Here is my latest recommended reading list.
Please note, I do not necessarily agree with these posts and articles, however I found them sufficiently interesting to warrant a recommendation:
The All Seeing Eye has an update on the stealth closures of parts of the British Forces Post Office.
Jeff says that the SNP should drop their 2010 referendum plans.
Boris Johnson says we should worry that so many people are fleeing because of the 50p tax rate.
James Higham asks, why was Enid Blyton so controversial?
And finally, a surprising piece on the BBC website looking at what the outcome would be if the UK exited the EU.
Enjoy!
3 comments:
Thanks and your answer to the question, Daniel?
My pleasure James.
My answer would be that it was the BBC that seemed to find controversy in Enid Blyton, and that the BBC has a different agenda and outlook to the British people. The BBC would probably find me & you "controversial" because our views do not conform to their viewpoints. I did not find Enid Blyton controversial, and though I cannot remember word-for-word all that I read, I do not today find Enid Blyton controversial.
Enid Blyton books did make it to the school libraries where and when I attended, but I would not necessarily expect to see them there today.
I did read some Enid Blyton stories, I do not recall there being any racism or negativity of any kind. I do not actually remember anything other than the enjoyment of reading about school kids having fun and adventures in a way that wanted me to read more and more.
It was easy to get through school when I was there and never read too much at all, so when books like this were put in our hands and they captured the imagination and made you want to read more; this was an achievement in itself. If the same affect is not felt by the books stocked in schools today, that is a tragedy.
I don't have kids so I would not pick up anything "modern" but I guess just thinking about it now I would expect to be disappointed if I did. It is a good thing that my mum has put up all of my childhood books and annuals ready for when I have kids of my own, there is plenty of non-PC literature there that was perfectly acceptable when I was young; which was not that long ago.
Maybe the Albion Alliance can help combat the thought police at the beeb and we can start (collectively) finding some of the more questionable attitudes from the BBC "Controversial".
From what I can tell the ban on Enid Blyton was due to snobbery more than anything - correct me if I'm wrong but this ban was from the 1930s-50s, long before our time (well, at least mine) and was down to it being quite poorly written (which would probably include everything written for kids today) - long before the golliwogs were 'racist'
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