Enid Blyton, a split lip, and the Reformation

by Lucy

When I was five years old and waiting at the bus stop after school, a bigger boy called Simon (names have not been changed to protect the innocent as he was proper guilty)… Continue reading →

‘Still, I like Rollercoasters – Don’t You?’

by Sarah

As we wanted to mark his birthday with some ‘Self’-esteem, I’ve been reading Will Self’s ‘Walking To Hollywood’. The similarity to W.G. Sebald (whose work Self has written about), struck me immediately. As… Continue reading →

Pigroot’s School of Witchyness and Wizard Stuff

by Lucy

If someone wrote a series of books with the above title, they’d be risking legal action, if J. K. Rowling did herself, you’d be wondering if she was short of cash and had… Continue reading →

If the kids are United….

by Sarah

I chanced upon ‘Emil and the Detectives’ on one of our family’s regular Thursday evening, post-swim visits to the local library. Its cheery, illustrated yellow cover managed to over-ride any anxiety I had… Continue reading →

Want to go on an adventure with the last four gnomes in Britain? Hell Yeah!

by Sarah

When my son was about five years old, he was obsessed with Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ books. After reading him twenty, one after the other, I was seriously losing the will to live.… Continue reading →