Enid Blyton was a very popular author whose work attracted a bit of controversy in the 50s and 60s but despite that she is ranked as the 5th most prolific author worldwide- she wrote over 800 books at an average daily speed of 10,000 words. Her work has many fans today and of course she created Noddy who continues to this day. As a kid I read many of her books but I was still astonished to find out just how many she had written.
I wonder if some of the appeal is because her works harken back to the 50s which is perceived as better in some ways than now. Plus her books always had a moral background- the heroes and heroines did the right thing and baddies got their comeuppance.
This website sells her books but is more than that- it’s a kind of tribute by Keith Robinson (the owner) and several others around the world- see the About page. It’s nicely designed and any Enid Blyton fan will find lots here, including some fanfic.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Another relaxation of the “no commercial websites” rule. (Given that so many websites, including portent carry adverts its also a bit of a loose restriction!). I’ve always liked classic aircraft though most featured here are well before my time.
Classic Flight, part of the Air Atlantique group offers flights on classic aircraft as well as hiring out aircraft for films, air displays, training etc. Though they have a large range of aircraft- including the first British Jet Fighter the Meteor, the flights are limited to a DC 3 (Dakota), a Devon, Twin Pioneer, de Havilland Dragon Rapide and a Percival Prentice. I’d imagine getting insurance to take commercial passengers in anything else, like military jets would be prohibitive in price, if it all possible.
They have a fascinating range of aircraft, many ex military and many made by British firms. I used to work at British Aerospace in the 1990s and once saw a family tree of companies that merged. Nearly every British aircraft manufacturing company ended up in British Aerospace, just as every British car company (near enough) ended up in British Leyland.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Ever fancied being in a movie? This British website (movie? We call them films!) lets you audition by video for one of many roles.
Additionally you can invest as an angel, with a £109 minimum, which also gives you voting privileges to help choose a cast that doesn’t appear to be made of solid timber. They need £1.2 million and are already 10% of the way there. The director and script are both award winning and if you register you can view the script. There’s a directors blog and an online community. An interesting approach and I hope the film is a smash hit.
Having said that, the site has two things I hate- white text on black and too much Flash animations- it eats up CPU time! Bring out an HTML version of the site please! (There might be one I didn’t see it).
Popularity: 7% [?]
Ever fancied becoming a music impresario? With the slow death of the music industry, in their role of gatekeeper and ultimate middle man, guessing and deciding which bands will or won’t make it, the internet has brought bands and fans together in different ways.
Slicethepie enables artists to raise money directly from their fans to professionally record and release an album. In their own words:
On Slicethepie:
o Artists raise money directly from their fans to professionally record albums
o Fans become emotionally and financially involved at all levels of the music industry - scouting, breaking, investing in and influencing real artists
o Investors gamble on, trade in and profit from the success of these artists
o Artists who secure finance pay Slicethepie a small royalty on album sales but keep all their copyright and publishing rights.
There are other websites doing the same thing but I like the look of this one. Will it succeed? Lets hope so. Raising money for projects (not just music) in this way is not new but the internet makes it work so much better.
Popularity: 3% [?]