The Friendship Book Of Francis Gay

[Bookridden]

Does anyone else remember these? Was your nan even your nan if she didn't read these? (Might be ageing myself a bit here). I wonder who Francis Gay was, and if all those old annuals are worth anything.

I remember seeing these in shops when I was a child in the 70s. Even then I got the idea that it was something a bit twee and cringey!

Neither of my grannies ever had them, so I never got a look inside.

@TaraR2020

I had one of these! I think it was the first thing I ever bought myself as a child and got it at a charity fete. I bought it - and treasured it - simply because of the photos.

To this day, I have no idea what it was about or for...

Me too! But from charity shops, I had quite a few - but can't actually remember ever reading them. I think I just liked the pictures and pretty front covers!

Yes!

We had a few of these and The Friendship Book knocking about. Dmum has People's Friend, and I get her the People's Friend annual for Christmas (Ddad used to buy it for her and I took over when he died).

I love Lavinia Derwent's autobiographical stories and remember how excited she was to meet Annie S Swan, one of the People's Friend's main story writers. Must have been in the 1930s!

My nanny had these- I used to love them and then it became a tradition for DH to get me one at Christmas until I could bear it no longer and we knocked it on the head about 6 years ago 😂 Still got them in the spare room, might dig them out for some bedtime reading tonight!

My Nan used to love those books!

One of my grannies read the People’s Friend and Francis Gay. My other granny read Private Eye!

I certainly saw one of the Friendship Books when I was a child, must have been at home but my DM would never have bought it, maybe it had been my DGM's. Funnily enough until I read this thread I would have sworn it was Frances Gay, had always assumed it was a woman.

My nana had these alongside the people's friend.
They really were terrible but strangely endearing.

I don't think they were any more awful than other writings of that era. Remember The People's Friend?

Er-hem. I've written for The People's Friend. Recently.

His column in the Sunday Post was titled Seven Days Hard. Yes. Seven Days Hard With Francis Gay.

^"They do it on purpose, Lynne!"

I think I remember seeing them, but mostly I remember The Fireside Book of David Hope. From the same publisher I imagine. Did they come out each year? It was all poems with full page illustrations. Some doggerel that was probably written specially, but many classic poems too eg Wordsworth, Shakespeare, and more modern poets eg John Betjeman. Usually about landscapes or love.

I had a few for stocking fillers as a girl , and I actually used to really enjoy them! I must have been a desperately uncool teenager. I must see if I can find them, or if my parents still have them somewhere..

@SuziQuatrosFatNan

His column in the Sunday Post was titled Seven Days Hard. Yes. Seven Days Hard With Francis Gay.

^"They do it on purpose, Lynne!"

YOI are definitely a sex person to have noticed that!

😂😂😂

Apologies Time40. I didn't know The People's Friend was still going.

My mum liked People's Friend and My Weekly, because she liked the short stories. My Weekly had a story series called Meet The Wadhams, about an improbably perfect family, Polly and Mike Wadham and their kids! I remember really liking it.

Ha ha...they're still going strong. My son bought me one for my last birthday. I told him once I used to enjoy them as a child and he remembered, bless him. Still as lovely as ever.