Diaries 1: Juvenile Journalism

My writing career started at ten years old, the first triumphant attempt being in magazines: not just writing them but publishing as well.  My friend Jane and I produced a magazine called 'Adventures' and it ran to two fun- and action-packed issues.  I thought  that they had long ago been lost but Jane, who now lives on the edge of the Cotswolds, leading the action-packed life of a retired theatre nurse and GP’s wife and with a team of grandchildren to her credit, recently came on a visit bringing those two issues of Adventures with her.  That was the rest of the afternoon gone – hours of reminiscences and laughs about our ten-year-old selves. We agreed  to keep one issue of the magazine each.

Mine begins with a ‘puzzle page’ – nothing too challenging there: 'Find the hidden eggs in the picture' –  a crayoned-in drawing of a hen and two trees and hidden among them, not very cunningly disguised, definitely three eggs. After the puzzle pages comes a story, ‘The Children of Primrose Dell’ about two little girls who went primrosing, found a dell, built a little house, found ‘a little Jar’ and put some primroses in it to decorate the house.  'Soon the time came for them to go home, we will come again they said. TO BE CONTINUED'.

The magazine runs to 49 (forty-nine!) pages, all packed with interest, and particular interest for anyone looking back to a childhood in the 1950's.  Some of Jane’s items  are quite pious, reflecting the more regular church-going habits of her family, both of us show a love of wild flowers and birds and the ‘Nature Page’ lists ‘flowers and Trees to find in April’.  I see there are sixteen flowers and  the ‘Trees in leaves’ include Wild Apple, Armond (sic), Horse chestnut, lime and Larch. The next page has instructions for how to do ‘Preesing flowers’. It tells the readers ‘when you have got the flowers you want to press get your pressing paper and put them very carefully and put about eight (or more or less) books on the top so that they can be well preesed’.

The magazine features a selection of adverts. We seem to have given free publicity to Kellogs Cornflakes, mentioning there are ‘cowboys and Indians on every packet’, as well as to the local shoe shop which, incidentally, is still thriving in 2013.  My mother, who would have liked me to play with dolls as she and her two sisters had done when young, was probably sad to see my drawing of a pram and ‘If anyone would like a dolls pram please will they ask…’ followed by my name.

A choice of verse is included, mine featuring Edward Lear nonsense limericks as well as something from Hiawatha, which was my great favourite and Jane has some Rodney Bennett and Cicely Mary Barker.  I could go on and on but I’m sure you get the picture.   There was no mass production and page sixteen informs readers ‘If any of your friends would like the Adventure magizine (sic) please write to’: followed by our two names and addresses, and notes ‘We only have one magizine and its passed to anyone who would like it.’ another page gives a space for readers to sign their names and put a tick in the column when they have read it. I nearly forgot to mention that there are two ‘School Page's’ in which we have written out the times tables for ’8 and under’ and for ’9 and upwards as far as 11.

You will draw your own conclusions about the differences between a 1950s and a 21st century childhood.