Sunskriti’s Character of the Month: Peter from The Secret Seven

Posted on June 19, 2013 by worldofblyton

For this month’s character exploration, I’m going to write about Peter, from the Secret Seven. I chose him because he’s probably my least favourite character in all of Blyton books. Basically, he’s the leader/ head of the Secret Seven Society. But a good leader should give everyone a fair chance.

Peter at work on the Secret Seven sign. Drawn by George Brook 1949.

I agree that Peter does this up to some extent, as when the Secret Seven get on to something, and there are jobs to be done, he tried to make sure no one does a job twice. But this is the only form of true leadership on his part.
Peter is a bossy, domineering creature, who I feel has been portrayed as over-bossy. Yet the others must fear him, for not one of the Secret Seven ever object to his conduct. The others, who are in no way lesser than Peter anywhere, have to be pushed about by him constantly.

The reason given in the books, as to why Peter is the leader, is that he started the society. But what’s a society without members? Peter alone can’t form a society. Yet, he doesn’t realize this, and that the reason why his society exists is the other six. If only he would realize this and give every one a fair chance, he would become a much more likeable character!

Once, on the Enid Blyton Society Forums, someone described Peter as being insecure and I totally agree with this. The password, for instance, can show this. To give him a sense of power and dictatorial value, he has set up the password. If you think about it, Peter himself never has to worry about remembering the password, as he reaches the shed first, and the other six have to remember it and Peter can decide who enters the shed! So unfair!

Peter conducting a Secret Seven meeting. Drawn by George Brook 1949.

One thing I can’t understand, though, is why the other six put up with it, especially Janet, his sister. She and Peter have thought out the idea of the club, so she should have a share of the leadership, I’m sure. Yet she puts up with him. One thing I would have loved was for the other six to leave the Secret Seven and form a club of their own! That would have put Peter in his place.

But anyway, enough of the negative talk, if you forget his bossiness, there is nothing wrong about Peter really, and he’s sound at heart. If I was asked to, I would define him as a naturally bossy, slightly insecure kid, who likes to be in charge, but has the right ideas about things, and is good at heart.

All pictures taken 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 Peter, Sunskriti's Character Exploration, The Secret Seven, Written by Sunskriti | 9 Comments

Monday

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Fiona

Stef and I have had a very Blyton-y weekend! I’ve been down staying with her so we’ve gone on lots of trips.

We’ve been to Blyton Close (the site of Green Hedges), Bekonscot the model village of Beaconsfield which has a model of Green Hedges, Beckenham where Enid grew up, and Old Thatch at Bourne End. Phew!

We will of course be blogging about all of these trips, so you’ll see some of them this week. Our contributor this week is Darrell with another character exploration.

We’ve reached 18,000 views this week, and we have 92 followers! We have decided to give away a prize when we reach 100 followers! Once we get to 100 (get following!) we’ll announce all the details. For now I’ll tell you you can win an Enid Blyton book provided you a) follow us, b) comment on the prize thread and c) live in the UK (unfortunately we are poor and can’t afford international postage, so sorry to our international followers.)

Our other news is that we’ve produced some business cards for the blog! We handed some out this weekend to people and they were quite well received. They’re sort of hand-made too!

Here’s just a wee taster of what we got up to and what we’ll be blogging about later.

Bekonscot model village

Old Thatch

Our new business cards

The plaque on Enid’s house in Chaffinch Road

A swan on the Thames at Bourne End

Posted in Blog talk | Tagged Beaconsfield, Beckenham, Bekonscot, Blyton Close, Bourne End, June, Monday, Old Thatch, Prize Give Away | 3 Comments

Series Synopsis: The Famous Five short stories, part 1

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Fiona

Following on (sort of) from looking at the 21 Famous Five books, I thought I should look out at the short stories featuring the Five as well. There are eight stories, all written during the years the full length books were being published.

In chronological order they are:

A Lazy Afternoon – 1954, Enid Blyton’s Magazine Annual 1
George’s Hair is Too Long! – 1955, Enid Blyton’s Magazine Annual 2
Five and a Half-term Adventure – 1956, Enid Blyton’s Magazine Annual 3
Well Done, Famous Five! – 1956, Australian Weeties Strip Book
When Timmy Chased the Cat! – 1957, Enid Blyton’s Magazine Annual 4
Five Have a Puzzing Time 1960, Princess Comics Serial
Good Old Timmy! – 1961, Princess Gift Book for Girls
Happy Christmas, Five! – 1962, Princess Gift Book for Girls

I have the four stories that appear in the Magazine Annuals, as well as the 1999 Red Fox paperback containing all the stories. I won’t be reviewing the stories in chronological order as that’s not the order they appear in the collection.

Five Have a Puzzling Time and Other Stories, Red Fox, 1997

The collection has been illustrated by Hemesh Alles, and while they’re decent drawings (if a bit faint in places, and they’re just lines, no shading) they can’t compare with Soper’s version of the Five for me (Soper also illustrated the four Magazine Annual stories.)

Anyway, on to the first four stories from the collection.

FIVE HAVE A PUZZLING TIME

This story starts one night at midnight. George, awake with tooth-ache, sees a light on Kirrin Island and is adamant it must be trespassers. Uncle Quentin won’t let her go off in the middle of the night to instigate, and she can’t go the next day because she has to go to the dentist. It’s then up to Julian, Dick and Anne to head over to the island to investigate.
The three have a good hunt around the island, but they can’t find any sign of anyone having been there. Julian and Dick have a last look while Anne paddles in the sea, but when they are about to leave, one of Anne’s sandals has gone missing! Strange items are missing back at Kirrin Cottage too, oranges, grapes, dog biscuits and chocolates. The Five row to Kirrin Island again, and this time they find orange peels and grape pips, which can’t be a coincidence, can it? When someone makes off with some chocolate from practically under their noses they know something’s definitely afoot and lay a barley-sugar trap for the thief. Of course they catch him, but I won’t give away his identity. The solution to the mystery of how he got there is quite clever, though.

I’ve read all the stories before, but I couldn’t quite remember who the thief was. This is a decent story, though George takes centre stage for most of it. Because it is a short story (under 50 pages) we sadly don’t really get to see any of the other characters displaying their traditional behaviours, apart from a little good-natured teasing, and there’s little time for the usual fun and games or delicious feasts. Saying that, it’s a nice little mystery with a satisfying resolution.

The original illustrator was Eric Parker. I find his illustrations interesting, they have an unusual look to them.

Illustration by Eric Parker

GEORGE’S HAIR IS TOO LONG!

As the title says, George’s hair is too long (according to her anyway), and she is desperate to get it cut lest she start looking like a girl. The hairdresser is shut when they go, so George goes to the ironmongers to borrow scissors to cut it herself. While the ironmonger is getting the scissors two men burst in, lock them up and steal the safe. They nearly run over Anne along the country road from the village, and then one of their van tyres blows. They’re rather stuck, as it would seen neither of them can change a tyre, and the boys refuse to help. Feeling anxious Timmy heads back to find George, while the others start feeling suspicious of the men. Thanks to Timmy and two chaps in a passing car, everything is tied up neatly by the end of the story, but poor George still hasn’t managed to get her hair cut!

There are some good funny moments in this story. Julian teases George about having to look like a boy, and he and Dick say some great politely-rude things to the two criminals. Oh, and the ironmonger is called Mr Pails!

This story is really short (only 14 pages) so everything happens in one afternoon and things are resolved quite quickly, though none of it seems particularly rushed. There’s no mystery to solve this time, but the Five do apprehend some criminals so it’s still a good ending.

Eileen Soper’s illustrations for this story are great, of course.

Illustration by Eileen Soper

GOOD OLD TIMMY!

On the beach the Five meet Oliver, Uncle Quentin’s scientist friend’s son, and then witness his kidnap by two nasty men who’ve been hanging round for a few days. The kidnappers leave their dog to run after the car, so Timmy is able to follow them. They find Oliver in the town, but they’ve got to deal with the men’s dog before they can rescue him.

Another very short tale, which does feel a touch rushed and contrived. Oliver’s father had letter that morning threatening to kidnap his son if he didn’t give up some information, and then he let his small-for-his-age 10 year old go to the beach alone. The men then kidnap him, right infront of a bunch of witnesses, and don’t even put their dog in the car when they go. Conveniently, the men are out when the Five find Oliver and their only obstacle (the dog) is subdued after a very brief scary moment.

A bit disappointing, over all, but kids will probably still enjoy it. This was written late on Blyton’s career, about the time her books started to decline in quality (think Five Are Together Again, The Mystery of Banshee Towers and The Hidey-Hole) so perhaps this story is another example of that. It’s just lacking something for me. There are some silly or contrived moments in the novels, but perhaps just not so many in so few pages.

The original illustrator is uncredited, and unfortunately I’ve never seen those illustrations.

Princess Gift Book for Girls 1961

A LAZY AFTERNOON

It’s a very, very hot afternoon so the Five drag themselves into the woods to laze about and cool off by the stream. Timmy is more energetic than the others and goes off rabbiting while they sleep. Julian is awoken by a motorbike, and the four watch two men hide some loot in a tree. They can’t do anything without Timmy, and he’s still off hunting for rabbits. Will he come back in time, or will the men get away? I think you can probably guess.

This is the shortest story yet at 11 pages, and yet the first few do really capture a hot, lazy afternoon. The action doesn’t feel contrived at all and it’s another satisfying ending.

This one originally had lovely illustrations by Eileen Soper.

Illustration by Eileen Soper

I will save the other four for another post as I think I’ve gone on long enough for one day!

Next post: Famous Five short stories part 2

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged A Lazy Afternoon, Eileen Soper, Eric Parker, Famous Five Series Synopsis, Five Have A Puzzling Time, Five Have A Puzzling Time and Other Stories, George's Hair is Too Long!, Good Old Timmy!, Hemesh Alles, Short Stories, The Famous Five | 7 Comments

June Flowers

Posted on June 14, 2013 by pippastef

More flowers now to brighten up your month. Let’s hope we get some good weather for you to go searching for them!

Broom: The yellow broom makes a brave show when the bush is completely covered with bright-yellow, sweet-pea-like flowers. You will find it on commons or on banks. Notice the small leaves of the broom, growing in groups of three.
Broom by http://www.plantlife.org.uk
Yellow iris: This big, gay flower grows in or by water, and will remind you of the “flag” or iris that we grow in our gardens. Notice the pretty yellow fringe in the centre of the flower, and the tall, sword-shaped leaves.
Yellow iris by http://www.plantlife.org.uk
Blue bugle: Look for this plant on banks and in fields. The stem is closely covered with leaves and flowers, and can sometimes hardly be seen. Notice that stem is pale purple, square and hollow. The flowers have no stalks, but grow in close circles round the stem. They are usually deep blue, and are in lips, like the white dead nettle. The leaves are oval in shape, those at the bottom having stalks, those above having none.
Blue bugle by http://www.plantlife.org.uk
Wood spurge: This yellow-green flower is common in the woods and hedges now. Look at the curious yellow-green flowers, set among leafy bracts. The stem is often pinkish. The leaves are long and narrow.
Wood spurge by http://www.bbc.co.uk
Water crowfoot: This is a white water-buttercup, and can easily be recognised by its masses of white flowers on the surface of ponds or streams in May or June. Notice the five white petals with the orange patch. Notice also the two kinds of leaves – the flat ones on the surface of the water, the very much cut- up ones below the surface.
Water crowfoot by http://www.plantlife.org.uk
Early purple orchid: Look for this flower in open woods and pastures. It has red-purple flowers growing up in a spike. Each flower is made up of three red petals and three red sepals. Notice how differently shaped they are. The stalk is stout and juicy. The leaves have no stalks, and are strap-shaped, often spotted.
Early purple orchid by http://www.independent.co.uk/
Wild rose: This beautiful, sweet-smelling little rose may be found in hedges everywhere now, spreading five white or pink silken petals to the sun. Notice the many yellow stamens, making a beautiful centre to the flower. Notice also the prickly stem. The leaves are like those on our garden roses. The fruit is the well-known scarlet hip.
Wild Rose on http://farm2.staticflickr.com/
Foxglove: Another well-known flower, whose name means “Folk’s Glove” or “Fairy’s Glove.” The tall spire of drooping purple-pink bells stands in the woods and on banks in the summer days. The grey-green leaves are long and broad, and on the underside they are white with woolly down.
Foxglove by http://www.plantlife.org.uk
Dog daisy, or Ox-eye daisy: Every child knows the big white daisy that nods in the buttercup fields, its bright yellow centre showing up clearly. Notice the stiff ridged stem, and the feather-shaped straggling leaves.
Dog daisy or ox-eye daisy from http://www.plantlife.org.uk
Common sorrel: This dull-red flower that sends up its pretty spires in fields and meadows every-where now, may often be found with buttercups and daisies, and is very attractive in a bowl with them. Look at the small crimson flowers, each with three petals and its own tiny stalk. There are many of them on a spike. The leaves are smooth, arrow-head-shaped, and dark green.
Common sorrell from http://www.plantlife.org.uk
Ragged robin: This flower will remind you of an untidy, red campion. It loves to grown anywhere damp. The rose-pink flowers grow on tall, rather sticky stalks, and are very much cut up, so that they appear ragged. The leaves are lance-shaped and narrow.
Ragged robin from http://warehouse1.indicia.org.uk
Field thistle and Spear thistle: We have several kinds of thistle, and most boys and girls can tell them by their prickly leaves and soft pink-purple heads. The field thistle is a common one, found in fields and waste places. It can be found flowering now, and always in later summer. Notice the leaves with their prickly margins. The flower-heads are pale purple, and are visited by many insects, as you will see. The flowers change to thistledown later.
Look for the spear-thistle also, and notice the long spears or spines that jut out from the ends of the prickly leaves. Notice also the very spiny head, and the pretty purple flower.

Field thistle from http://focusonlyme.files.wordpress.com
Meadowsweet: This deliciously-scented plant grows by streams and in any damp, open place. The tiny, creamy-white flowers are set in big heads and spires that look lacy and frothy as they nod beside the stream. Notice the stiff red stem, and the large leaves cut up into leaflets, with even tinier leaflets set on the leaf-stalk, between the larger ones.
Meadowsweet from http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk
Hedge parsley: The hedge parsley embroiders banks and hedges with its clusters of tiny white flowers that grow on green spokes which will remind you of the ribs of an umbrella. Notice the fern-like leaves, very much cut-up, dark green, and hairy.
Hedge parsley from http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk
Cow parsnip, or hogweed: This is another common “umbrella” plant, growing by the wayside anywhere. The small white flowers grow in clusters at the end of the “umbrella” ribs, as in the hedge parsley. Notice the glossy, smooth hollow stalk. The pale-green leaves will remind you of rose leaves.
Cow parsnip or hogsweed from http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk
Scentless mayweed: This daisy is very common everywhere in the fields. It will remind you of the dog daisy, but the leaves are very different, for they are so much cut up that they seem no more than a tangle of green hairs or threads. Notice the queer thimble-like shape of the mayweed when the flower begins to wither. The white outer petals droop down, and the yellow middle raises itself up like a thimble.
Scentless mayweed by http://www.rspb.org.uk
Poppy: Everyone knows the scarlet poppy. You will find it dancing in the corn-fields and by the wayside. Notice its four silken petals, the ring of the black headed stamens, and the green knob in the middle which will later turn brown and hold the ripening seeds. The poppy has two green sepals when in bud, but you will see these drop off when the flower opens The leaves are cut up into fingers.
Poppy by http://imgs.photo4me.com
Field convolvulus, or bindweed: Look for the pretty pink or white bells of the bindweed in fields and waste places, or as a weed in the garden. Notice the queer way the bud is twisted and the curious ray-like markings inside the flower-bell. Look at the twisted stem of the bindweed. It binds itself tightly to any nearby plant, twisting its stem round and round it. The arrow-head-shaped leaves are dark and shiny.
Bindweed by http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk

And that is it for June’s flowers! I hope you have some luck finding one of these flowers. There are a lot to be looking out for, but then the weather should be a lot nicer and better by now.

So Happy Hunting!

Posted in Nature | Tagged Enid Blyton's Nature Lover's Book | Leave a comment

Poppy’s Book of the Month: House-at-the-Corner

Posted on June 12, 2013 by worldofblyton

Title: House-at-the-Corner
Series: None
Main Characters: The Farrell Family & Aunt Grace
Published: 1947
First Published By: Lutterworth Press
Rating: 5 out of 5

House-at-the-Corner differs quite dramatically from Enid’s more common genre of books, I find; though it still shows the plain love and care towards the children she is writing for. This splendid novel begins by introducing cross Aunt Grace. She’s an interfering, meddlesome character whose heart is in the right place all the same. She proves a very decent person, (although she has her faults) having helped her nephew, Mr Farrell, through a lot of problems and helping the family through a hard time once again.

The characters in this book include pretty little Pam, who proves rather spiteful and Tony, a careless trickster – rather like Alicia from Malory Towers – malicious and fun loving. There’s the twins, Delia and David, who are so fond of each other and gardening that they hardly seem to be aware of their family, and finally poor Lizzie who does not shine very much beside her elder sister, Pam. She wears a brace round her teeth and glasses over her eyes which had grown weak after she has recovered from measles. Their parents, Mr and Mrs Farrell, remind me of Gwendoline Lacey’s parents, from the Malory Towers books. Mr Farrell seems sensible enough, but Mrs Farrell certainly resembles a milder version of Mrs Lacey. She spoils her two eldest children because they are pretty and intelligent. She pays no attention to the others thinking they are not capable of doing something worth bothering about.

And so the book begins with Aunt Grace longing to teach a few members of the family a lesson. Pam is going in for a scholarship and Tony has not a care in the world. He does not bother working – he prefers playing tricks to make people laugh. He vows he will work hard next year in ‘Snorter’s Class’ – “Just let me have a little fun in old Blinky’s class.” Delia and David are working hard at the garden, and Lizzie has a tremendous secret she shares only with Aunt Grace. She has a talent for writing stories and after sending them off to a few different newspapers, she finally gets her work published in the Rivers End Weekly, which she must write stories for every week. She does not confide in any other member of the family, afraid that they will laugh. And so the book goes on, Pam accepting the leading role of a play her school is performing and over working most dramatically. She becomes bad tempered and unkind to her family. Tony plays a dangerous trick which results in a boy being sent to hospital. He has a heavy load on his conscience which forces him to go and see the vicar. He then gets a job a farm,as he’s not allowed to go back to school. The twins make plans to go off to boarding school so they can be together. Then, all ends in a serious accident. This erases all the good plans and wishes and hopes for the future, and all the family must pull together to get through.

This splendid family book certainly deserves a five star rating for such a great storyline and a fantastic range of characters. I would recommend this book to boys and girls of eight and over. The story is fascinating, and the plot is great. I would certainly recommend the book to anyone who has not yet read it!

First edition dustjacket, illustrated by Elsie Walker

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged House-at-the-Corner, Stand Alone Titles, Written by Poppy | Leave a comment

Made for Monday

Posted on June 10, 2013 by pippastef

First of all, I think I have to mention that this week is the week of the Enid Blyton Society meeting at Beckenham for a tour of Enid Blyton’s early houses. This week also deserves a special mention because it’s the first time in over six months that Fiona and I will see each other.

If I remember correctly the last time we met up, we started this blog! Now doesn’t that seem like an awfully long time ago? It does to me! Let’s hope that when we meet up, that we don’t decide to take on ANOTHER venture. The blog certainly keeps us busy enough!

After the weekend hopefully we’ll have a whole new load of ideas and things to blog about so stay tuned for the exciting blogs to come!

Having just come back from holiday (only to be thrown straight back into work!) I find myself rather haphazard in my Monday post, so I hope you’ll forgive me. (I’m afraid that I didn’t really go anywhere Blyton-y, more Saville-y. I headed up to Shropshire, the location of many of Malcolm Saville’s books (for those of you who remember my Julian Kirrin vs David Morton article, you will know who I’m talking about). Anyway, I had a great time, walked for miles and miles, had some lovely weather and took LOTS of photographs as well as landscapes I got some VERY lucky shots of the wildlife.

Anyway, this week on the blog – well, there is a lot of choice. Last week we had Ben’s latest Secret Seven blog, and I think this week we’ll put up Poppy’s Book of the Month, which is House-at-the-Corner.

From me, I’ve pretty much decided to put up June’s flowers so you’ll have enough time to check out some of these impressive blooms.

I’m afraid I don’t know what Fiona will treat you to! Possibly her next Adventure Series review, or something completely wonderful and surprising!

So if you want to find out what flowers you should be looking for this month, what Poppy thought of the House-at-the-Corner, and what delight Fiona is treating us to, you better make sure to check the blog this week!

For the moment I shall leave you with a few of my favourite pictures from last week, including one or two of the more exciting wildlife pictures I managed to capture!

Enjoy!

Church Stretton’s church tower.

A charming chaffinch (to go with my goldfinch!).

Lightsprout waterfall in Cardingmill Valley.

A wild mare and her young foal on top of the Long Mynd. A LUCKY Wildlife shot.

The reservoir as seen from above.

Bluebells in a bluebell infested wood.

The ruins of Clun Castle.

Clun bridge – four arches of different sizes.

Up on the Stiperstones.

A wild grouse – another of my LUCKY wildlife snaps!

The Devil’s Chair up on the Stiperstones.

The stream flowing into the reservoir.

The reservoir in Cardingmill Valley.

Stokesay Castle, Shropshire.

All photographs © Stephanie Woods 2013, so please don’t use any without her permission.

Posted in Blog talk | Tagged Beckenham, House-at-the-Corner, June, Malcolm Saville, Monday, Shropshire | 2 Comments

Tell Me About Enid Blyton by Gillian Baverstock – A review

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Fiona

There are a number of books out there about Enid Blyton, her works and her life – you can see most of them here. I’ve already reviewed Who’s Who in Enid Blyton by Eva Rice and I thought it was time to look at another one. I didn’t have much time to read and review a book this week, so I’ve picked the shortest book I have about Enid Blyton.

Tell Me About Enid Blyton is a slim paperback book published by Evans. It is part of a series of short books looking at the lives of authors and illustrators such as Beatrix Potter, Quentin Blake, Roald Dahl and Dick King-Smith. The books have been written by a variety of people, presumably those already with good knowledge of the subject. Fittingly Blyton’s book has been written by Gillian Baverstock, her eldest daughter.

Gillian Baverstock at the 2006 Enid Blyton Society Day

Gillian tells Blyton’s story in simple, easy to understand language and makes good use of short, factual sentences.

For example, the first page tells us that Enid was born in London, in 1897, more than a hundred years ago. Her parents, Thomas and Theresa had just moved from Sheffield. Thomas loved baby Enid very much.

Though the language is simple, the book doesn’t avoid mentioning some of the more distressing parts of Blyton’s life. It talks about the time she nearly died of whooping-cough, and about how her father left the family when she was 13.

Some parts are simplified though. For example we’re told Blyton disliked taking care of her siblings and helping round the house as well as how her mother didn’t like her writing stories but it avoids going into detail about the difficult relationship between the two. Similarly it is mentioned that Blyton’s first marriage ended during the war, and she then remarried but no other details are given.

The book is clearly aimed at young readers, keen to know more about their favourite author, so it is not surprising the book does not delve into the murkier areas of Blyton’s marriages, her relationship with her mother, her miscarriage or the decline of her health during the 1960s.

Some of the book is written from Gillian’s perspective, using a first person narrative. She tells us a few childhood anecdotes though she refers to her mother as Enid throughout which does sound slightly odd – especially as she said on the first page that Enid is her mother.

The book is filled with lovely photographs of Blyton, her family, her homes and of her books and characters. At the end of the book is a useful timeline, outlining some of the more important events in Blyton’s life.

Despite the short length of this book – it’s only 22 pages long (the actual book starts on page 5, and the last page is an index/glossary) – it certainly packs in a lot of information. Most of the basic information about Blyton’s life is there as well as several interesting facts – like the Mary Mouse books being made out of offcuts from other books due to war-time paper rationing.

I think children will really enjoy this book, as it contains lots of interesting information without getting bogged down in potentially boring details. There are plenty of interesting pictures on every page as well – ones which directly relate to the content of the text.

First edition from 1997

My 2003 edition

I hope to look at more of the biographical books about Blyton soon (I have six more of them!) so I will have to make sure I make time to read them so I can review them.

P.S. I apologise for the shortness of this review but it would be hard to write more about such a short book (maybe it makes up for subjecting you all to over 6,000 words about Who’s Who?)

Posted in Book reviews, Other Authors | Tagged Biography, Gillian Baverstock, Tell Me About Enid Blyton | 7 Comments

Julian’s News, chapter 6

Posted on June 7, 2013 by pippastef

It has been a little while since I gave you a piece of Julian’s News, but I hope you’ll forgive me. It got myself into a little bit of a writing rut and couldn’t get out of it. But now, it’s all ready and waiting for you.

If you haven’t read any before or need to refresh your memory, then check out the rest of the story from the links below:

Prequel – The way you make me feel
Part One – Julian’s news, telling Dick
Part Two – Julian’s news, back at Kirrin
Part Three – Julian’s news, the first day
Part Four – George
Part Five – George again

For those of you who have read everything so far read on! And in case you’re wondering; yes I have finished.

Now I present you with part 6. I hope you enjoy it!

A WALK AND SOME TROUBLE

When Dick and Anne got back to Kirrin Cottage they found Julian talking to Aunt Fanny in the Kitchen. By the look on her face she had been told about Sally, and about George’s outburst.

“Hullo chaps. No luck by the looks on your faces,” Julian said glumly when he saw them.

“Not for lack of trying,” said Dick.

“It would have been a lot better if Dick hadn’t gotten impatient,” Anne said, glancing sideways at her brother. “But George is firmly thinks that you’re jolly selfish and that Sally will stop you having adventures.”

“She is also convinced that Sally is soppy and stupid for getting kidnapped,” Dick said, sitting down heavily in one of the kitchen chairs and picking up a piece of pastry that had escaped from his Aunt’s mince pie cases.

Anne watched Julian’s face as they told him what George had said. He was hurt. Anne moved around to his side and gave her eldest brother a hug.

“Don’t fret Ju,” she told him, glancing over her shoulder at Dick. “George will be fine when she calms down I expect.”

“I’ve been a right fool, Anne,” Julian told her. “If I had told you all together then none of this would have happened.”

“I expect it would have done Julian,” his Aunt chimed in. “George would probably have reacted exactly the same way. I had hoped that George had grown out of this behaviour.”

“And we wouldn’t have this problem if I hadn’t cornered you while you were reading your letter,” Anne said apologetically.

“None of this is your fault Anne,” Julian and Dick said firmly together.

“Certainly not Anne,” Aunt Fanny said kindly. “Will you be a dear and fetch me the jar of my homemade mincemeat from the scullery dear?”

Anne nodded and ran off to fetch the jar for her Aunt.

“Boys, you just need to leave George to cool off, as you know very well by now,” Aunt Fanny said, turning to them. She laid a hand on Julian’s shoulder. “You have done nothing wrong, Julian. George would have acted the same anyway you told her, and now I think you just need to sit back and let her work through it.”

“If she doesn’t come around to the idea of Sally and I though, Aunt Fanny, we could be in for a very awkward Christmas,” said Julian. Dick nodded in agreement.

“Don’t you boys worry,” Aunt Fanny said as Anne appeared with the jar of mincemeat. “Christmas will be fine, even if George is sulking.”

“The idiotic thing is that if I had told everyone together Aunty, George may have been better about everything!” said Julian sadly.

“It is possible, but then I suspect George still would have been upset,” said Aunt Fanny as she spooned the mincemeat into the pastry cases. “Now, you three go for a nice long walk or something to clear your heads. It’s a nice day and we shan’t get many of these as we get closer to Christmas.”

“Yes lets!” Dick agreed. “Come on Julian, it’ll be nice just to walk until we can walk no more.”

“Alright,” Julian said with a sudden smile. “Let’s do that.”

All three went off to get their coats and scarves while Aunt Fanny continued to fill the mince pies with a smile on her face. She knew that her daughter was difficult, and that she disliked change, much like her father. Aunt Fanny had no doubt however that sooner or later George would get over her sulk and things between the five would once again be peaceful.

While she filled the pastry cases, Aunt Fanny wondered whether her daughter would ever accept any of her cousin’s partners as it would take them all a step further away from their childhood and their adventures.

‘Maybe I should have a word with George,’ Aunt Fanny thought. ‘Remind her that she can’t possibly stay a child forever and things have to change. I shall do that I think, but I’ll leave it a day or two to see if they sort it out for themselves. I should hate to make George think that I was interfering.’

As Aunt Fanny mused over the trouble between the five at Julian’s news, Dick, Julian and Anne had wrapped up warm and headed out for a walk.

“Let’s head down towards the old quarry,” said Dick enthusiastically.

“Lets not,” Anne shivered. “It will be colder down there and the sides will be slippery.”

They both waited for Julian to make a decision but their brother’s mind was clearly elsewhere.

“Julian?” Dick asked his brother, giving him a nudge. Julian jumped.

“Sorry. I was miles away.”

“We noticed,” Anne said, tucking her arm through Julian’s. She shared a smile with Dick. “We were waiting for your opinion on heading down to the old quarry.”

“Best not,” Julian said, making himself pay attention to them. “I don’t think it will be very safe at the moment.”

“You’re becoming more like Julian every time I see you Anne,” Dick teased his sister.

Julian guffawed as Anne spoke indignantly to Dick. “You could do with being a little more sensible, yourself.”

“That just takes the fun out of everything!” Dick retorted.

Julian smiled vaguely as his brother and sister bickered, wondering how long it would take George to come around and stop sulking. He wished he could talk to Sally but reasoned with himself that it would not do to tell her that George had taken such a stand against her.

Dick and Anne were still bickering playfully as they walked up onto the coastal path, in sight of Kirrin island where they had had so many of their adventures. Julian stopped to look at the island, a frown on his face. Anne and Dick stopped as well, and turned to look at the island in silence.

Anne considered how much older her brother looked now. She wished she could help him resolve the situation with George but knew that there was no way to do that until George was ready to talk.

Dick stood with his hands in his pockets and was whistling softly while thinking about all their previous adventures; it would all be very different now, with a different kind of adventure looming in the future. He felt a lot older now Julian was no longer at the same school as him, and had to think about the plan for his life very seriously over the last term; whether he should go to university before doing his national service as Julian had done or to do his service with the RAF first.

All three were silent for a long time, thinking about how things had changed in such a short space of time. Anne slipped an arm through each of her brother’s and was just about to suggest that they carried on with their walk when they heard a loud and familiar bark racing closer to them at top speed.

They turned to look back the way they had come and saw Timmy racing towards them at top speed, but no George followed him.

Without even thinking Julian found himself racing towards Timmy, Dick and Anne close at his heels.

“Here boy, here Tim,” Julian called crouching down as he reached the dog. “Where’s George old chap? What’s the matter?”

But Timmy couldn’t tell Julian what was wrong, all he could do was bark frantically at the three and paced back and forth, trying to get them to realise that they had to follow him.

“He wants us to follow him, surely!” Anne said, watching the dog as Timmy pawed at her skirt. “He never leaves George unless he has to!”

“Then George is in trouble,” Julian said, standing up. He took hold of Tim’s collar and said clearly to the dog;

“Come on then Tim, where is she?”

Finally happy that he had got through to the three children, Timmy licked Julian’s hand and barked as if to say “Follow me and hurry!”

Continued in chapter 7

Posted in Fan fiction | Tagged Anne Kirrin, Dick Kirrin, George Kirrin, Julian Kirrin, Julian's News, The Famous Five, Timmy | 3 Comments

Good Work, Secret Seven – A Review by Ben

Posted on June 5, 2013 by worldofblyton

The Secret Seven are enjoying a meeting in the trademark shed of Peter and Janet’s back garden a few days before bonfire night. Nibbling away at staple Enid Blyton favourites such as chocolate biscuits, apples, ginger buns, doughnuts, peppermint rock, hazelnuts and nutcrackers, the seven children are enjoying a feast in their well-lit shed, powered by an oil stove, with flower pots and boxes for the children to sit on. Suddenly the annoying Susie knocks on the door of the hideout and correctly shouts the password ‘Guy Fawkes’ much to the dismay of the Seven. Cue a quarrel which leaves poor Jack (Susie’s brother) red in the face after it emerges that utterances in his sleep have led to Susie finding out the password.

However, the excitement and Susie’s slyness are not to end there. Late to the meeting, Colin bursts in with an exciting tale about how he had overheard men quarrelling in the bushes on his journey down. In all the kerfuffle he dropped his torch on the pavement near the bushes and bravely went to pick it up only to discover the men had gone when he flashed it on. But to the joy of all the Seven Colin had found a notebook which contained notes about stolen items from a famous cricketer, and a place where the alleged thieves would meet up to discuss their plan.

Thinking they are in on another adventure, the Seven arrange to travel to the old workmen’s shed at the back of Lane’s garage where the gang are due to meet. Following their arrival, the Seven noticing a light on, creep up to the shed and hear a number of terrifying bangs. Bewildered, Peter peeps through the letterbox and to his astonishment sees Susie and her friends banging paper bags. The angry Seven demand the laughing Susie and her friends come out of the shed, but they only agree after Susie threatens to tell their whole school if the Seven pulled her hair.

Facing the impossible Susie

In despair, Peter and Janet go to see their mother’s old nanny Mrs Penton the next day. After an enjoyable afternoon of cream buns and chocolate éclairs, their father picks them up, taking them to station where he has to collect some parcels. It is here that the adventure of this book starts. Bored and tired, Peter and Janet are about to doze off when two men creep into either side of their dad’s car and drive off. Sensing the fact his dad’s car has been stolen, Peter tells a frightened Janet to crouch down so the two men can not see the two children. Eventually, the two men stop in a part of town that the children do not know, before the driver tells his companion to get in touch with Q8061 about meeting at Sid’s place at five o’clock in the evening.

In the stolen car

Scared but excited, Peter and Janet manage to find a phone box where their shocked dad picks them up. However, their dad does not want to phone the police about the two thieves, meaning it is left to the children to catch the pair.

The next day, Peter and Janet tell the rest of the Seven about the drama the previous day, thrilled, they all agree to search for clues. First, the Seven try Peter and Janet’s dads’ car where, to her delight, Janet finds a spectacle case with a note for ‘Briggs. Renning 2150.’ Jack also finds a button which had fallen off a mac. In light of this, the children search for the address in a telephone directory and find that Mr H.E.J. Briggs lives at Little Hill, Raynes Road, Renning. To their disappointment, this person turns out to be a friend of Peter and Janet’s dad.

Soon things get worse for the Seven when they decide to build a guy for bonfire night in Colin’s summerhouse. Sadly, Scamper comes bursting in to see the children, only to knock a lit candle on to the straw and hay needed to build the guy. Consequently, a fire destroys the guy and burns some of Colin’s summerhouse.

The distraught children are now mourning over their lack of progress in the adventure and the burning of their guy. But a bright idea from Jack involves Peter dressing up as a guy outside Sid’s cafe to be a look-out for the two men who stole his dad’s car turns the adventure for the better. There you have it, Peter ends up dressing as a guy, a wonderful one too with his old pair of patched trousers, great big boots, scarf, big old hat and a wig made of black wool. Down he goes with George, Colin and Jack to the cafe in a wheelbarrow and it is here where the mystery will start. Will Peter and the rest of the boys spot the two men? Will the Secret Seven find out what Q8061 is? Does the button belong to the coats of one of the men? You can only find out by reading this book!

The ‘guy’

I enjoyed reading this book as I was really taken in by Susie and her friends trick on the Secret Seven. I was convinced that the children were in on another mystery so to find out that it was all a hoax was a surprise. Blyton’s idea to dress Peter up as a guy was fantastic and made for a compelling story. It was clever how she managed to link the bonfire night theme with the narrative for this book. I just hoped that Peter would find the two men and it’s good to see a guy being made use of rather than to be burnt again!

First edition dust jacket

Next review: Secret Seven Win Through

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged Bonfire Night, Good Work Secret Seven, Guy Fawkes, The Secret Seven, Written by Ben | 4 Comments

The first Monday in June

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Fiona

May has flown by and it’s now June, which means it’s nearly time for the Enid Blyton Society’s Beckenham trip. I’m excited to meet up with Blyton fans again, spend some time with Stef and visit some great places.

This week was a fanficcy week on the blog, and there might be more to come, as I suspect Stef will be sharing the next instalment in her Julian’s News series.

If this week is anything like the last few, I will be panic-writing a post the night before it’s due to go on. I would say it will be my review of Humpty Dumpty and Belinda, but I’ve been saying that for ages and I’m no closer to finishing it. I may have to delete it all and start again as I’ve just gotten stuck with it. If it’s not that, I have no idea what it will be. Please send all your inspiration my way!

Our contributor this week is Ben, with his next review of the Secret Seven books.

I’ve not done much blogging lately, but I have done a lot of walking (over 100 miles in May!) and when I walk, I take photographs. Here are a few of my favourites from the past few weeks.

St Andrews

WWII coastal defences at Tentsmuir Beach

Fairy tower view point at The Hermitage, Dunkeld

Bridge at The Hermitage, Dunkeld

Red campion and blubells (as seen in Stef’s May Flowers post)

The falls at The Hermitage, Dunkeld

Shells at Tentsmuir Beach

WWII observation point at Tentsmuir Beach

Oh, and I nearly forgot! We passed 17,000 views this week, hurrah!

Posted in Blog talk | Tagged June, Monday | 1 Comment

If the Kirrins and Mannering/Trents went on dates, the remix

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Fiona

You might remember I wrote about the Kirrins and the Mannering/Trents going on dates before. That time I paired Julian with Lucy-Ann, Dick with Dinah, George with Jack and Anne with Philip. This time, I’m going to swap them around and it will be as if the other dates never happened.

DICK AND LUCY-ANN

“This is a lovely place, Dick” said Lucy-Ann, “I’ve never walked through here before.”

“I discovered it quite by accident, actually,” replied Dick, “but it is lovely. I like to come from a wander when I can.”

They walked in comfortable silence for a while, each sneaking glances at the other and smiling at each other when they made eye contact. Then Lucy-Ann stopped suddenly and frowned.

“What’s up?” asked Dick, feeling slightly worried. The date had being going well, hadn’t it?

“I thought I heard something. Yes, there it is again.”

Dick listened carefully. “Oh, yes. There must be a cat nearby.”

They carried on walking for a short time, the sound of the cat becoming louder and more plaintive as they went.

“There!” cried Lucy-Ann who had been anxiously scanning the trees for the animal, “it’s up that tree. It must be stuck!”

Dick shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other as Lucy-Ann looked beseechingly at him. “Cats are almost never stuck. Every time someone goes up to rescue one, the cat jumps down on its own!”

“Pooh,” said Lucy-Ann, “we can’t leave the poor thing stuck there. It’s obviously distressed!”

With that, she moved closer to the tree to try and coax the animal down to a lower branch. Unfortunately, she was not looking where she was putting her feet, and stepped into a rabbit hole. With a sudden cry, she stumbled sideways.

Dick fairly leapt forward to steady her.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

“I think so,” replied Lucy-Ann with a watery smile. “I’ve twisted my ankle slightly, though.”

“I think we’d better get you home then,” said Dick.

“But what about the cat?” said Lucy-Ann.

Dick sighed. He helped Lucy-Ann to sit on a tree stump and eyed the tree critically. Grabbing a shoulder-height branch he hoisted himself up into the tree. Standing up, he put out his arms to lift the cat down. The cat turned its back on Dick, flicked its tail, and quickly made its way to a broken branch trailing almost to the ground on the other side of the tree. With total ease, the cat walked down the branch, jumped lightly to the ground and sauntered off through the trees.

“Right then,” said Dick. “That’s that done then.”

Lucy-Ann stifled a laugh. “Sorry, Dick. You did very well. I guess the cat wasn’t stuck after all.”

“No, but you look like you might need a bit of rescuing,” replied Dick, dropping down from the tree.

“I know just the chap for the job,” said Lucy-Ann looking up at him.

GEORGE AND PHILIP

Before Philip could step forward to open the restaurant door, George grabbed the handle and held it open for him.

“Er, thanks” he muttered. “Reservations for two, under Mannering?” he said to the waitress standing at the podium.

Philip and George followed the waitress to a quiet corner table, where George’s glare sent Philip quickly to his own seat without helping George into hers. The waitress pretended not to notice before handing out menus and informing them of the specials.

“You really don’t let men do anything for you, do you?” Philip asked George as he read the menu.

“I don’t need men to do anything for me,” replied George. “I’m as good as a man any day.”

Deciding not to push the issue, Philip steered the conversation to less controversial topics, and soon had George laughing about some of the things he and Jack had got up to at school. George had some fairly amusing anecdotes herself, and any awkwardness has disappeared before the main course arrived.

As they left the restaurant, utterly stuffed after three courses, Philip reached out to take George’s elbow on the stairs. George immediately pulled her arm away starting to say “I don’t need…” before breaking off and grimacing as her foot landed in something warm and squishy on the next step.

“I know,” smiled Philip. “It’s just I noticed the spilt take-away food there and thought you’d rather not stand in it. But I guess if you’re ‘as good as a man’, you don’t mind.”

“No.” sniffed George. “It’s not a problem” she said, discreetly trying to scrape congealing gravy off the side of her shoe.

JULIAN AND DINAH

“George’s boat is being painted, but I know how much you wanted to see Kirrin Island,” said Julian, “so I thought we’d take the under-sea tunnel, if that’s OK with you?”

“Of course,” replied Dinah. “I’m quite used to secret tunnels and passages. Do you have torches?”

“I do.”

“What are we waiting for then?”

Julian led the way to the old quarry and admired the way Dinah fearlessly scrambled down the steep sides. “Uncle Quentin had a steel door put over the tunnel entrance, to keep out trouble-makers,” he explained to Dinah. “I’ve got the key here, though.”

Julian opened the low door which squealed in protest. “I’ll go first,” he said before handing Dinah a torch and crawling in to the tunnel.

Dinah easily kept up with Julian through the long sea-tunnel, and seemed unperturbed by the booming sea above. On the island Julian showed her the wreck, the ruins and the cave. They sat dipping their feet in the rock-pools outside the cave, and Julian picked up a starfish to show Dinah. Dinah wrinkled up her nose when he offered it to her to hold.

Eventually the light grew dimmer and the evening turned chilly. The two headed back into the dungeons to walk back through the tunnels. Julian was just thinking how nice it was to date a girl who wasn’t afraid of dark tunnels and ‘creepy’ wrecks when Dinah stopped abruptly.

“What was that?” she asked, her voice sounding slightly unsteady.

Julian listened carefully, and identified the source of the scrabbling and squeaking.

“Oh, there are probably a few rats in these tunnels,” he said airily. “But don’t worry, they’re more afraid of you, than you are of-“

He didn’t finish his sentence before Dinah shrieked and ran off down the tunnel. “Hie, Dinah, wait!” he called. When she didn’t stop he started jogging after her. Quickly he realised she’d taken a wrong turn and he stopped. Shouting after her again, he realised he could barely hear her footsteps.

Retracing his steps, he raced down the right tunnels and back to Kirrin Cottage. Luckily George and Timmy were there, and after panting out his story, they accompanied him back to the tunnels. Timmy quickly found Dinah, and led everyone safely out to the quarry.

George didn’t say anything to Dinah, just gave Julian a look and took Timmy home.

“I guess I should have told you I was a bit afraid of some animals,” said Dinah, not meeting Julian’s eyes.

“Well, I suppose you can’t be brave about everything,” he replied, giving her a hug.

ANNE AND JACK

“This is the life,” said Jack contentedly, sitting back in his chair.

“Mmmmmmm” Kiki agreed, diving into the marmalade on the sideboard for another beak-full.

“You’d better not let Anne catch you doing that, old thing. She made that marmalade herself.”

“Mmmmmmm” Kiki said again, flapping over to Jack’s shoulder as the kitchen door opened.

“It’s apple-pie for afters” said Anne, eyeing Kiki’s sticky beak suspiciously. “I hope that’s OK.”

“Definitely,” said Jack.

“Definitely,” repeated Kiki.

“I’ve brought some for Kiki too,” said Anne, producing a small plate with a small slice on it.

“Mmmmmmm,” said Kiki.

After dessert, Jack took the dishes through to the kitchen. When he returned Anne led him through to the lounge, leaving Kiki in the dining-room. They spent a pleasant hour chatting before Jack suddenly wondered about Kiki.

He went into the dining-room, but couldn’t see her anywhere. The door to the kitchen was open, however.

“Anne,” called Jack. “I’m ever so sorry, but I think Kiki got into the pantry.”

“Oh that’s OK,” replied Anne. “She can’t have done much harm.”

“Are you kidding?” said Jack, “She’ll have eaten everything she could get her greedy beak on!”

Anne just smiled, and opened the pantry door.

Kiki flew to Jack’s shoulder, and Jack peered into the almost empty pantry, looking more and more confused as his eyes scanned the shelves.

“Mother emptied out the pantry yesterday to have new shelves fitted,” explained Anne. “We used up what we could, the rest is in a kitchen cupboard… all that I put in there was a small dish of marmalade and one of sunflower seeds…”

“God save Anne,” said Kiki, and cackled.

I hope you liked these. Some of these were harder to write than others (I couldn’t think of anything for Jack and Anne for ages!) Now I’ve written all variations, which pairings do you like best? I’m toying with writing more for some of the pairings, maybe so it’d be good to know which ones work best.

Posted in Fan fiction | Tagged Anne Kirrin, Dick Kirrin, Dinah Mannering, George Kirrin, Jack Trent, Julian Kirrin, Kiki, Lucy-Ann Trent, Philip Mannering | 7 Comments

May Flowers

Posted on May 31, 2013 by pippastef

We’ve had some perfect weather for flowers, warm and wet with a dash of sunshine! So let’s get looking shall we?

It’s definitely time to start looking for those flowers!

And with that said, these are the flowers you need to be looking out for this month.

Bluebell: This flower does not really need describing, for it is as well-known as the daisy. Its stalk of beautiful blue bells rises from the bulb, and fills the woods with fragrance. Count the six petals, joined into a bell. Notice the long, strap-shaped leaves, which look as if someone had folded them in half, for they have a crease down the middle.

: Bluebells from http://www.lucypaintbox.org.uk

Dandelion: Another well-known flower, with its big golden heads showing on the bank and way-side. The big head is made up of a great many florets in the form of flower-tubes. Pick a dandelion, and pull out one of the strap-shaped florets. Notice the toothed leaves, which give the plant its name – dandelion means dents-de-lion, lion’s teeth. Notice to the hollow stalk, with a milky juice inside. Watch for the beautiful “clocks” that are the seed heads of the ripened flower.

Dandelion flower and seed head. From http://www.publicdomainpictures.net

Cowslip: We all know the dancing cowslip, nodding so gaily in the wind on the hillside and in the fields. Look at the loose cluster of lemon-coloured flowers at the top of the stout stalk, each set in a pale-green calyx cup. Notice the nick in the outer edge of the petals and the bright red-orange spot at the base. The leaves will remind you of the primrose’s for they are crinkled all over.

Cowslip by http://www.bridiehall.com

Meadow buttercup: There is no mistaking the golden, polished cup of this meadow buttercup, which so often makes a carpet of gold in our fields. Notice the deeply cut-up leaves, covered with soft hairs.

Meadow buttercup by http://www.hawk-conservancy.org

Red clover: Look at the pinkish-purple heads, and notice that they are made up of thirty or more tiny flowers that belong to the sweet-pea family. If you pull out one or two, you will see the resemblance to the sweet-pea. Notice the trefoil leaves – that is, the leaves growing in groups of three. Tre means three, and foil means leaf – trefoil, three-leafed.

Red clover on Wikipedia

Scarlet pimpernel: A small plant, growing by the wayside. It is easily known because of its bright scarlet flowers. They have fine round petals. Notice the small, oval leaves. Turn them over and see the little dots on the under surface. This flower shuts its petals up in bad weather.

Scarlet pimpernel by http://4.bp.blogspot.com

Tufted vetch: We have many of these little sweet-pea-like flowers, called vetches. The tufted vetch is one of the commonest. See if you can find it growing in the hedge. It has a tuft of bright-blue or purple flowers, shaped like tiny sweet-peas. Notice the pea-pods that grow when the flower has faded, each with a curly tail. Notice the pairs of strap-like leaflets, and the tendrils that help the plant climb upwards.

Tufted vetch by http://www.plantlife.org.uk

Heart’s-ease, or wild pansy: This is a very easy plant to know because it is exactly like miniature pansy. It grows in the fields or by the wayside. It has five petals, two of purple and three of orange-yellow. The leaves are oval-shaped with wavy edges.

Wild pansy or heart’s-ease by http://www.organicsoul.com

Red campion, white campion: The red campion likes a damp place to grow in, so look for it by the streams or in ditches, or in shady hedges. It is a tall flower deep rose-red in colour. There are five petals, deeply nicked, lying flat at the top of the sepal-cup. Notice the red, sticky stem, and the leaves that grow opposite one another in pairs, set close to the stem.

The white campion is much the same as the red, but has white flowers.

Red campion by http://www.pyb.co.uk

Ribwort plantain: This is the flower that boys and girls play “soldiers” with. I expect that you know how to play. You pick the stout plantain head, and then try and strike off the head of your friends plantain with it. If you fail, your friend has a turn with his. The flowers are set close together in brown, cone-shaped heads. You may see the yellow heads of the stamens standing out of this brown head. Notice the narrow pointed leaves, growing in a circle from the root. Look at the long “ribs” running up the leaves. These “ribs” give the plant its name of ribwort.

Ribwort by http://s0.geograph.org.uk

Yarrow, or milfoil: Look for this plan in fields or waste places. Although you might not think so, it belongs to the daisy family. Look at the clusters of flowers at the top of the stiff woody stem – they are just like tiny white daisies. Notice the very much cut-up leaves – they are so much divided that the leaf seems as feathery as a fern.

Yarrow by http://www.flowersociety.org

And there you have them. May’s flowers. Sorry they are a bit late, but things got in the way. However, have fun trying to find these beauties and I’ll be back with June’s flowers soon!

Posted in Nature | Tagged Enid Blyton's Nature Lover's Book | Leave a comment

The Marsh of Adventure by Poppy, chapter 1

Posted on May 29, 2013 by worldofblyton

Chapter one:

A message for Bill

“Bill!” thundered a voice from the bottom of the stairs.

“Bill!” echoed a screeching one which of course was Kiki the parrot.

“What is it Jack? And will you tell that bird to stop screeching…” demanded Bill appearing at the top.

“There’s a message that has come for you, a private message from your base – the man said.” Bill raced down the stairs and snatched the scrap of paper from Jack’s hand. He read it gravely and looked down at Jack. “Who brought it?” he asked stolidly.

“A man wearing all black, driving a long black car. Why, is it so important?” Jack asked curiously trying to peer round to read the words scribbled on the paper.

“It is most important.” Bill replied coldly, “You didn’t read it did you?” he asked folding the paper and putting it in his pocket.

“Of course we didn’t. The man said it was private.”

“Good, go and tell the others to come and get some lunch now, your mother’s calling.” Jack went and fetched the others, rather disappointed he had not seen the message, but curious.

“Lunch’s ready,” he called to the others who were lazing under the oak tree in the garden. They all sat up and looked expectantly up at him.

“So, what did it say?” Dinah asked impatiently.

“He didn’t say, buck up won’t you all? It’s raspberries and ices for pudding.” The others got up rather disappointed and ran round to let themselves in the back door. They crept past the busy cook, Kiki pecking a few pineapple pieces along the way.

Mrs Cunningham, who was just putting the children’s plates out, smiled at them. “Hallo! Been having a nice time in the garden? I must say, it is a heavenly day!”

The children had arrived home yesterday from their boarding schools and were enjoying the second day in the sun. It was just going to be a lazy few weeks and it had been arranged that they would not be going anywhere these hols. The children had been rather disappointed but soon cheered up when Bill promised they would do lots of bird watching and watch for badgers in the garden at night. That pleased Jack and Philip anyway, but Dinah and Lucy-Ann were not as pleased about this. They didn’t mind though, they were just happy to laze in the sun and enjoy doing nothing! But it wouldn’t be like this for long. The children were about to jump headlong in to a hair-raising adventure though they did not know it yet.

They settled down to a good lunch, quite oblivious to the danger they were going to run into very soon. Bill seemed quite restless the rest of that day. The children guessed it had something to do with the note he had received earlier on. Apparently he had not told Mrs Cunningham as she seemed quite her usual self, bustling about and smiling at the children feeling glad she was able to run after the children she loved so dearly once again.
Bill sat up with his newspaper after dinner but did not seem to read it. He looked a little worried and at nine o’ clock he rustled his newspaper and closed it, looking at his wife and the children who were sitting round a table playing cards.

He raised his voice and spoke to the others. “I have to go out for a while. Expect me back at about eleven. Don’t wait up for me though please.” He threw his newspaper down on the chair and went out into the hall to put on his hat and coat. The children nudged one another and winked.

Continue reading →

Posted in Fan fiction | Tagged The Adventure Series, The Marsh of Adventure, Written by Poppy | 5 Comments

Bank Holiday Monday

Posted on May 27, 2013 by pippastef

Well we had some rather un-inspiring weather on Saturday, but Sunday the weather perked up and seems to be staying with us all of Monday, which is good. This will the second bank holiday in a row where we’ve had lovely weather!

We are almost at 16,500 views on the blog, and we reached 16,000 just after Monday last week. So yay for us!

In other news it is just under three weeks until the Enid Blyton Society’s trip to Beckenham, so don’t forget to get in touch if you fancy joining us!

So this week we have no definite contributor, because we have finished our back log of contributors blogs for the moment (hopefully). If we get nothing by Tuesday, we shall treat you to the first couple of chapters of Poppy’s fan fiction based on the Adventure Series.

By all rights this week I should give you May’s Flowers, fittingly as it is the last week of May, but failing this you may have to have another recipe from me or my first (and rather late) TV series comparison, assuming that it’s been checked again and had the pictures added!

From Fiona, the one thing I think she’s been working on is her “Humpty Dumpty and Belinda” review. Though she may surprise us with another Adventure review or something else, who can tell?

Right now, I’m enjoying the last of the sunshine on Sunday evening, and looking forward to having a similar day in the sun tomorrow!

To celebrate the sun, I’ll leave you with some more of my best pictures!

Enjoy!

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Posted in Blog talk | Tagged Beckenham, May, Monday | 4 Comments

Making Blyton’s Food: Ginger biscuits

Posted on May 26, 2013 by pippastef

I hope you’re all hungry and free to do a little baking this Whitsun bank holiday.

That said, I suppose I should have baked something that appears in Five Go to Billycock Hill as that is the most obvious Whitsun adventure I do believe. However, it’s been a very busy week so I shall have to treat you to a quick and easy recipe for ginger biscuits!

The dust jacket of Jane Brocket’s “Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer” cook book. Taken from Amazon.

This recipe is one of two that I tried, and through my unofficial testers at work, the favourite recipe comes from Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer by Jane Brocket. This recipe makes 20-24 biscuits and this is what you need to make them!

Warning: If you are a young child, please as an adult to help you. I don’t want to be responsible for any nasty accidents!

120g soft butter
120g golden caster sugar
1 dessert spoon golden syrup
1 egg yolk
200g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 heaped teaspoon of ground ginger
Pinch of salt
Pinch of mixed spice (optional)
Pinch of ground cloves and/or ground nutmeg (optional) – I used the nutmeg.

You will also need a baking tray, lined with greaseproof paper.

To make your ginger biscuits follow these instructions:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C/ gas mark 3.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.
Beat in the golden syrup and egg yolk [the yellow bit of the egg].
Sift the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, salt and spices if you are using them, into the bowl. Then work them in until the mix becomes a firm dough.
Break off small pieces of the dough, shape them into balls and place them well apart on the baking tray.
Press down lightly with your fingers to partially flatten each biscuit.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown and smelling delicious.
Transfer the biscuits from the tray to a wire rack and leave them to cool.
Devour!

This recipe works really well, it’s simple and straightforward. In fact the only part I had problems with was that the biscuits took at least forty minutes to bake in my oven. This may be because I had them in the middle of the oven. All I will say to you, is to start off with Brocket’s time for baking but don’t worry if it takes you a little longer to cook the biscuits.

: The ingredients

: The mixed dough

: The biscuits in the oven

: The finished articles!

About the Book

Just a quick world about the book Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer by Jane Brocket. It is a fabulous text for Enid Blyton (and other author) inspired recipes. In fact it had so many Blytonesque recipes in it that I went out and brought my own copy (I had borrowed a copy from work and was afraid of keeping it too long as I had requested it over from another library).

The book is filled with lip smacking recipes and little anecdotes on food. It is helpfully divided into sections such as School, Suppers, Lunches and Picnics.

I look forward to comparing recipes from other books to this one and seeing if Brocket has hit on the perfect Blyton cook book!

In the meantime, try the biscuits – they are delicious and let me know how they turn out in the comments below!

P.S. If you have any recipes you want me to try, email the blog on worldofblytonblog@hotmail.com and I shall do my very best!

Posted in Food and recipes | Tagged Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer, Ginger Biscuits, Jane Brocket, Making Blyton's Food | 1 Comment

Recovering from illness in Blyton’s books, part 3

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Fiona

We’ve already looked at flu, measles and coughs and colds, now it’s time for mumps, scarlet fever, whooping cough and illnesses of an unknown type. I’ll also briefly look at illnesses at school.

MUMPS

No named character I can think of actually has mumps in Blyton’s books, but I’ve brought it up here because it is mentioned.

Sally Hope is late back to school after Christmas in the third term (Third Year at Malory Towers) as she has been in quarantine for mumps.

In Summer Term at St Clare’s Pat and Isabel have been in contact with a girl who’s come down with mumps, right before they’re due to go back to school. Their mother reminds them that they’ve not had mumps before and tells them you’ll both be in quarantine now – and the quarantine for mumps is rather long. You won’t be able to go back to school at the beginning of the term. In fact, they miss the first three weeks of term due to the quarantine.

None of these girls were actually ill, but it’s interesting to see how just being in contact with someone ill could cause quite a bit of disruption to people’s lives. These quarantines do affect the plot, however, as they allow the girls at school to develop different friendships (for example Darrell and Alicia spend a lot more time together at the start of Third Year, when Sally is absent.)

SCARLET FEVER

In Five Are Together Again Joan (sometimes known as Joanna) the Kirrins’ cook has fallen ill with scarlet fever. When the children arrive there from school, they can’t even enter Kirrin Cottage. Poor Joan is carried out to an ambulance and taken to hospital for treatment, and Aunt Fanny talks to them from an open window, explaining that she and Uncle Quentin are in quarantine (though thankfully Timmy isn’t!) The Five can’t stay at Kirrin, so they end up going to stay with the Professor Hayling and his son Tinker and having one last adventure.

togetheragainquarantine

As mentioned before Philip is studying at his teacher’s house at the start of The Island of Adventure because he’s missed a lot of school work due to having both scarlet fever and measles earlier in the term.

Bob, a little boy who once live in Rockingdown Manor, died at a young age from scarlet fever. Dinah, Roger and Snubby hear this tale from the woman in the village store, and it explains why the nursery looks like it had been suddenly abandoned before the rest of the house.

rockingdown scarlet fever nursery

WHOOPING COUGH

Due to whooping cough Betty is also late coming back to school after Christmas in Third Year at Malory Towers. Her best friend Alicia explains that Betty can’t come back for six weeks as she’s only just come down with it.

Interestingly, Blyton had whooping cough as a baby. Her parents were told she would probably not survive the night, but her father refused to accept this. He stayed with her all night long, cradling her in his arms determined she would live – and of course, she did.*

UNKNOWN ILLNESSES

In Five on Kirrin Island Again the children meet Martin, and the Coastguard says He’s been ill, so his father says. Got to have plenty of sea-air and that sort of thing. Martin does appear a bit pale and quiet, but as Mr Curton turns out not to be his father perhaps the convalescence is a smoke-screen for his criminal activities. It shows, though, that in Blyton’s world a holiday after an illness was common enough not to raise any eyebrows.

In The Naughtiest Girl in the School Joan, upset over a letter from her mother, goes out for a walk and gets completely soaked through when it rains heavily. She ends up in the san with a high temperature, and is ill for several days. The doctor merely says she has a chill, but her recovery is impeded as she is worrying about her mother’s letter. Her mother comes to the school, and Joan is able to stop worrying so much and get better.

joannaughtiest

Bill is new to Malory Towers in Third Year at Malory Towers and she is a day late in arriving as she and her brothers have been in quarantine for something or other according to Miss Peters. It’s not made totally clear but I don’t think she was actually ill, but had been in contact with someone who had been.

Also in Third Year at Malory Towers Mavis, the girl who believed herself destined to become a world-famous singer, does something similar to Joan. She goes out in the evening to a singing contest but misses the bus back. She gets soaked and collapses into a ditch where she is not found until hours later. She is very ill afterwards and loses her magnificent voice as a result.

mavismt

ILLNESSES AT SCHOOL

At Malory Towers every girl must produce a health certificate each term, and give it to Matron. Presumably it declares the girl hasn’t been in contact with any contagious illnesses. As Darrell says woe betide you if you go down with measles or chicken pox or something if you’ve just handed in a certificate saying you haven’t been near anyone ill! And Matron herself says there is a rule here that girls who forget their health certificate shall be isolated until one is produced.

Matrons at these schools seem to be busy people – not only are they responsible for the bed-linen and the children’s clothes and the all-important health certificates, they also take care of the children’s health. Children go to Matron with sore throats or headaches and they have to either treat them or seek a doctor’s advice. They also nurse sick and injured children in the school sanatoriums.

In Blyton’s books sick children seem to be kept at school to recover rather than being sent home. Alicia recovers from measles in Malory Towers san, Joan is nursed back to health in the Whyteleaf san, and when Sally has appendicitis she is operated on at school!

The schools are quite serious about protecting their pupils’ health, which is understandable given the plethora of nasty, contagious illnesses around in those days. One girl with the measles, un-quarantined, could easily spread it to half the school!

And that brings me to the end of looking at illnesses in Blyton’s books. I hope I haven’t missed any major plot-lines involving illness, but if I have just let me know!

* Whooping cough story from A Biography of Enid Blyton by Anita Bensoussane

Posted in Plot Devices | Tagged Five Are Together Again, Five on Kirrin Island Again, Illness, Malory Towers, Mumps, Quarantine, Scarlet Fever, St Clare's, Summer Term at St Clare's, The Adventure Series, The Famous Five, The Island of Adventure, The Naughtiest Girl in the School, Third Year at Malory Towers, Whooping Cough | 4 Comments

Poppy’s Book of the Month: Merry Mister Meddle

Posted on May 22, 2013 by worldofblyton

By Poppy Hutchinson

Title: Merry Mister Meddle
Series: Meddle Series
Main Characters: Mister Meddle, Aunt Jemima
Published: 1954
First Published By: George Newnes
Rating (Out of 5): 5

First of all, I’d like to express how much I enjoyed reading this fantastic, comical, original book and how much it made me laugh! The book consists of 14 short stories each about a meddlesome pixie who is always willing to do good deeds, but somehow they always go wrong! My three personal favourites are: Meddle’s Treacle Pudding, Meddle’s Good Turns and A Surprise for Mister Meddle.

Meddle’s Treacle Pudding begins with Meddle’ Aunt Jemima feeling unusually pleased with Mister Meddle, after him presenting her with a fine bunch of daffodils. In return, she invites him to share a fine tea of cold meat, baked potatoes and a jam pudding, however Meddle is not contented, he wants a treacle pudding ; not a jam one. Alas – Aunt Jemima has no treacle in, so Meddle must be content with a jam one. Meanwhile, work men are doing jobs in the scullery, and Meddle’s Aunt insists that he must help them if he wants to stay and have tea with her. Determined to share his aunt’s mouth watering tea, Meddle obeys, but after hammering someone’s fingers and upsetting all their tools into a wet sink, Meddle was sent away with a pot of a yellow-brown liquid, being advised to stir it above the kitchen stove. After inspecting the pot of mixture carefully, Meddle is convinced it is treacle (it is actually glue) and pours his aunt’s pudding which she had not yet put jam on. He leaves it steaming on the stove and surprises his aunt when she returns from her shopping trip and the dinner is prepared. The meal goes down well and Meddle fetches the treacle pudding. The two are disgusted when they taste the glue paste and Meddle is scolded well!

In Meddle’s Good Turns, Mister Meddle is in his aunt’s bad books again, after staying with her for a few days upsetting everyone including the cat. He is sent out to convince Aunt Jemima that he can be helpful and good, and help some other people. Meddle wanders down the road to meet a woman crossing the road with a large basket of goods. He tries to snatch it from her, meaning to carry it a little way for her. The poor woman thinks she is being robbed and calls out for help. Meddle is sent on his way. He carries on down the road to meet a lady carrying her dustbin out – Meddle wants to carry it for her, but she objects declaring she is a strong woman, though there is an old woman further down the road who could do with a hand. Meddle wanders down the street and wanders in at a house with three large dustbins standing outside the house. Meddle assumes this is the old woman’s house and carries the dust bins out beside the road. Inside was actually food for the man’s hen. Evidently, the man burnt his own rubbish. The story goes on to describe Meddle painting the wrong name on someone’s house and getting white paint all over his aunt’s skirt.

I would recommend this book to boys and girls of all ages – it is a delightful book with many comical scenes and lovely illustrations. A very enjoyable read. I rated this book 5 stars because it is an enchanting selection of wonderful stories suitable for all ages. Thank you all for reading my May review – hope you all enjoyed it. I will be back next month with yet another book and another review

First edition 1954 by Joyce Mercer and Rosalind M. Turvey

First edition dustjacket by Joyce Mercer and Rosalind M. Turvey

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged Aunt Jemima, Merry Mister Meddle, Mister Meddle, Poppy's Book of the Month, Written by Poppy | Leave a comment

Another Monday Message

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Fiona

In case you hadn’t noticed – the weekend is over and it is Monday again.

This week on the blog we will have Poppy’s book of the month, this month she has chosen a book about a single character. He tries to help people but he’s more meddlesome than helpful – can you guess who he is?

Stef’s still got a long list of options this week – you may see some of her fan fiction, a tasty Blytonian recipe, a look at the TV series or May flowers.

Unfortunately I’ve been slacking off lately so I don’t have a host of choices. From me you’ll either see part three of my look at illnesses in Blyton books or a review of Humpty Dumpty and Belinda. If you see Dame Slap this week, feel free to send her my way. I’m sure she could get me to knuckle down!

In other news, it has been confirmed that there will be an Enid Blyton plaque in Beaconsfield! Hooray!

I’ve finally made up my mind that I will be going to the Beckenham day out in June so Stef and I will be having a few Blyton-y days together that weekend. Many photographs will be taken and I’m sure it will give us a lot to blog about. We hope to see you there!

Posted in Blog talk | Tagged May, Monday | 2 Comments

The Sea of Adventure

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Fiona

First published in 1948 this is the fourth book in the series.

The cloth board cover

First edition dustjacket by Stuart Tresillian

THE LOCATION

This book is set in and around some of the many small islands off the north-west coast of Scotland. No precise details are given, and I think it’s safe to assume these exact islands are fictitious – though there will be real islands like them out there. They visit a couple of islands before choosing one to settle on for longer. The island they choose has a large puffin colony on it. It also has a hill in the middle, a pleasant cove and a rocky inlet just right for their boat.

THE STORY

This time the children are pitted against a nasty group of men who are using the nearby islands to smuggle guns into the country.

Poor, silly Horace Tipperlong

We also meet Horace Tipperlong who the children immediately christen Trippalong, he’s a rather weedy fellow and he has a rather bad time at the children’s hands – though you feel he deserves it for being so silly.

Bill needs to lay low for a while, and as the children have been ill he decides to take them on a holiday to some Scottish islands. They plan to sail around, stopping to explore islands as they like. They find a great island, full of puffins, to camp on and the children have a lovely time, unconcerned about the one or two aeroplanes they’ve seen in the area.

The holiday takes a sinister turn, however, when Bill disappears and the boat’s wireless and engine are destroyed. The next night a terrible storm strikes the island, the wind whipping away the tents and smashing up the boat. A couple of days after Bill disappears the children see another aeroplane which drops a small packet hanging from a parachute. Two nasty sounding men turn up on the island, looking for anyone who might have been there with Bill – but they can’t find the children who are hiding underground in the puffin colony.

Bill is kidnapped

The tent blows away

A man called Horace Tipperlong then arrives on the island, and the children assume he is a crook pretending to be a dippy ornithologist. They are – in Horace’s words – vicious and blood thirsty in their treatment of him, and leave the island in his boat to track down Bill. First they discover a beautiful lagoon, one full of mysterious packages – obviously dropped by the aeroplanes. Horace also ends up in the hands of the enemy and nearly sabotages the whole rescue mission.

PHILIP’S PETS

The rats and Miss Lawson

Philip is training young rats called Squeaker, Woffles and Nosey. This is useful when Philip is able to scare off Miss Lawson, a potential governess, by producing them from his shirt.

Huffin, Puffin and Kiki

He then befriends two of the puffins on the island, and names them Huffin and Puffin. They’re very useful pets as they bring fresh fish for breakfast in the mornings.

MY REVIEW

I think my favourite part of this book has to be the chapter with Horace Tipperlong. Jack comes up with such a brilliant idea, and they execute it beautifully. The end of the book is particularly thrilling – a rescue which goes wrong, and an escape which goes worse!

Mrs Mannering described her relationship to the Trent children to Miss Lawson by saying Jack and Lucy-Ann are not my own children. [They] are great friends of my own children, and they live with us. Jack and Lucy-Ann call Mrs Mannering Aunt Allie but in her thoughts Lucy-Ann says Aunt Allie was a lovely mother. She also wishes that Bill was her father.

We break slightly from tradition here – Bill’s around for more of this story than in previous books, and it’s the kids racing to his rescue instead of the other way around. Given the setting, it’s perhaps not surprising some of the happenings remind me of the Adventurous Four books (both of which published earlier). Trapped on an island with no boat, secret lagoons, island rescues, these things have been done before. Hiding under the seaweed in familiar too – though it’s usually boats hidden that way, not children. Saying that these elements are blended into a completely different story and their vague familiarity is forgotten in the excitement. In fact sometimes familiar plots are nice – part of what makes Blyton’s books Blyton-y is the use and reuse of familiar ideas like secret passages, caves, islands, smugglers etc.

The book demonstrates exactly what Mrs Mannering always says – that Bill and the children manage to fall head-long into adventures wherever they go. Bill is trying to stay away from trouble and accidentally picks the exact location enemies of his are working. He even recognises the men who kidnap him!

Next review – The Mountain of Adventure

Posted in Book reviews | Tagged Scotland, Smugglers, The Adventure Series, The Adventurous Four, The Sea of Adventure | 9 Comments

Bourne End: A May Day walk

Posted on May 17, 2013 by pippastef

It’s beginning to look a lot like summer!

In the glorious sunshine on May Day (May 1st) I convinced my friend Catherine to come for another Bourne End walk with me. It’s basically my spring Bourne End blog but because we haven’t had the best spring months now seemed the best time to do it, with the sunshine and the slightly cooler temperatures before the year transitioned too quickly into summer.

So I will level with you, I picked a day that makes it look like summer to do this walk, and apart from the fact that some of the trees are void of leaves and some of spring’s flowers are out, you really wouldn’t know the difference. I hope the pictures will help you understand what I mean.

However, beautiful weather, a good friend and a chance to use my camera how could I say no to this beautiful trip?

The walk from the car park, past the Spade Oak towards Old Thatch.

We arrived around 3pm, for an afternoon’s sunny walk and were not disappointed. There were lots of lovely flowers and animals about. We started at the car park, taking a look over the fences, seeing daffodils, horses with their foals, and the fishing lake through a gap in the hedge. The next item on my list was to walk a little way back down the way we had come, past the Spade Oak and past Old Thatch.

First off we decided to walk down the little footpath on the side of the road, sheltered by trees and by the field with the horses in it. Catherine and I had walked this path before, but in the opposite direction during our Autumn walk where we encountered the possible exit for the stream that was supposed to run along the back of Blyton’s garden, and the ‘yellow leaf road.’ I did manage to get a few “artistic” shots of Old Thatch’s chimney through the gap in the hedge.

Old Thatch's chimney in a gap in the trees on the footpath.

Old Thatch’s chimney through a gap in the trees on the footpath.

This time, we had no ‘yellow leaf road,’ but a tangle of brambles, catching us on the legs and needing pushing aside carefully before we could proceed. As we wandered through the undergrowth, I spotted a beautiful little chaffinch in front of me, and snapped a picture. I have been after a picture of a chaffinch for months and have been unable to secure one until May Day. See I knew it was going to be a good day! I was incredibly lucky in fact before a second after I had snapped the picture the little bird flew off. Clearly I do not have the gift that Jack Trent and Philip Mannering have with animals.

Carrying on, we walked the remainder of the footpath, up to the little bridge over the old stream bed. I had another look at where the stream may have escaped from Blyton’s garden, and then we emerged from the undergrowth, making sure first that there were no cars coming as we stepped out onto the road!

We then doubled back on ourselves, keeping to the road this time (does that count as doubling back?), so I could get some better pictures of Old Thatch. From what I could see, the garden was waiting to burst forth into bloom, but it was still nice to see the place through a gap in the hedge. I’m very much looking forward to going back and having a look soon!

Closer to Old Thatch.

Then, photos of Old Thatch safely on my camera, we headed back to the car park and on to the riverbank. The daffodils were shining brightly in the sun as was the blossom on the trees as we headed up to the level crossing. This time, we didn’t see a train pass, but a car had gone through before us, so we assumed that one had just gone. That didn’t mean that we didn’t observe the rule of stop, look and listen, of course. Satisfied that we weren’t walking out in front of the train, Catherine hurried across while I took a more leisurely pace!

The river bank

Once we were on the bank of the river, the Thames was gleaming blue under the sky and looked inviting, and I must admit that I wanted to swim in it, but I wouldn’t try it as the Thames was/is considered a very dirty river indeed.

There were a couple of boats moored at the riverside, busy with people enjoying the sun. After we’d taken in the beauty of the hills and the blue river, once again we headed up the all too familiar path, towards the marina.

Under the passage of leaves and blossom, between the riverside houses and their boat houses, we wandered along to the boat club part of the bank. I spotted a gorgeous wild rabbit with floppy ears, but I was unsuccessful in getting a picture. On our wander through we spotted a little mammal, ducking in and out of a hole between a jetty and the bank. I think it was a vole, but we couldn’t find a picture of verify this. If you do know what our little friend is, please let us know in the comments!

Our friend the vole?

We sat and watched the little blighter zip about for five minutes before we decided to head off again. As we reached the marina to looked up to the railway bridge and felt a strange sense of regret, as the bridge was covered with wooden planks and cloth. As we reached the bridge we saw a notice saying that they were fixing the bridge. Also not to dawdle which I did, I’m afraid. The magnificence of the bridge seemed to be diminished with men working on it, and not being able to see the train tracks on the left hand side of the footbridge.

The Cock Marsh walk

After the winter walk, where the world seemed to be monochrome it was nice to see Bourne End in such colour. We slipped under the bridge to Cock Marsh, walking across the field in the sunshine, admiring the green everywhere, and the ducks. We wandered down the bank just by the field boundary and sat in the sun for a while, admiring the view.

It was lovely to sit in the sunshine after all the time we’ve had grey skies recently, and apart from the breeze you could almost believe that it was summer. In fact it was perfect May weather as written by Blyton usually our springs are wet and blustery while hers seem to be as perfect as the summers, never too hot, always lots of sun and minimal rain.

The view from the bridge

So all in all, a perfect walk. I just hope the summer weather is as good when it comes down to it!

Perfect Blyton weather as I’ve said. We came home, exhausted and sun burnt after a jolly good walk. As Old Thatch’s gardens are now open to the public on Wednesdays Thursdays and Saturdays, I will tell you that they’re worth a visit and the walk along the riverbank is always peaceful and well worth it. Give it a go!

The tree in the carpark.

Towards the river

Horse and foal

Old Thatch lych gate

The goldfinch

The bridge

The stream’s escape

Road back down to Old Thatch

The name plate for the house

To the river!

Through the level crossing

Upstream

The way towards the bridge, covered over by the trees

The boating club

Downstream

The bridge

Towards the bridge

On the bridge

The other side of the bridge

Cock Marsh Gate

Two ducks, the female a different colour

Where we sat and watched the world go by.

Posted in Nature, Personal Experiences | Tagged Bourne End, May, Old Thatch, Spring, Sunshine, Weather | 7 Comments

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All pictures taken from the Cave of Books.

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FIVE HAVE A PUZZLING TIME

GEORGE’S HAIR IS TOO LONG!

GOOD OLD TIMMY!

A LAZY AFTERNOON

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All photographs © Stephanie Woods 2013, so please don’t use any without her permission.

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A WALK AND SOME TROUBLE

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DICK AND LUCY-ANN

GEORGE AND PHILIP

JULIAN AND DINAH

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Chapter one:

A message for Bill

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MUMPS

SCARLET FEVER

WHOOPING COUGH

UNKNOWN ILLNESSES

ILLNESSES AT SCHOOL

* Whooping cough story from A Biography of Enid Blyton by Anita Bensoussane

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THE LOCATION

THE STORY

PHILIP’S PETS

MY REVIEW

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