Top Five Reasons Why I love Enid Blyton

Any reader who grew up on Enid Blyton will credit her for her numerous books that fueled one’s imagination and inexplicable delight experienced by reading her books. Here are my top five reasons why I love Enid Blyton.

# 5. For her descriptions about food: Lemonade, buns, potted meat sandwiches, hard boiled eggs (usually in crisp, fresh salads that had half the vegetable market in it), tomato sandwiches, pop biscuits, toffee shocks, treacle puddings, chocolate biscuits, huge chocolate cakes, bacon and eggs with onions, slabs of chocolate bars, eclairs (usually eaten by the five find outers) scones and macaroons, jam tarts, ices, fresh bread and honey, cold creamy milk from the diary, ripe plums from the garden, strawberries and cream, gingerbread, ginger beer, ice creams… as a child, I dint even know what half of them meant, but being a foodie, that dint stop me from drooling and sighing with envy that the characters were the luckiest in the world to have such heavenly food!

Ok.. time for a break from this article. Excuse me while I go and pig out on some food :)

Back again and speaking of the lucky characters, herez another point of envy..

# 4. For her characters: Who can’t help admiring Fatty for his courage, wit and brains? Timmy for his loyalty and adorable ways? The twins at St. Clares? Or all the other girls and teachers– the good, the bad and ugly at the boarding schools? The naughtiest girl who made naughtiness seem so appealing? Dolls that come alive at nights, the cheeky Snubby and his mad dog loony, Kiki the talkative parrot who never fails to steal the show, Mr. Pink Whistle the invisible magic man who set things right……each character so unique, yet so easy to connect with.

# 3. For names: A snow man is called icy cold..a fussy donkey..kick up, an enchanter is called Mr. Spells, saucepan man (who has pans and kettles all around him), moon face (who had a round face like the moon), whatzisname (a man who well… dint know what his name was!:) …...she makes all seem so effortless!

# 2. For the locations: Forget beaches and luxury resorts and climb up a tree that lead into a cloud and off one goes to exciting lands of dreams, birthdays, secrets, goodies and lands of do-as-you please, a wishing chair that flies away to magical places and strange journeys, Galliano’s circus will never make you want to live in a house anymore, islands that belong to children (George’s Kirrin Island and the secret island from the secret series), boarding schools that made me long to apply to, playrooms and toys that made me wish I was a fly on the wall when they came alive….

# 1. For making me believe: In magic, in spells, in the power of kindness, courage, in learning a lesson in every single story and for bringing out the child in me even today, when I am in my thirties. Yes, I still read Enid Blyton and till date, I list her books as the best blessings I have had the pleasure to discover!!

and saving the best for last - December 2011

And Calvin’s version which I subscribe to ;0)

For November 2011 - are you going to finish strong?

Man! did i really need a wake up call this month!! This link did it for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOlTdkYXuzE

For October 2011 - Go Not To The Temple

For the last couple of months, instead of writing my own articles and muses, i decided to post those that have made an impact on me the most, one for each month starting from August 2011. Here is one for October

For September 2011- Let Go

Which line is your favorite from the post below? I like 'em all but loved the last one - to let go is to fear less and love more which i am still working on!:)

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it's the realization I can't control another.

To let go is not to enable, but allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it's to make the most of myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be himself.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their destinies.

To let go is not to be protective, it's to permit another to explore himself.

To let go is not to deny, but to accept.

To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To let go is not to criticize or regulate anybody, but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the present moment and the future.

To let go is to fear less and love more.

For August 2011 - BITCHOLOGY !!

BITCHOLOGY !!

When I stand up for
myself and my beliefs,
they call me a
bitch.

When I stand up for
those I love,
they call me a
bitch.

When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts
or do things my own way, they call me a
bitch.

Being a bitch
means I won't
compromise what's
in my heart.
It means I live my life MY way.
It means I won't allow anyone to step on me.

When I refuse to
tolerate injustice and
speak against it, I am
defined as a
bitch.

The same thing happens when I take time for
myself instead of being everyone's maid, or when I act a little selfish.

It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to be who I truly am and won't become anyone else's idea of what they think I "should" be.
I am outspoken,opinionated and determined.
I want what I want and there is nothing wrong with that!
So try to stomp on me,
try to douse my inner flame, try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me.
You won't succeed.

And if that makes me a bitch ,
so be it.
I embrace the title and
am proud to bear it.

B - Babe
I - In
T - Total
C - Control of
H - Herself

B = Beautiful
I = Intelligent
T = Talented
C = Charming
H = Hell of a Woman

B = Beautiful
I = Individual
T = That
C = Can
H = Handle anything

FORWARD THIS OR…..

1. You’ll have bad luck for X number of years
2. You won’t have any money for “__” period.
3. You’ll never find love in life
4. You will have “_” and “_” and “__” happening to you in the next (time range can be anywhere from next 36 seconds to 10 years!!)
5. You will die.

Sounds familiar? I am referring to the chain mails and messages that land in your in box (and who hasn’t been a victim of one of these!).

Mails and messages that come up with stories ranging from needing money to prayers to horror stories to what ever that can play on your emotions and if you don’t…..

The operative words here are if you don’t…

I hate, abhor, detest, dislike, can’t bear, can’t stand, loathe, and despise chain mails. And these words aren’t enough to describe how I feel about them, especially the ones that speak of bad things happening to you “if you don’t.”

Even worse is when they come from people I’ve known for ages, who do know that passing it on will cause as much irritation/anxiety/negativity to the person receiving it.

So what is it that makes people get the mails forward this to their friends? – Blind superstition? (We have a lot of those going around)
Why leave anything to chance? (Oh come on, shit happens, life goes on anyways)
Hope that if I do, I may get something? (Yeah right!),
For Fun? (GET A LIFE!!)
Fear….? (methinks this is the basis for a lot of those mails).

Whatever is the reason, when people I know send such stuff, to me it translates into just one thing

“I do not value you as a person.”

And that’s not a pleasant feeling.

Earlier, I used to get upset, rage at the person sending it, feel shifts in my mood once I read them and experience a wide range of emotions – none of them productive.

Today I deal with it better. Whenever I get a chain mail or message, I just send one right back saying,

If you send anymore chain mails or messages to me, you will be cursed with “___” (add curse here and boy! Have I been creative with the curses I’ve sent back.;)

Result? No more chain mails or messages:) and peace and goodwill on earth (that is until the next chain mail/message from someone else).

Note to readers: Anything you want to comment on this, you are most welcome. Just don’t ask me to pass them on or else...:)