includes Five Go Adventuring Again”.  It is a well-thumbed 1991 Knight  paperback edition similar to this one:

90s Knight paperback

90s Knight paperback

There are a few textual changes (as you can see from the cover, the children are wearing very 90s outfits!), and no pictures inside, so I’m sure you can see why it would be treasured for mainly sentimental reasons!

I have almost the full set of Famous Fives in those Knight paperback editions.  I was content with those for many years, until I started finding older editions and wondering why they were different.  My interest piqued, when I moved to the UK at the end of 2011, I sought out some answers (and some fellow fans!) and joined the EnidBlytonSociety.

So the next copy I bought was some time in 2011:

2006 BCA Hardback

2006 BCA Hardback

I bought this one for two reasons – first, I liked the cover, which is a copy of Eileen Soper’s orginal illustrations.  The second was that I wanted to participate in a readathon on the Enid Blyton Society forum!  I felt that the cover was misleading, in a way, as inside there were a few textual changes – right from almost the first page where they are putting luggage in the trunk (luggage hole in the original text). I don’t think it was my best buy – I don’t even think I offered any insights in the forum discussion!  However, at only a few pounds from WHSmith, it didn’t really matter.

A few months later, I decided to buy yet another copy!  This time I was insprired by the 70th anniversary editions, which had cover illustrations by a range of modern children’s book illustrators.  I’ve always loved the way Quentin Blake illustrated Roald Dahl’s books, and I was interested in seeing his interpretation of the cover of FOATI.

70th anniversary paperback by Hodder.

70th anniversary paperback by Hodder.

I liked it – controversial, I know!  I think what I liked most was the way that he had paid homage to Eileen Soper’s original illustration, without compromising his own unique style (which I happen to like).  I also enjoy the juxtaposition of the edgy, modern drawing with such  treasured classic story.

When I moved back to New Zealand, I stayed for a while at my sister’s house.  She has all my childhood books in storage at her place, and I discovered I had a 1954 11th edition in quite good condition, but sadly with no dust jacket.  I can’t for the life of me remember how I acquired that one though!

I then bought a full set of Famous Five books from a NZ online auction site.  The books were all different editions, but they were all very early editions, including some firsts and some with reasonable dust jackets.  It was a very exciting day when they arrived!  The copy of FOATI included in this lot was actually not one of the better buys – it was a 1956 12th edition, in only fair condition, with no dust jacket.

I’m not sure I will keep either of these two (the 11th and the 12th editions), as they don’t hold any sentimental value, and are not in pristine condition or have the lovely dust jackets on them.

And finally, my most recent purchase is a beautiful 1951 8th edition, in good condition with a fair dust jacket.  I bought this through an online auction site, and was very pleased with it.  I tried to take a photo, but without much success.  So you’ll just have to imagine a slightly dog-eared version of this:

Original Hodder and Stoughton hardback with dustjacket

Original Hodder and Stoughton hardback with dustjacket

So that’s it – my 6 copies of Five on a Treasure Island.  Am I mad?  Perhaps!  I’m sure there must be others out there that have many copies of the same book, though….

All illustrations taken from the Cave of Books
Posted in Personal Experiences, Purchases | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Monday 25th August 2013: Our 200th blog

Posted on August 26, 2013 by pippastef

GOSH! This is our 200th post! Can you believe it?

I’m not sure I can! But wow, we’re ten months into the blog now, and we’ve had some truly amazing support and some really smashing blogs! Lets hope we can keep going!

So this week, to celebrate our achievement in style; Fiona will be taking you through our most popular posts, our best comments, out favourite moments and all sorts of blog fun!

And on Wednesday our contributor is the lovely Corinna, who will be telling us exactly WHY she has to have SIX  copies of Five on a Treasure Island!

From me? Well… honestly, I’m not sure. I have a couple started but none very promising. I have an Old Thatch blog that I would like to complete from all the way back in May, so I may (haha) complete that one!  If the muse takes as well, I have been to Old Thatch recently so I may scribble an account of that to go with Francis’ own blog on the trip some of the Enid Blyton Society members took a few weeks ago!

So there you have it! Just leaves me to say:

THANK YOU to everyone for their continuing support! We truly do appreciate every bit of it!

I’ll leave you with pictures from my last trip up to Scotland with Fiona. We walked from Auchmithe to Arbroath on the East Coast. A four mile stretch once the home of smugglers but before you ask: no, we didn’t find any treasure!

Proper Scottish thistles
The steps down to the beach and old harbour
The cove
Gap in the rocks, perfect for smuggling!
An abandoned boat
Posted in Blog talk | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

August Flowers

Posted on August 25, 2013 by pippastef

Gosh it seems only yesterday I was tapping away at the computer to give you July’s flowers, and now we’re almost at the end of August! Blimey! Where has the time gone?

Never mind, lets get on shall we?

August Flowers

Knapweed: You may perhaps think knapweed is a thistle that has no prickles, for it has a red-purple head rather like that of a thistle, set in a hard green ball that will remind you of a fir-cone. The leaves are usually lance -shaped, set on a tought, tall stalk.

Ragwort: This coarse, tough plant has clusters if small yellow daisies growing at the top of the tall stems. You will find it growing almost everywhere, especially in waste places. Notice the shiny leaves, cut up into dark green feathers.

Ragwort with Cinnabar moth catapillars by http://theresagreen.files.wordpress.com

Ragwort with Cinnabar moth caterpillars by http://theresagreen.files.wordpress.com

Hawkbit: Look for the hawkbit in fields and waste places. The heads of yellow flowers will remind you a little of the dandelion. Look for the swollen hollow part below the yellow head. Notice the rosette of long, strap-shaped leave set with coarse teeth.

Stinging-Nettle: All boys and girls are sure to know this plant, and to dislike it because of the painful stings its dark leaves give them! Look for the green flowers that grown between the leaves and the stem.

Stinging Nettle from http://livingafield.com

Stinging Nettle from http://livingafield.com

Yellow Toadflax: This pretty little snapdragon-like flower can be seen everywhere in the summer, along the wayside and in the corners of fields. It has bright yellow, “bunny-mouth” flowers in a spike. Look for the orange mouth. The leaves are long and narrow.

Nipplewort: You may find this slender branching plant, topped by small, yellow danelion-like flowers growing everywhere now. Notice the little green cup under each flower-head.

Harebell: The dainty blue harebell (which is the bluebell of Scotland) is common on all heaths and moors now. Look at the five petals joined together to make a beautiful bell. Notice the two kinds of leaves – narrow, pointed ones on the main stem, and rounded ones, toothes at the margins, lower down. Perhaps we should spell harebell as hair-bell, because the stalks are almost hair-like in their thin wiriness.

Field Scabious: You will think that the flower of the mauve field scabious looks like a soft pin-cushion. Look for it in dry places. It is tall, and many tiny flowers are crowded together in the round flower-head. Notice the frill of the petal-straps round the edge of the flower-head. The leaves are feather-shaped, cut up into long fingers.

Persicaria: This is a very common field and garden weed. The flowers are usually pink, in short spikes, but sometimes you will find them white or green. The leaves are lance-shaped, and sometimes have dark brown marks on them.

St John’s Wort: This is a very showy yellow flower, tall and handsome. Look for it on the hedge-banks, or in dry places. The flower has five pale-yellow pointed petals, and looks starry when open. Notice whether there are any black dots on the petals, and notice also that flower-stalks grow opposite one another in pairs. The many stamens are in bundles, not set round the centre of the flower in a ring. The leaves are oval in shape with smooth edges, and grow in pairs opposite one another. Hold up the leaves to the light and notice the many clear dots all over them. This is an easy way of telling the St John’s Wort.

Fumitory: The common fumitory can be found almost everywhere in the summer. It is a low-growing plant, because it’s stem is weak and cannot hold the plant up. The rosy-purple flowers that grow loose in clusters. Notice the flowers carefully and see the little pink tongue that stands out. The gre-green leaves are finely cut up and very pretty.

Tansy: This yellow button-like flower can be found in any waste place, and is easy to know. It looks like a daisy that has had all its outer petals pulled off, leaving only the round yellow middle. It has a stiff, straight stem, branching into flower-spikes. The feather-shaped leaves look a little like fern fonds. Crush the leaves and smell the strong scent.

Right, so there you have them. August’s flowers!

Happy hunting everyone!

Posted in Nature | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Circus of Adventure

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Fiona

First published in 1952 this is the seventh book in the series. There will be fairly big spoilers for the whole book in this review, so you’ve been warned!

This is my absolute favourite book in the Adventure Series, but it nearly didn’t get written. There is a lengthy foreword at the start of it, where Blyton explains she meant to finish the series with The Ship of Adventure, which has Bill and Allie agreeing to marry at the end of it. But, much like with the Famous Five, her readers demanded she continue, and continue she did! And thank goodness for that!

THE LOCATION

We are briefly at what we must now refer to as ‘the Cunningham house’ at the start of the book, but we are quickly off with the Cunningham/Mannering/Trents to Little Brockleton. As the name suggests there are badgers in the vicinity, down by the old quarry which gives their cottage its name – Quarry Cottage. There’s also a strangely-shaped hill nearby, giving it an equally strange name – Sugar-Loaf Hill. After Little Brockleton is the wonderful country of Tauri-Hessia, which is a completely made-up country, presumably in Eastern Europe somewhere.

THE CHARACTERS

We actually don’t see very much of the baddies in this book; they’re rather behind-the-scenes, plotting and scheming and having others carry out their evil deeds. Behind it all is  Madame Tatiosa, the wife of the Prime Minister of Tauri-Hessia, working in conjunction with her husband and Count Paritolen. When we do see them though, they’re rather sinister figures, calm and controlled and also surprisingly polite for would-be-killers.

The major additional character for this book has to be Gussy, or to give him his full name Prince Aloysius Gramondie Racemolie Torquinel of Tauri-Hessia! At first we know him as just Gussy, (or Fussy-Gussy as Kiki calls him), and he’s rather a strange boy. He has long hair – something no well-to-do English boy of the time would dream of having – he speaks rather oddly, and he behaves in a very demanding and spoiled way. Of course we learn fairly soon that he’s a prince, smuggled out of his country in an attempt to foil an evil plan, so his behaviour suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. I do find Gussy very funny, though he’s not intentionally humorous. His missayings are amusing and he reacts so badly to Kiki’s teasing, it always makes me laugh.

Gussy vs Kiki

Gussy vs Kiki

There are also a number of circus-folk that we meet. Pedro, a half-Spanish and half-English boy, is probably the most important one, he takes Jack under his wing and introduces him to the other circus folk, many of whom become allies in the adventure. There’s Pedro’s mother, or Ma as she’s known, The Boss, Fank the bear trainer, Madame Fifi who has two chimpanzees, Toni and Bingo the acrobats and Hola the sword swallower. They’re a colourful bunch of people and they’re indispensable when it comes the drawn-out rescuing of the children.

Fank and his bears

Fank and his bears

THE STORY

The adventure starts properly when Bill and Allie get lured away from the cottage one night, and Gussy, Philip, Lucy-Ann and Dinah get kidnapped. Only Jack manages to avoid getting captured as he’s been out at the quarry watching for owls. He returns just in time to hitch a ride on the car the children have been bundled into, and secretly follows them all the way to an airport. He then manages to get on the same plane as them, and finds himself in Tauri-Hessia. He doesn’t speak the language and he has no ID card, so he has a rather frightening brush with the law, but ever resourceful he manages to wriggle out of it. A helpful old man directs him to the surky, or as we’d say circus, mostly because of Kiki. There he meets Pedro, and after some halting French, he’s invited in for some food. Handily Pedro speaks English too though!

That can't be comfortable, Jack!

That can’t be comfortable, Jack!

Conveniently, the circus is heading to Borken, where Jack figures the children are being held. He does some reconnaissance around the castle, and then takes Pedro into his confidence. With Toni and Bingo’s help they rescue all four children, and they hide with the circus folk – but soldiers are out hunting for the prince, and they search the circus as it moves on from Borken. Are the children’s disguises good enough? You’ll have to read it and find out.

Soldiers search for the missing children

Soldiers search for the missing children

PHILIP’S PETS

Philip picks up a tiny dormouse on the way up Sugar-Loaf hill, and he calls it Snoozy. Though not technically his pets, Philip does spend some time with Fank’s three bears, and he is the only one able to calm them down while Fank is ill in bed. It’s the first time we see Philip with such dangerously large animals, and it makes for some very dramatic reading.

MY REVIEW

I don’t know where to start with my favourite parts. I love the whole book! Gussy is hilarious, as I’ve said, especially in conjunction with that Kiki, or wicket bird as he calls her. His mispronunciations are brilliant, it spiks he says of Kiki, and I blid! when she scratches his finger.

The circus-folk are all interesting, and they manage to be different from the many other circus or fair folk we see in many other Blyton books.

If you forced me to choose, I would have to pick two three favourite parts.

In no particular order;

Kiki tormenting Gussy in the bedroom (absolutely hilarious)
Philip calming the bears (very dramatic)
Gussy revealing who he really is (dramatic and funny)

Philip and the bears

Philip and the bears

I could list a hundred other scenes, but I won’t. Honourable mentions go to Bill in a false moustache, Pedro and Jack speaking in French before Jack realises he knows English, Dinah wrestling Gussy to the floor in a fit of anger, the rescue itself, Gussy’s ‘pocket money’, the soldiers searching the circus, Madame Fifi’s bravery, and finally Pah, safftee net! Phew.

Dinah vs Gussy

Dinah vs Gussy

In a way this is an unusual story for the Adventure series, as for quite a big chunk we’re only with Jack. We don’t know what’s going on with the other three at all, not until Jack meets up with them again. We do go back to a more typical format in other respects though; the children do tumble into adventure and Bill shows up at the end.

The family has had another chance, as I said at the start, Bill and Allie get married. So Allie is now Mrs Cunningham, and it would seem Bill has moved in with them. He’s still Bill to the children, and Allie is still Aunt Allie to Jack and Lucy-Ann, so they’re still not the most ‘conventional family’, but it seems to work for them.

And there you have it, my favourite book of the series!

Next review – The River of Adventure

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Sunskriti’s Character Exploration: Dick of the Famous Five

Posted on August 21, 2013 by worldofblyton

I was wondering who to choose for my character exploration for August yesterday. Then I suddenly thought of Dick Kirrin, Julian’s little brother and one of the four children from the Famous Five.

Dick climbing down the well in 'Five on a Treasure Island'

Dick climbing down the well in ‘Five on a Treasure Island’

Dick has always been one of my faves, for I see many things in him I would one day like to
see in myself. Also, I’ve always felt sorry for him, as he’s in my mind a misunderstood character.

Say, for example, that, during one of their hair-raising adventures, the five are separated, and Julian is captured. George, Timmy, Anne and Dick re-meet. I consider Dick more than able to handle the four and keep them as safe as possible. In fact, as he’s not so bossy, I would say, up to some extent, he would handle the situation better than Julian. And, believe me, to pacify an anxious little sister and furious cousin is not a simple job. Not to mention a very lively dog!

Dick has a ready sense of humour and a way to handle George that I never understood. He’s always been over-shadowed by his older brother, and never really gotten to blossom on his own. I personally think it would do Dick a world of good if he was the oldest.

He can keep his cool and doesn’t get flustered easily. I bet you can’t think of even one incident where Dick is portrayed as angry. He brightens the mood considerably, yet knows when it is not the time to speak. He is quite polite and well brought up, and, of course, sound at heart. He thinks before he acts and is never shown as an idiot, as, say Nora from the Secret Series can be.

If I had to be one of the Famous Five, I would be Timmy, and right after him, Dick!
I would define him as a nice, pleasant kid with good manners, a ready sense of humour, and plenty of patience. Brave and sound at heart and not at all afraid of anything, Dick shows good leadership qualities, and I imagine him to be somewhere high up in this world as an adult.

Dick hits Jo in 'Five Fall Into Adventure.'

Dick hits Jo in ‘Five Fall Into Adventure.’

 

As usual images are from the cave of books.

Find more of Sunskriti’s character explorations here, or more posts about Blyton’s characters here.

Posted in Characters | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Monday Again

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Fiona

Well, it’s another week already, and I hope this weeks runs more smoothly than last week did (i.e. I hope I don’t forget to blog this time!)

Stef plans to do August Flowers this week, and our contributor will be Sunskriti who has chosen to look at Dick Kirrin. I will do what I mean to do last week, which is review The Circus of Adventure.

I should admit now, I almost forgot to write this post. It’s currently twenty past midnight and I still have to finish my hair (what an atrociously girly thing to say!) and get to bed as I’m up at seven, so I’m afraid it will be short but hopefully sweet.

We hit 25,000 views this week on the blog, hooray! But to keep this up, we really do need more contributors, so please, send us you ramblings!

I will leave you, again, with a few random photos I’ve taken in the last week.

Dying hogweed in Bridgefoot
Flowers by Clatto
Bee on flowers by Bridgefoot
Insect on flower near Bridgefoot
Heather up Balkello Hill
Caterpillar on Balkello Hill
Spiny plant in a pond on Balkello Hill
Posted in Blog talk | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Timmy “Best Dog in the World”

Posted on August 18, 2013 by pippastef

Inspired by Sunskriti’s post a while back, I thought I would offer a different look at Timmy the dog.

Warning: this post WILL include spoilers.

Most people cite Timmy, and his mistress George, as their favourite characters from the Famous Five series. Not only that but the phrase “I wish I had a dog like Timmy” is one constantly attached to the one of Enid Blyton’s most famous creations. Timmy is the kind of dog you can only dream about when you’re little. He is the pet who understands everything you do and say, never leaves your side, is clever and extremely protective and loyal.

I can understand why most people want a Timmy in their lives. I wanted a dog when I was younger and, if I had been allowed, I probably would have called him Timmy, much to my mother’s anguish I suspect.

First Timmy meeting, by Eileen Soper in Five on a Tresure Island.

First Timmy meeting, by Eileen Soper in Five on a Treasure Island.

From the moment we meet Timmy in Five on a Treasure Island, we fall in love with him, like Julian, Dick and Anne do. George is a completely different person about Timmy:

‘The little girl smiled, and her face altered at once, and became sunny and pretty.’

and she immediately admits

‘I love him awfully.’ 

Timmy is an instant hit with the Five, Dick and Anne both say that Timmy is ‘grand’ while Julian replies that “I wish I had a dog like this.” He then convinces George to accept an ice cream from him by saying that the four of them would love to share Timmy in exchange for ice creams and sweets as George doesn’t have money to reciprocate.

Thanks to Timmy, George accepts her cousins into her life because they adore Timmy. It’s a nice start to the series because Timmy sort of becomes the glue for the Five. He shows his worth well in the first book Five on A Treasure Island by finding the secret entrance to the dungeons by falling down the well.

Timmy Meets Mr Roland by Eileen Soper in Five Go Adventuring Again.

Timmy meets Mr Roland by Eileen Soper in Five Go Adventuring Again.

Timmy is a strong indicator of good guys and bad guys in the books. Timmy is often right when the others are wrong. In Five Go Adventuring Again, Timmy’s instant dislike of the tutor Mr Roland indicates to George that there is something not quite right with the man, whereas the other three are quick to dismiss Tim’s dislike as him just being silly. In the end however, we find out how right Timmy, and George, were about Mr Roland. After that the children tend to take more notice of Timmy’s reactions to people. Even remarking in Five Go to Billycock Hill, when Flight Lieutenant Jeff Thomas, who they all liked, is accused of being a traitor;

‘ [Dick Speaking] “…I liked him so much.”

“So did I,” said Anne, turning her head away.

“So did Timmy,” said George.”And he hardly ever makes a mistake in anyone.”‘

At this point the Five really do think that Timmy has made a mistake in liking and trusting Jeff Thomas, but as we find out in the end, he really didn’t make a mistake. So as you can see, Timmy really doesn’t make mistakes about people.

Timmy attacks Rooky by Eileen Soper in Five Get Into Trouble.

Timmy attacks Rooky by Eileen Soper in Five Get Into Trouble.

He’s a good protector for the children as well, Aunt Fanny says at the beginning of Five Get Into Trouble;

“I wouldn’t be letting you go off like this with such an easy mind if I didn’t know Timmy would be with you! He’s as good as any grown-up looking after you!”

So even Aunt Fanny knows how good a guardian Timmy is for the children and trusts him to keep them safe and protected. I feel the point of her saying this in Trouble is that it is one of the books where Timmy has to do a lot of protecting. In fact, bar one other incident in Smuggler’s Top where he bites Mr Lenoir’s man servant Block, I think it might be the only other Famous Five where he actually bites someone (Rooky deserved it!) Timmy does almost bite Tiger Dan in Five Go Off in a Caravan but doesn’t.

Sometimes, Timmy, the perfect dog, can cause a bit of trouble and Blyton cleverly uses him to make the plot work. For example in Five Go to Smuggler’s Top Timmy is not supposed to go with the Five to Castaway Hill, but George smuggles him into the taxi and then Sooty hides him in the secret passage ways in the house.

Timmy knows that he has to remain quiet during these times in the catacombs but unfortunately during a lunch he starts barking, causing the children to infuriate Mr Lenoir with their insistence that he can only hear seagulls. Timmy  of course saves the day by guiding Uncle Quentin and Sooty out of catacombs and Mr Lenoir tells the children that if he had been told, he would have made arrangements for Timmy to board in the town. Added with the fact that they thought that Mr Lenoir was the bad guy, the Five feel a little foolish.

Timmy has a couple of other accidents, which are the catalyst for the Famous Five plots. In Five on a Hike Together he gets himself stuck down a rabbit hole and manages to dislocate his leg. This sets off a chain of events in which Julian and George separate from Dick and Anne and the latter two get lost, setting the adventure in motion. Timmy more than makes up for his accident later in the book however when he does some very good guarding against Maggie and Dirty Dick.

Timmy in his Collar leaving with George by Eileen Soper in Five on a Secret Trail.

Timmy in his collar leaving with George by Eileen Soper in Five on a Secret Trail.

Five On A Secret Trail is another Five where Timmy’s rabbit chasing adventures get him into trouble. This time he catches his ear on some barbed wire and has to have stitches. To stop him scratching them, he has to have a wide cardboard collar made up for him. This collar gets him laughed at and George, fed up with people laughing at her beloved Timmy, goes off to camp on the common in high dudgeon. This temper causes George and Anne, later the boys as well, to fall into another thrilling adventure.

In Five have Plenty of Fun we see Timmy lose his beloved mistress George as she is mistaken for Berta Wright. He goes to look for her when Julian, Dick and Anne are trying to figure out where she has been taken, clearly knowing that there is a problem as George is not there.  Timmy is also clever when they go to fairground with Jo and Gypsy girl and manages to locate George’s dressing gown. The only time he is not clever is when Dick falls over the cat that is following them and  chases after it barking and waking George’s captors!

Timmy has a lot of factors that make him “the best dog in the world” and these are only some of the ones I can remember at the moment. If I think of any more, I shall have to do Timmy Part 2. There is a lot to write about one of Blyton’s most famous canine creations, and I could go on all night, and go through every book with a fine tooth comb and still not be able to do him justice.

The question remains though; Do I want a dog like Timmy?

Most definitely! Who wouldn’t?

Timmy as drawn by Eileen Soper in Five go to Mystery Moor.

Timmy as drawn by Eileen Soper in Five go to Mystery Moor.

Posted in Characters | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Ladybird – A poem by Enid Blyton

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Fiona

I am a terrible person and a worse blogger. At about 11 o’clock last night I realised I didn’t have  blog written for this week, (my excuse, if anyone is interested, is I was writing fanfic) and I couldn’t stay up half the night blogging like I have done before as I start work at 8 on Friday.

So, long story short, here’s a poem for you instead.

The Ladybird

Ladybird, you’re very neat
From tiny head to little feet,
I like your coat of red and black,
I like your clean and shining back.
Do you polish it each night
To make it shine so gay and bright,
Or do you keep a tiny fay
Who rubs it up for you each day?
Beneath your shiny back there lie
The gauzy wings with which you fly,
You’re spreading them – oh please don’t go,
There’s such a lot I want to know.
Your house is burning, do you say?
Ah, well, of course, you mustn’t stay!

Poem originally written for Teachers World No.1576 Aug 9, 1933, taken from The Enid Blyton Poetry Book, 1934.

A ladybird I met on a walk at the Crags of Lundie.

Posted in Nature, Poetry | Tagged | 7 Comments

When Francis went to Old Thatch

Posted on August 14, 2013 by worldofblyton

The alarm clock went off at 6 o’clock and I staggered downstairs to make a cup of tea for Izzy and I. We really don’t function without large doses of tea so the thought of going a few hours without it was quite daunting!

Remembering to put my camera in the bag and filling a plastic bottle with ginger beer we marched off to the railway station in time to catch the 08:59 to Reading. The train was crowded but we found seats as a lot of people get off  (and on) at Guildford. Relaxing and dozing the journey went by quickly and we arrived at the chaos of Reading station (huge crowds of people all trying to avoid the unending platform alterations). Luckily we only had to move across to the neighbouring platform to get the train to Maidenhead  – although we had to wait for 40 minutes. Eventually the train came in from London and the driver exited and walked to the other end and we took our seats for the 15 minute journey to Maidenhead. Arriving slightly late, we ran quickly via an underpass to the train to  Marlow and Bourne End. It bumped slowly along a single track railway until after crossing the Thames we arrived.

Yachts on the Thames

Yachts on the Thames

Our initial impression of Bourne End was not too favourable as it seemed to consist of a featureless 1970s era shopping area. Luckily we soon exited the High Street turning left into Wharf Road and crossing the railway, we turned right along the Thames Pathway. The sight of the river, yachting club and river side houses was much more pleasant. We were lucky enough to see a yacht race start and the boats rapidly sailed up the Thames away from us. After an easy and interesting 15 minute walk we approached a road joining our footpath from the right and we entered and crossed the railway line again and  headed inland. In a few minutes we saw the very welcoming sight of the charming Sally. She explained that the Spade Oak was not yet open (it was about 11:20) and was going to walk to the Thames. We carried on and reached the pub in a few minutes and sat outside to rest and wait.

Outside the Spade Oak

Outside the Spade Oak

Eventually the pub opened and we entered – I turned to find that magically Stef had appeared and we ordered tea and sat outside. Quickly after that Sue (Shadow) and her two children joined us closely followed by Sally, Shelley and Pete. Meanwhile our tea had arrived and at the same time a cat who climbed onto the table. Stef leapt into action giving the cat a saucer of drink and shortly afterwards we were left in peace! A few minutes of riveting Enid talk followed which was continued as we went back into the pub for a very satisfying lunch (attended by a charming young lady who didn’t seem to have heard of Enid!) Pete and Shelly gave me an education in Enid’s works (I am only really familiar with the Famous Five and the Adventure Series!) I came to realise that I must buy and start reading the Find Outers and Mystery series and particularly The Secret Mountain  – thank you Pete.

We finally dragged ourselves away from the pub and after watching a horse and foal, went through  a thatched entrance into the magical world of Old Thatch. The delightful Jacky greeted us with the news that our fees had been paid by a mystery benefactor (shades of Great Expectations.) Who could it be – we all set our considerable investigative skills to the task but to no avail (although there were a few prime suspects named.)

Meeting Jacky

Meeting Jacky

The beautiful Old Thatch house appeared on are right and we marvelled at its timeless beauty which seemed to float before us, perfectly framed by the gorgeous planting and gardens. We wandered  along a charming path and into the delightful individual garden ‘rooms’ with their flowers and shrubs which themselves were attended by a myriad of bees and butterflies.

Old Thatch

Old Thatch

Eventually we arrived at the back of the cottage where Enid used to sit and type away all those wonderful stories that flowed so freely from her mind. A small pond and overgrown well led us on to an area of tables and seats where we could sit and talk and marvel at our surroundings. Through the adjacent door we entered a small kitchen area where a very pleasant lady dispensed a delightful selection of cakes (coffee, fruit, carrot and berries) washed down by tea.

The tea and cake garden

The tea and cake garden

After talking, eating, drinking and soaking in our surroundings we realised that time was getting on and very reluctantly we said our goodbyes. Stef had a very long and interesting chat with Jacky and stayed behind to get her sample of the marvellous food on offer.

As we wandered back home we realised how much we had enjoyed the day and that we missed it all already. Roll on the next Old Thatch day!

Posted in Personal Experiences | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Monday Rolls Around Again

Posted on August 12, 2013 by pippastef

Another Monday, another post. Its been a funny old week I think, for once I think Fiona’s glad I don’t live around the corner because I’ve been ill (still) and so have both of my parents; but we seem to be on the mend now! It’s almost a shame we don’t live in Blyton’s time I could have done with a nice seaside holiday to clear my lungs and get nice and healthy! Why don’t they prescribe them on the NHS?

However, that’s enough woe is me for this week!

Our Wednesday post is from Francis, who talks about his experience at Old Thatch and Bourne End from the 4th August. As a side note, if Francis’ post inspires you to go and see Old Thatch’s gardens are open until the 29th August before they close until next spring!

Fiona has told me that she thinks she might do her next Adventure series review for you this week, which would be The Circus of Adventure.

Unless I can come up with a different blog, I shall be posting a blog on Timmy the Dog.

I think that’s everything for the Monday post, apart from a shout out for anyone thinking of writing for us! We are seriously low on contributors at the moment and would like to hear from anyone with a Blyton story or blog to share!

Happy Monday everyone, I shall leave you with some of my most recent pictures from my backgarden and a walk in the park!

A full moon
Two cygnets on the water in the park (Parents were nearby!)
A Canadian goose.
A swan family.
A butterfly on the buddleia
A goldfinch in the garden.
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Blyton Related Crafts: How to make a book covered box

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Fiona

Here’s another present I made for Stef: a box decorated with pages from some of Blyton’s book.

The finished box

I hear some cries of horror already, and I apologise to any of you that think that tearing up books for crafts is sacrilegious. I would agree with you if they were early editions or favourite childhood copies, but they were rather nasty 90s paperbacks that had been languishing in the loft.

YOU WILL NEED

A box. I got one like this from Hobbycraft (though it had a flat top), but you could do a small one or even a chest of drawers.

A book you don’t mind destroying.

An illustration from the book, or the means to print one onto card or paper.

PVA glue the cheap ‘for-school’ stuff will do

A chunky paintbrush

A small screwdriver

Optional: some felt for the bottom

STAGE ONE: PREPARATION

I took the box apart first. Mine had actual screws holding the lid and the front clasp on, so I used a teeny screwdriver and took the hinges off as well as the clasp (just don’t lose them!) but you may find you need to use pliers to pull out little pins and a hammer to knock them back in when you’re done.

I then took my book and pulled out a bunch of pages. I tore them into strips of varying width (mostly no more than an inch-and-a-half) and carefully tore the top and side margins off so they all had ragged edges. Some of the strips tore squint or wavy but that was fine.

I sorted them into two piles: general text and good text. Good text had Julian (Stef’s favourite character) mentioned or references to secret passages etc.

With my glue in a pot and my paintbrush ready, I was good to go.

STAGE TWO: DECOUPAGING

I started with the back of the main part of the box, just to get a bit of practice. I slopped glue onto it and then smoothed over the paper using the brush to make sure it was all stuck down. I layered on more strips, at angles overlapping each other. One tip I would give is to be careful around any corners, you need enough paper (a cm at least) wrapping around to make sure it stays stuck down.

Close up of the front, you can see “Julian, tall and strong for his age,” has pride of place!

I covered about an inch of the bottom of the box all the way round, trying to keep the edges fairly straight (though I ended up covering much of the bottom with felt so it was a waste of time!)

I papered over the lip of the box, and onto the inside again covering an inch or so in a reasonably straight line around the inner walls.

The papering of the inside

The papering of the inside

I had to leave the box to dry at a couple of points as I ran out of dry places to hold it so the decoupaging ended up taking a few days.

I covered the whole lid, and a bit of the inside again just for neatness.

I tried to use the strips from the “good text” pile for on top of the other pieces, though often they ended up a bit covered up.

STAGE THREE: FINISHING TOUCHES

My book didn’t have any illustrations, so I printed one out from the Cave of Books onto some nice textured card and pasted it onto the top of the lid.

I then gave the whole box two coats of PVA glue to seal it and make it nice and shiny. (Leave plenty of time for the glue to dry between coats.)

Once it was all dry, I put the box back together. The paper made the lip of the box and lid thicker, so I loosely screwed the clasp back on, fastened it, and then tightened it up otherwise it would not have shut.

And finally, I used some green sticky-backed felt to cover the bottom, not quite to the edges.

So there you go! A book covered box. I might do something like this again for myself, as I didn’t even use half of a paperback book, and I kept the rest.

The finished box
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Last Term at Malory Towers

Posted on August 9, 2013 by pippastef
Last Term at Malory Towers First Edition Dust Jacket by Stanley Lloyd 1951.

Last Term at Malory Towers first edition dust jacket by Stanley Lloyd 1951.

The Last Term at Malory Towers is exactly as it suggests, the last book in Enid Blyton’s fabulous (and much loved) school series. In this novel we spend Darrell’s last summer term with her.

We left her at the end of In the Fifth at Malory Towers enjoying the applause of her first efforts as a play writer, and it seems a lot has happened in the year since we last saw her. This time around our heroine is Head Girl of the whole school a feat I’m not even sure she dreamed of when she was in the lower school. Her best friend, Sally Hope has become Games Captain of the whole school as well, making a dramatic change from when she was in the first form.

We’ve got the usual gang with us for this last term, with the exception of Mavis (the opera singer) and Catherine Grey (the pious girl from In the Fifth), but to make up for it we are introduced to two new girls. One is a French girl called Suzanne, she is never given a second name but we are told that she is Mam’zelle Rougier’s niece so it can probably be assumed that Suzanne’s last name is Rougier (unless anyone has proof of that not being true).

The other new girl who causes more of a stir than Suzanne is Amanda Chartelow (introduced to the girls as Amanda Shoutalot by Mam’zelle Dupont, but that’s not surprising to those of us who know Mam’zelle and her ways). We see a lot more of Amanda in this book than we do of Suzanne which is slightly odd for Blyton’s Malory Towers books not using the full potential of both new characters.

Another difference in this book is how much time we spend with the second form, with Felicity Rivers, Darrell’s sister and June Johns, Alicia’s cousin. This has left people wondering if Blyton ever meant to go back to Malory Towers and tell her readers what happened with the next generation of the Malory Towers girls.

While we dally with the second form, we are also introduced to Josephine Jones a.k.a Jo, who is, as Miss Grayling puts it, “One of our experiments that does not seem to be working”. Throughout the book it is emphasised that Jo would turn out alright if she had the backing from her parents which as you can see in the half-term chapter, she does not get.

There are maybe four main threads to follow in the Last Term, one to do with Gwendoline Lacey and her insistance that she is going to a Swiss finishing school and the row she had with her father over going becomes a long thread throughout the book. The second story thread would have to be the new girl Amanda (who comes from a famous sports school, until it was burnt down)  and how she decides to teach a single second former to play tennis and swim to perfection which causes fights and controversy throughout the school. Amanda also decides to do some very foolish things when it comes to her own swimming, adding drama to Darrell’s last term.

The third theme in the book has to be the one connected with Josephine Jones and her friend in the first form Deirdre. Jo is rather unliked by the second form because of her continual boasting which causes her to take Deirdre under her wing and cause all sorts of problems.

The fourth and final part of the story, is a lighter one as it involves one tremendous trick that the second formers decide to play on the sixth formers after they have taken their Higher Certificate. The trick is cleverly planned and played to perfection in the same way that the tricks in the past have been played.  And once again, Mam’zelle is the perfect person to play it on!

After that, it’s with a very heavy heart that we finish Darrell’s last days at Malory Towers with her. It’s been a spiffing six books in that wonderful school and we, along with Darrell, Sally, Alicia, Mary-Lou, Irene, Belinda, Betty and all the others, have enjoyed every second (well almost, but lets gloss over those unfortunate times when Darrell lost her temper and people were rather silly).

We’re treated to a rather lovely finishing sentence from Blyton which reads;

“And good-bye to you, Darrell- and good luck. We’ve loved knowing you. Good-bye!”

Such a summing up moves me to tears (or that might be because I’m ill – I’m not sure!) and it’s terrible because you don’t feel like you’re finished at Malory Towers, but as it is at least we can go back and re-read all the books, looking for missed details and laughing with the girls again.

Last Term at Malory Towers isn’t one of my particular favourites. I love the nostalgia that Sally and Darrell get, and I just wish that we could have spent a bit more time with them in their last term rather than with Amanda and the second formers. I do adore the trick however, it is one of the best. I just dislike that it’s the end!

So that’s it for my Malory Towers reviews! There are more books, written by Pamela Cox but unfortunately I could not get on with the style in which they have been written. Maybe in time I’ll get around to reviewing them, but for now, we need to say goodbye to Malory Towers and just know that we’ll see it again soon!

Last Term at Malory Towers Lilian Buchanan reprint 1957

Next post: Malory Towers, continued

Or read a review of the audio adaptation of Last Term here.

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The Marsh of Adventure by Poppy, chapter 4

Posted on August 7, 2013 by worldofblyton

Chapter four:

Off to see Alf

They played a merry game of snap and then retired to bed. What a lovely day it had been, and Bill was going to be back the day after tomorrow  – lovely! The next morning the children were to set off to see Alf in his little hut as early as they could so that they would not miss him, for he would have to go out and shepherd his sheep ; Mrs Jordans had explained all this to them. Jack had a great big slab of ginger bread in his bag to give to Alf, which would maybe make Alf forgiving them a little easier! The children were rather disappointed to have to use their whole day to go and see Alf and apologise but Mrs Jordans insisted. She sent them all off straight after breakfast and waved them off. She felt sure that they would not disobey her and wander off into the hills, she was very fond of the children and trusted them greatly. So off they all marched, up Lowfell Hill.

They stopped as they had done yesterday, half way up and drunk from the spring. Lucy-Ann wasn’t looking forward to facing Alf and telling him she was sorry for peeping into his shed but she knew she must because she too had been peeping.

It was another pleasant day and the sun blazed down onto the children as they made their way steadily up the hill. They were tempted to have a nap but Philip objected. “Come on. We’ll never get to Alf’s if we have a nap – remember what happened yesterday. We don’t want to be late for tea.” So off they set again and soon arrived at Alf’s hut. They did not dare to peep in today but instead Jack knocked sharply on the front door.

“Who’s there?” came a gruff voice. Jack nudged Philip.

“We have come to say sorry for yesterday, we are the four children you saw peeping into your shed.” Philip explained. There was a pause.

“Come on in then.” was the reply. Philip pushed open the door and they all trooped in. They saw an old man sitting awkwardly in a large oyster coloured chair with a pipe sticking out of his mouth. He wore grey flannel clothes and a smart grey jumper and his face was rather stern and wrinkled. His mouth was a line and his eyes were harsh, but kind. He had a beard that covered his chin and his eye brows were thick and shaggy. He had a dog which was lay across his feet. When he saw the children, he left his master’s feet and went and sniffed the children’s ankles. Philip stroked him and at once, the dog fell under his spell and licked his hand. Alf watched in amusement.

“We’re very sorry to have upset you Alf. We brought you this, so you might forgive us.” Philip said standing up straight again and handing him the ginger bread.

Alf looked down at it and then back at the children, his eyes twinkling. “Thank you.” he said awkwardly. “And, I’m sorry I scolded you, I thought you were some of them ‘orrid kids that go about prying and poking their noses into things they shouldn’t, but you’re quite decent.”

The children looked pleased and Lucy-Ann thought Alf was marvellous. Then she did a very surprising thing which made the children gape! She actually went right up to Alf and gave him one of her bear hugs! These were Lucy-Ann’s great hugs which kept mainly for Bill, but today here was somebody else, she thought deserved one! “Oh, thank you for forgiving us!” she exclaimed, “I thought you mightn’t. But you have, and I do think you’re kind!”

The others watched in astonishment and Alf listened in even more surprise. “Steady on now!” he said kindly, “Now why shouldn’t I forgive you?” He pushed her off gently and she rejoined the other who were stood in a row before Alf, chuckling.

“Sit down” Alf said, “There’s not much room, but there’s space over there.” The children sat themselves down on the few chairs or perched on the edge of one of the arms.

The dog followed Philip at once and flopped down onto his feet now instead of his master’s. He was a black and white collie, rather fat. Philip stroked his soft fur and the dog licked him in return, as if in encouragement!

“ ‘Is name’s Scamp. ‘E is one as well!” Alf said looking at Scamp in surprise. “Not often ‘e takes a liking to someone though, especially kids. He barks at anyone that goes by this hut.” The children listened in interest and fondled Scamp who was pleased at the attention, but not very interested in it either. He had found a new master now – Philip, who he would do anything and everything for!

Alf was puzzled by his loyal dog’s behaviour and rather hurt too, though he did not show it. He became rather suspicious of Philip. Philip saw this look and quickly explained himself.

Continue reading →

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First Monday in August

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Fiona

I’m not sure how or when but apparently it is now August and the year’s rapidly slipping away from us!

Things are as disorganised as ever this week behind the scenes on the blog, shame on us! We’re still waiting on contributions to trickle in, so our Wednesday post this week will be the next chapter of Poppy’s Adventure Series fanfic, which I’m sure you’re eagerly waiting for.

Stef is going to give us her review of Last Term at Malory Towers, and I will either do another crafting how-to or review a biography, I haven’t decided yet.

Our other news is that we reached  24,000 views this week, so thank you to everyone who’s dropped by to see what we’ve written lately.

Note from Stef: I would just like to wish Paul Child (who will not like me for bringing this up! 😉 ) who played Dick in the 1990s Famous Five TV series) a very happy birthday as today is his birthday! So many happy returns Paul, from us here at Word of Blyton! Have a lovely day!

[For any news about Paul, follow his band’s Facebook page here and check out his music at paulchildband.com– and trust me, the music is quite special!]

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer, even if it has been a bit rainy lately here in the UK. I’ll leave you all with a few photos I took at the Crags of Lundie in Angus, Scotland.

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Poppy Dresses – A poem by Enid Blyton

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Fiona

Poor Stef’s not been very well for the past few days and on top of that she’s had some computer problems. Unfortunately that means she’s not been able to finish her blog for this week. Instead here’s another of Blyton’s lovely little poems.

When the poppies drop their petals
Gay and bright,
Fairy folk run up to get them
Every night.

All their dresses, coats and bonnets
They can make
Of the fallen poppy petals
That they take!

See them in their party dresses,
Aren’t they grand?
They are off to dance all night
In Fairyland!

First published in Sunny Stories No.132 July 21, 1939. Copied from The Eleventh Holiday Book published 1956 by Sampson Low.

An array of poppy pictures by Stef and Fiona

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The Ship of Adventure

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Fiona

First published in 1950 this is the sixth book in the series.

THE LOCATION

This time the Mannering/Trent clan are off on a Mediterranean cruise, so the ship The Viking Star hosts much of the excitement. They visit quite a few exotic places like Madeira and French Morocco, but in the end their main adventure is on a mysterious Greek island.

The Viking Star

The Viking Star

THE CHARACTERS

Normally these books have an obvious baddie or baddies from early on (Jo-Jo is clearly a bad guy even if we later discover he’s bad for a different reason, while in Castle, Valley, Sea and Mountain we meet individuals who are immediately given bad-guy status,) but the enemy in this book is more of a devious, smooth individual. We know he’s not nice from the outset but there’s a bit of an is-he-isn’t-he feeling about him. I’m talking about Mr Eppy, of course, Lucian’s uncle. He brings along a few brawny types to help him at the end, he obviously is the brains of the operation even if he needs children to stumble onto treasure so he can steal the glory.

Lucian or, as the children call him, Lucy-Ann, is a boy of roughly similar age to Jack and Philip whom they meet on the cruise ship. Jack immediately dubs him Brer Rabbit, as in addition to being tall and gangly he has the mouth of a rabbit. He has sticky-out front teeth and a sloping chin (a bit like Maureen Little from Malory Towers by the sound of it.)

Lucy-Ann and Lucian

Lucy-Ann and Lucian

He’s a friendly boy and he immediately latches on to the four children rather to their dismay, as he’s a bit of a cry-baby in their opinion. He has his uses, he speaks various local languages and so can interpret for them when they take trips off the ship, but he does have a habit of running his mouth off to his aunt and uncle.

The adventure starts after Lucy-Ann buys Philip a ship in a bottle for his birthday and they find a tiny treasure map inside. It’s in Greek, though, and they have to be rather clever about getting people to translate it. Unfortunately Mr Eppy’s also rather clever and manages to find out rather too much about the map for their liking before he disappears from the ship. Mrs Mannering is then called away to look after Aunt Polly who has fallen ill and good old Bill joins them in her place. When the ship has engine trouble the children manage to persuade Bill to take them treasure-hunting using their map. Being the bright sort of children they are they of course have no trouble finding the treasure, at least not until Mr Eppy and his associates appear.

PHILIP’S PETS

Philip picks up a monkey on one of their trips off the boat, and they call him Micky as that’s the sound he makes when he chatters away. Micky latches on to Philip when he saves him from a cruel group of local children who are throwing stones at him.Unfortunately we don’t find out what happens to Micky after the adventure, he doesn’t come home with Philip anyway.

Micky and Kiki

Micky and Kiki

MY REVIEW

This isn’t one of my favourite books in the series, but I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s the fact it’s not set in one place; in the other books so far we’ve had a good time to settle into a location and get to know it. The cruise ship doesn’t have the same appeal as say Craggy Tops or Puffin Island. I do like the whole thing of finding a treasure map in the ship in a bottle, and the underground treasure-hunting part of the story is good, though it hasn’t stuck in my mind like some other stories with underground tunnels and treasures have. My favourite part of the story is probably them finding the map and then figuring out what to do with it; trying to translate it and yet keep it hidden too.

The pattern changes again here; rather than Bill turning up to save the children he turns up half-way through and walks them right into the danger.

Apart from Lucian’s similarity to Maureen Little, the whole treasure map portion reminds me of The Treasure Hunters. In both books they can’t make head nor tail of the map at first. In Ship that’s because it’s faded and in Greek, while in The Treasure Hunters it’s because the writing’s so old it looks like JREAFURE not TREASURE. The Treasure Hunters’ map gets torn in two, and they stick it on one of the ceilings in the dollhouse in Susan’s room. In Ship, they cut the map into four pieces, and each child finds a clever place to hide it; like sticking it to the back of a drawer.

The hunt for the treasure

The hunt for the treasure

Another big change for the family situation comes about at the end of this book. Lucy-Ann pipes up that Bill and Allie should get married so that Allie can keep an eye on him and the children (and stop them getting into adventures.) Bill laughs at first, and then asks Allie if she thinks it’s a good idea. She says yes, and Bob’s your uncle, they’re getting married. As a child it never struck me as odd at all. As an adult I can see it’s unusual, but it doesn’t feel unnatural still, as you get the impression Bill and Allie are already more than friends, and perhaps have talked about it before, despite Allie saying “I’m surprised we’ve never thought of it before.” But anyway, the book was written for children, so my adult opinion of it isn’t worth much!

Next review – The Circus of Adventure

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Julian’s News, chapter 8

Posted on July 31, 2013 by pippastef

So it’s been a few weeks since the seventh part of Julian’s news, and now I present you with the finale to tie up the loose ends!

If you need to refresh your memories parts one to seven can be found below;

Prequel – The way you make me feel
Part One: Telling Dick
Part Two: Back at Kirrin
Part Three: The first day 
Part Four: George
Part Five: George again
Part Six: A walk and some trouble
Part Seven: The rescue

So, that is everything up to date, and with this makes the story complete! I hope you’ve enjoyed my short Famous Five Adventure, if I can think of any more ideas; you’ll be sure to get them here first!

For now; enjoy!

THE FINALE

When they got back to Kirrin Cottage, things happened quickly. Aunt Fanny ordered Julian to take a bath and to give her his clothes to wash to get rid of the seaweed smell he was carrying around with him, while George was carried into the living room and laid on the sofa. The Doctor had another look at her foot and checked her for a concussion.

Once he had declared her to be free of any head injury and announced himself convinced that her ankle was no more than badly sprained, but that she should probably have an x-ray just in case it was anything worse, he gave Aunt Fanny some painkillers to give George who had fallen asleep on the sofa under some blankets.

“She’s incredibly lucky,” Julian heard the Doctor say as he made his way downstairs after his bath. “It could have been a lot worse. I’ll pop round in the morning to see if anything else has cropped up in the night.”

“Thank you Doctor,” Aunt Fanny said.

“Don’t thank me, Mrs Kirrin. I’d thank this young chap for being so foolhardy as to go down into that hole himself. I don’t think I would have the nerve to do it,” The Doctor teased, nodding at Julian on the stairs.

Continue reading →

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Prize Giving Monday!

Posted on July 29, 2013 by pippastef

So after last week’s competition, which I’m sure you’ve been eagerly waiting all week for (despite only having three comments!) I’m sure you’re desperate to know who the winner is!

I shall keep you in suspense no longer and can tell you that our winner is…. (drum roll)

Sandra Keeley!

So Sandra, if you email us with your book choice, and your address, we shall get that sent to you ASAP!

Sorry to Francis and Laura; Hope we can send you a prize next time!

Back to blog matters!

This week we should have Fiona’s next review from the Adventure series. This time it should be the Ship of Adventure! (I don’t know about you but I’m wondering what she’ll review when she’s finished!)

As for me, well this week instead of the contributor, I’m posting the last piece of Julian’s News on Wednesday and possibly my Last Term at Malory Towers review!

Quite an important plea: Please Please PLEASE if you have any Blyton ideas, please email us and let us know! The email address can be found above, and if you want to write for us, but don’t know what, check out our Want to Write for World of Blyton page Here.

Another exciting this to happen this week is that The Index of Blog Posts has been updated! So if you want to find anything, check in there!

Next Sunday (4th August) some of the Enid Blyton Society forumites are meeting at Old Thatch for some food and a wonder, so check out the thread on the forum, and drop us a line if you’d like to come along to! The gardens open at 2pm!

To end I shall share with you some pictures of my most recent trip to St Andrews with Fiona last week (gosh it seems so long ago!) and you may be able to get an idea why I chose to base my fan fiction in St Andrews. It’s the perfect place for adventures! Enjoy!

Blackfriars Chapel
The flowers we sat near at lunchtime
A secluded allyway
Market Street
The fountain on Market Street by
St Salvators College Chapel Tower as seen down College Street
The quieter end of Market Street cornered with Union Street and one of the three main fish and chip shops
Market Street being invaded by Fiona
The end of Market Street
A gorgeous house on Castle Street (I seriously want to own one of these!)
The castle tower down Castle Street
St Salvator’s Chapel Tower as seen from the top of North Street
One of the ruined towers in the cathedral
The ruined cathedral
The tower against a dramatic blue sky
Under the arch
The arches
St Rules Tower under the arch
Three Towers
The view from the top of St Rules Tower, overlooking the town
The view from St Rules Tower looking out to the West Sands and the castle
A close up on the town; North Street and St Salvator’s Chapel
The pier out by the East Sands (that is a Blyton sea if ever I saw one!)
A close up on the castle’s beach
A hidey hole in the cathedral graveyard
Fishing boats all lined up by the East Sands
The East Sand
The cathedral ruins from the beach
A close up of St Salvator’s chapel as we drove by on the way home
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July Flowers

Posted on July 28, 2013 by pippastef

I know, I’m a little late once again for these flowers, but you would be surprised at what gets pushed back and back when you have lots more good ideas. Anyway, here we are: July Flowers from Enid Blyton’s Nature Lovers Book.

Note from the Author:

Many of the flowers quoted this month may also be found in June, and most of the June Flowers may also be found this month.

  • Yellow Bedstraw: The Yellow Bedstraw carpets banks and field corners with its golden flowers all the summer. The tiny flowers grow in pretty clusters up the rather weak stem. Look for the white bedstraw as well.
    Yellow Bedstraw from www.cotswoldseeds.com

    Yellow Bedstraw from http://www.cotswoldseeds.com

     

  • Heather or Ling: There is no need to describe the heather or ling that covers miles of common and moorland now with it’s rosy-purple bells. Notice the woody stem, and the tiny, narrow leaves, tightly pressed against it.

     

  • Bell Heather: You will often finr this blossoming before the ling, and you will know it by its crimson bells which are larger, deeper in colour, and more rounded than those of the ling.

     

  • Honeysuckle: Everyone knows this fragrant flower also. It often grows in our gardens, and can be found wild on the hedges, and in thickets, all of the summer.  Notice the honeysuckle’s curiously shaped flowers- they are like clusters of long trumpets, opening out into unequal lips. They are yellow-pink in colour and smell delicious. Look for the deep-red berries later. Notice the blue-green leaves, oval-shaped, growing in pairs. See also the tough woody steam that twists itself around other plants in order to climb upwards.
    Honeysuckle from http://i1.treknature.com

    Honeysuckle from http://i1.treknature.com

     

  • Bramble or Blackberry: Most children know the pink or white blackberry flowers, that come before the berries they like so much. Notice the prickly stems of the bramble, thrown into big curving sprays. Leaflets in groups of three or five grow along the stem, and they too have prickles on their under surface.
    Blackberry Bramble flowers from http://urbanbutterflygarden.co.uk

    Blackberry Bramble flowers from http://urbanbutterflygarden.co.uk

     

  • Herb Robert: This flower is a little like its cousin, the dove’s foot crane’s-bill. The five-petalled pink flowers grow in pairs. It has the same beak-like seed-vessels. The leaves are shaped like a small hand, cut up into fingers. They turn a beautiful red.

     

  • Bird’s Foot Terfoil: The pretty bird’s foot trefoil, with its golden clusters of sweet-pea-shapred flowers can be found anywhere. Notice the red streaks in the flowers, and later on see the claw-like cluster of pods that look strangely like a bird’s foot. Notice the leave– “trefoil” or tree-leaved is not really a very good name for this flower, as the leaflets are in fives, though two of them are some way from the group of three.
    Bird's Foot Trefoil by Stephanie Woods

    Bird’s Foot Trefoil by Stephanie Woods

     

  • Silverweed:  Look for this plant in meadows, and on ditch-banks. The flowers have five golden petals, opening out flat. Notice the leaves, which give the flower its name- they grow in pairs, and are dark green above, and silvery below.

     

  • Cinquefoil: You will think this flower is very like the silverweed. It has five golden yellow petals, smaller than those of the silverweed. Notice the creeping stalks of the cinquefoil. The plant gets its name from the pretty leaves, which are cut up into five saw-edged leaflets- five- leafed, or cinque (five) foil (leaf).
    Cinquefoil from livingwilderness.com

    Cinquefoil from livingwilderness.com

     

  • Rosebay Willow-Herb, or Fireweed: You will find this flower growing in tall masses in open woods and copses. The spires are a lovely rosy purple, and the flowers open from the bottom upwards. The leaves are lance shaped.
    Rosebay Willow-Herb or Fireweed by Fiona Brough

    Rosebay Willow-Herb or Fireweed by Fiona Brough

     

  • Enchanter’s Nightshade or Bittersweet: This is a common plant in the hedges now. The purple and yellow flowers will remind you of the potato flower in your kitchen garden. Notice the yellow stamens in the centre if the flower. The leaves are divided into three lobes. Notice the read egg-shaped berries later.
    Enchanter's Nightshade or Bittersweet from http://www.flowers.goodpages.co.uk

    Enchanter’s Nightshade or Bittersweet from http://www.flowers.goodpages.co.uk

     

So there are your July flowers! Sorry they were so late, but happy hunting all!

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Blyton Related Crafts – How to make a canvas book bag

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Fiona

Stef and I have developed a bit of a habit in that we often make each other gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Generally, they’re Blyton-themed too. For Christmas last year I decorated a bag for her, and I’m going to try and walk you through how I did it. This is my first how-to, so go easy on me?

The finished bag (the flash makes the colour look slightly patchier than it really is)

You will need:

A fabric bag. I got a canvas one from Hobbycraft.

Fabric paints. Again, I went to Hobbycraft where I picked up an inexpensive set of fabric paints. You can buy individual pots (useful for picking and choosing specific colours) but I got a pack of six (blue, green, red, yellow, white and black). I used Pebeo Setacolor Opaque (I didn’t want a transparent effect from the paint.)

Black Fabric Pen. I picked one fine enough for writing with but thick enough to make bold lines.

Paintbrushes. I bought a cheap pack of brushes in varying sizes.

A ruler, a pencil and rubber, a tea-plate or other circular object, some paper, kitchen roll, an iron and a cup of water.

The whole lot set me back less than £20, and I still have plenty of fabric paint left over for future projects.

STAGE ONE: THE TEMPLATE

I taped two sheets of A4 paper together and trimmed them down to give me the approximate size of the bag. I then roughly sketched out the layout of books I wanted. I chose to have one lying on its side, three upright and two leaning to the side, but you could have several in a neat row or all stacked up if you prefer. The books don’t have to look exactly like their real-life counterparts at this stage as you can use colour and text to identify them later.

Once I was happy with the general layout I used the ruler to get straight lines in the drawing, and to mark out rectangular text spaces on the books, in a variety of dimensions. I used the saucer to round off the tops and bottoms of the spines and to draw striped bands on a couple of books.

Next, I cut it all out. I admit now, I’m dreadful at free-handing, so I used it as a template and drew around it onto the bag, in pencil.

(Note, it’s worth testing whether or not your pencil marks will rub out well on an inconspicuous part of the bag – mine was fine, thankfully.)

Sorry for how poor this picture is, I hadn’t planned to use it for a blog! You might be to see where my original plans differ from the finished product.

STAGE TWO: THE PAINTING

Once the lines are in place, it’s time to crack out the paints!

I already knew which book was which, so I picked my colours accordingly. The Famous Five book had to be bright red like the Hodder & Stoughton Hardbacks. For the Malory Towers books I chose yellow with green details, and green with yellow details, to give a sense of them belonging to the same series without being identical. For the others I picked colours that just seemed to suit; though of course you could match your paints to the colours of actual copies.

Before painting I lined the bag with kitchen roll, to mop up any paint that went through the fabric.

I found that brushing the paint on didn’t work too well thanks to the texture of the canvass, a gentle stippling technique worked better.

I left the paints to dry overnight before tackling the next part (though with hindsight, I could have done the lettering and then the painting…)

I found that after drying overnight a few paint areas needed touched up, as there was the odd cream dot showing through.

A closer view of the painted books

STAGE THREE: THE DETAILS

Using the cut outs from the text boxes I mapped out how I was going to fit the book titles in. Up and down? Sideways? How many words per line? I tried them out a few ways before deciding for each book, and worked out the size and spacing for the letters too.

I faintly drew pencil lines onto the bag to help keep the writing even and then pencilled on the lettering.

Again, I’m rubbish at free-handing so I didn’t dare draw directly with the fabric pen without guidelines. I tried to use different fonts; some in an attempt to match the real-life book.

I did use the pen eventually, though, to go over the pencil lines. I then used it to outline the books, the striped bands and the text boxes.

Finally, after a bit of practice, I forged Blyton’s signature on her books!

One of my forged signatures
Twilight done in a twilighty font

STAGE FOUR: THE QUOTE

I picked a booky quote for the back, you could use a few lines from a favourite story or something general about books and reading.

Again, I used paper to map out the space I had to work with and measured out how many lines and how many words per line.

With my mock-up on paper as a guide, I drew faint pencil lines on the back of the bag and then wrote the quote on in pencil. I had to rub out a few letters I didn’t like the look of and re-do them.

Once I was happy I carefully went over the pencil marks with my fabric pen, and let it dry before rubbing out any remaining pencil marks.

Lastly, I turned the bag inside out and ran a warm iron over it. The paints came with instructions as to the temperature and time it would take to make ‘fix’ the paint so it was waterproof.

And that’s it! I think it turned out not too badly considering it was the first time I’d ever attempted such a thing, and I’m atrocious at drawing. I think if I did it again I wouldn’t put text boxes on the books, I’d just paint the whole spine and write on top.

I hope to do another of these some day, I just need a book loving friend to give it to!

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