The old in the new: Paddington and the Secret Seven

Almost a catchphrase with me, the new and old intermingle in this life and this entry looks at some examples .

I tend not to write book reviews on this blog although you'll spot the odd one dotted about but while she didn't write much specifically for boys, one series I did enjoy as a boy first time around by Enid Blyton was the Secret 7 series that had 21 original stories featuring six children in a secret society investigating mysteries and a dog called Scamper.

There has been a trend rather like with prequels in the film industry to extend the scope of original titles through so-called continuation novels written to varying degrees in the style of the original author by people invited by the rights owners of the original authors works.

Pamela Butchart is a well know Scottish author of children's mysteries  and was asked to write two more stories in Enid's Secret 7 series. This came out in February of this year.

This one starts with a Travelling Theatre moving where the Secret 7 live and the children curious because no theatre has been operating here for ages, indeed the premises were boarded up but it transpires they to put on a opening performance as it brought back to life.
The six children are invited to take part in the performance by Mrs Bagnall but as they get involved in learning their lines and rehearsing, strange goings on occur with lights and sound systems playing up, trap downs coming open plus tales of ghosts and it soon becomes apparent someone is trying to sabotage the show.

This provides the mystery the six plus Scamper look into hindered as ever by group leader Peter's nosy sister Susie and her friend poking their noses in, they work out who is doing it, why and bring in adult help as events draw to a conclusion.

Pamela wisely keeps the twenty-first century out of it so we have no smartphones, internet, tracking devices and so on so in some respects it's more like the nineteen-seventies and eighties.

In terms of language it is a little more modern than Enid's own but in the main follows the kind of dialogue she would of used with just the odd term like "try out" which very modern in British English and perhaps too much reference to Scottish Tablet which actual is a caramelized fudge concoction made from condensed milk that much outside her home nation will be puzzled over.

Overall I'd give it a 8 out of 10 for fans of the Secret Seven as she's kept as true to it's roots as she possible can with just a nod toward a more equal role for Pam,Barbara and Janet.

I mentioned Blue Peter, the long running children's BBC Tv series in connection with my birthday and there is a reference in the earlier bit of this blog to the link between a native of deepest darkest Peru and that show,

Around the era I first watched the show, also transmitted in five minute episodes were a series of animated cartoons based on the Michael Bond stories that I and countless boys (and girls too) loved to watch at the time.

Many of us feel that they caught the feel of the books better having more subtle humour for instance  than the more recent live action movies and I recently got a two dvd set that has most of the episodes on it.

This set has all the episodes from the thirty that started January 5th 1976 and the later ones plus the tv specials that run for 21 minutes each including the last one from 1987 although it is lacking information on which ones come where but there is a excellent piece on Wikipedia that lists all, gives a short account including the transmission date that helps.


One new story in an old series I loved and a shiny new dvd of the original paddington bear cartoons are just thing for an eternal ten year old boy.