When I was little

Grimms Fairy Tales, I read them over and over, and The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge is still on my shelf.
Little Women fell apart as did Gone with the Wind.

In my teens I avidly read the Fu Manchu series of crime novels.
Written by Sax Rohmer (who I believe was an Irish Catholic) they presented Chinese/Oriental people as evil and sinister.

I still have my roller skates and boots and just need to find a hall I can hire to practise, as I have lost some of my confidence - my ex husband and I were dance-skaters. I took most of my grandchildren skating when I was in my 50s, to the local leisure centre in Folkestone - they were very impressed that I could go backwards and spin!

I think Heidi was probably the reason I ended up living in the Alps - the mountains still exert a fascination for me.

We were a very 'bookish' and unsporting family, and apart from the usual Angela Brazil school stories, we also read Dickens, Hardy and Austen (from the library, there was no money for books). It is amusing with the benefit of an adult, possibly cynical, perspective, to read about those girls with 'crushes' on the gym teacher or the Head Girl, who was always beautiful, clever and good at sports. Hm.......

I re-read John Buchan a few years ago, and was amazed that the blatant racism had not struck me the first time round. One line I remember was 'He is the whitest Jew since St. Paul'. TinTin, of course, has had to be reprinted to take out the worst of the racism.

There's a 'Little Me' inside all of us, cathy and it's good to hold her hand and attend to her childhood needs every now and again. I have lots of children's books here in my house, some that I think are ideal for my grandchildren, and lots that I fondly remember and want to have nearby

I don't see the problem, what does it matter what other people might think, if you want to buy a girls magazine buy it.

I bought my roller boots when I was in my 50s and didn't give a hoot to the laughter from my children. I love roller skating and would skate regularly if there was a rink local.
I ice skate in the winter when a rink is set up in the centre for Christmas, it's brilliant. What's it matter if I'm years older than anyone else, life is for living not worrying about what other people might think.

Oh it was so nice reading all your posts, they were all kind and made me feel why not, which was very refreshing. I don't feel as silly as I did THANK YOU

I started with Robin and then moved on through Swift to Girl. But I also read Topper every week, my parents both loved the adventures of poor Foxy and the centre spread was always something educational. I still remember that a golden eagle has a nine foot wingspan because I read it in Topper. Was I the only person who enjoyed Look and Learn? I always found it useful for schoolwork.

Apart from Arthur Ransome I spent most of my childhood reading every pony book known to man. I completely missed out on Enid Blyton because my mother thought the books were badly written, although for some reason I was allowed to have Sunny Stories every week.

One could say like Agatha Christie , some things are just timeless .

"Old School Values " should maybe be adhered to .

Nowadays they graduate from Enid Blyton to Jacqueline Wilson - more challenging and gritty.

LullyDully my GD has Famous Five short stories on her player at bedtime. She loves Enid Blyton and adventure stories.

We have Famous Five on CD for long car journeys ......silence!

Nonu I agree that British people may not have perceived certain things as racist in those days, but they most certainly were. Foreigners were frequently portrayed as crafty and untrustworthy. The particular illustration I saw on the TV was a shockingly crude caricature of a black man.

Quoting "south Pacific " for the avoidance of doubt .

Just got in after a superb day with our "youngest " she put on a lovely lunch , reckon she gets her cooking skills from her Mum

There was not "rascism" in the days when they were written .

My DG still love them , they merely see them as a jolly good read .
Still I suppose they have to be "carefully taught "

I really loved Enid Blyton, but was shocked when some words and illustrations from one of her books were shown on the TV the other day. They were so racist. I believe the books contained an awful lot of snobbery as well. I can understand why there is a reluctance to let children read them, at least in the form they were originally published.

I was Nancy Drew, girl detective.

If you want it, buy it! The newsagent won't know it's for you

I lived all the Heidi books though I never saw the film. My first film was Bambi. Once I had exhausted Enid Blyton, I went on to read all the Biggles books - I so wanted to be a pilot, but girls weren't allowed to join the ATC in those days. By the time I was eleven I pretty much had the run of my parents' bookcase and read all John Buchan's adventure tales which I now know to be racist and imperialistic, but then a 'ripping yarn' was all I wanted from a book. I'm still rather fond of hunky heroes - Jack Reacher, of course.

I was a fan too of Heidi, and the cheese being toasted by the fire!
I was really there in my head.

Gally I was a big Heidi fan too. Peter and the goats, the grandfather and the descriptions of the big cheese sandwiches! I am scared to read them again in case i am disappointed.

How funny.... we were also only allowed Girl and Eagle more educational. If we were ill we were allowed puzzle books I loved them. I still love puzzles.

One of the joys of being a primary teacher was still being able to play, use clay and paint etc... not to mention read lovely stories and sing silly songs.

Look and Learn was soooooo boring, particularly as it was allowed and the others weren't!

My brother was bought Look & Learn! but think he also got to see Beano & Dandy!