Enid Blyton
I can not count the hours as a child that I have spent reading the likes of The Famous Five or The Secret Seven. As an adult I still like to read these, but I have to admit that I haven't done so in a number of years. Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer whose books have been among the world's best-sellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Blyton's books are still enormously popular, and have been translated into 90 languages. As of June 2018, Blyton is in the 4th place for the most translated author. She wrote on a wide range of topics including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives and is best remembered today for her Noddy, Famous Five, Secret Seven, and Malory Towers. (Credit to Wikipedia) The reasons I like reading these stories of hers is that I find they take me to another place and time, one that is magical and adventurous with characters that have close friendships and trust. Of course, not all of her books have lasted the distance so to speak. Some of her stories have had to be changed over the years to be able to meet modern day views. To address criticisms levelled at Blyton's work some later editions have been altered to reflect more politically progressive attitudes towards issues such as race, gender, violence between young persons, the treatment of children by adults, and legal changes in Britain as to what is allowable for young children to do in the years since the stories were originally written (e.g. purchasing fireworks); modern reprints of the Noddy series substitute teddy bears or goblins for golliwogs, for instance. The golliwogs who steal Noddy's car and dump him naked in the Dark Wood in Here Comes Noddy Again are replaced by goblins in the 1986 revision, who strip Noddy only of his shoes and hat and return at the end of the story to apologise. With over 90 of her books in my collection, and my always on the lookout for one I do not yet have, I will always be able to pull one out and enjoy an evening adventure. Now to find the boxes where they are all packed from the last house move!
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Life has been so full on lately with many work commitments and trying to get in enough exercise to keep my weight loss journey on track that it wasn’t until I looked on my Facebook page that I realised that I had not posted a blog in a while so I decided to come online and write something as I find writing helps me with my anxiety, and I like to keep you all updated on my books.
Today I signed off on the cover and internal layout and now…. it is printing and distribution time! After signing off I suddenly decided that some of the words didn’t sound right, one of the illustrations could have been better, but I need to get over that as I’ve wasted a lot of time chopping and changing this book already. On top of this I have two colouring books, one is published and one is almost ready to go. These will all be available on this website soon, I am excited to share them with you, they have been a long time in the making. Only short and sweet today as lots to do. Keep safe.
Today I was asked a question from a follower on Instagram:
"what did you find the most difficult in writing Comet the Bus"? I wanted the sentences to rhyme on each page, and this is harder than you may realise. At least, it was harder than I realised. There are so many words in the English language that simply do not have another word that rhymes with it. There is one of the pages in Comet the Bus where I couldn't find a word that rhymed well with it, but I did the best I could by being creative. This particular page still bothers me today, even though it has gone to print. I used google a lot, as well as online dictionaries and thesauruses to come up with words that rhyme. I found myself doing a lot of research and learning some really cool new words that I never heard of before. One of these words is "hootenanny". When I read the word it made me laugh as it sounded quite funny. The definition of hootenanny is "a gathering at which folksingers entertain often with the audience joining in. Another word, or rather a name I came across was "Yuppie" initially I thought that this may have meant yapping puppy but the definition is: a young college-educated adult who is employed in a well-paying profession and who lives and worlds in or near a large city. About this word: Here Come the Yuppies!" proclaimed a 1984 Time magazine article that chronicled the tastes and mores of a new breed of "upwardly mobile folk with designer water, running shoes... and $450,000 condos." The word most likely comes from a playful acronym: young urban professional. Writing this first book in the Comet the Bus series has been not only fun, but educational at the same time as I have learnt many new words, and, found an interest in words that were once quite common but are no longer used. Why they are no longer used is unknown to me but I intend to do more research on these over time. I would enjoy hearing some words or phrases from you that may not been so common any more, feel free to pop them in the comments below. I am looking forward to reading some of them. Credit to: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-we-dont-hear-anymore Thinking about the busy days I have working in the bus industry, I often think I could write several full length novels. From the entertaining bus drivers to the frustrated passengers, no two days are the same. There is always something new cropping up in Operations to deal with.
A lot of my time is spent watching camera footage from the buses after a passenger has complained about poor customer service, bad driving, or being left behind. The stories some of these people tell make me wonder if they write books as they are incredibly detailed and entertaining to hear. The most common complaint is "the bus driver drove straight past me even though I waved to them, and I know they saw me". I spent an hour downloading and watching footage to find out the person was nowhere near the bus stop! My job is to determine if the driver did something wrong or if the Passenger is just having a bad day and is taking it out on the bus driver with a far fetched story. Most of the time the stories are heavily fabricated, but I believe all complaints have an element of truth to them. One day I think I might write a book on some of the experiences I have come across both as a driver and from a management perspective, I am sure there will be readers out there who would love to read them! This weekend I have only a one day weekend as was away on Saturday. My usual Sunday routine is to try and get a sleep in! This morning I woke at 5.30am, dozed in and out of sleep until 6am, then got up with an awful headache, this headache is laughing at me while I write todays blog entry!
I usually try to do the same thing each Sunday which consists of sleeping in, having breakfast, feeding the chickens, going for an hours walk, then doing jobs around the farm, ironing my shirts for work, getting my gym bag ready for Monday, getting meal plan for the upcoming week sorted and grocery shopping, I also like to visit mum and mow her lawn as well as ours. End of the day I go for another walk, get home have a shower as I'm usually freezing, put on some snuggly clothes, eat dinner, check out social media while watching something on the television before going to bed. These days my routing also includes writing a blog entry and planning the next book! The lawns haven't been done in over 7 weeks as it has been raining every weekend so they are looking messy. This is o, when there is a dry day, I’ll mow them and get them tidy. I am off to feed the chickens etc now. Look forward to writing another blog entry tomorrow. Take care. xx Enid Blyton.
Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer whose books have been among the world's best-sellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Blyton's books are still enormously popular, and have been translated into 90 languages. As of June 2018, Blyton is in the 4th place for the most translated author. She wrote on a wide range of topics including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives and is best remembered today for her Noddy, Famous Five, Secret Seven, and Malory Towers. (credit to Wikipedia) I personally have a collection of nearly 100 of Enid Blytons books. My favourite to read are The Secret Seven and The Famous Five. I read these now as an adult and they still amuse me. The bond between the children, and the trust with each other on their fantastical adventures is not to be messed with. I have seen other authors try to continue and write these in Enid Blytons style and I don't think it works. Whilst their versions may be a good read, its not the same, it is missing a certain something. Stories that get me engrossed are those that send me to another place and time, taking me far away from the real world I am living in to one that is magically and adventurous. The Secret Seven and The Famous Five never fail to do so. Of course some of Enid Blytons books are no longer seen as acceptable. To address criticisms levelled at Blyton's work some later editions have been altered to reflect more politically progressive attitudes towards issues such as race, gender, violence between young persons, the treatment of children by adults, and legal changes in Britain as to what is allowable for young children to do in the years since the stories were originally written (e.g. purchasing fireworks); modern reprints of the Noddy series substitute teddy bears or goblins for golliwogs, for instance. The golliwogs who steal Noddy's car and dump him naked in the Dark Wood in Here Comes Noddy Again are replaced by goblins in the 1986 revision, who strip Noddy only of his shoes and hat and return at the end of the story to apologise. Now I feel the need to dog out some of the boxes of books for some evening reading!
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AuthorAfter the outstanding success of his first children’s picture book, Comet the Red Bus - Around the City, Author Christopher Candy has continued to write the next book in the Comet the Red Bus series. Working full-time as a Manager for Tranzit Coachlines, Christopher has many years of bus-related experience that brings his characters to life. Christopher is based in the Tararua region and enjoys spending time with his partner, farm animals and pet dog, Tupance. You can see updates from Christopher, including new releases, giveaways and more, on his website or social media accounts. Archives
October 2023
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