Wednesday 21 April 2010

Could we claim Enid Blyton as one of our founders?

A strange title for a blog post, I know and of course Enid Blyton was not a founder of HulloMail, although it sometimes feels like the Magic Faraway Tree in the office.

The inspiration for this post comes from a friend's email following HulloMail's inclusion in The Telegraph last week. He said that he was having trouble trying to explain to his five year old daughter why Enid Blyton can't spell 'Hello' and this explanation prompts a thought of HulloMail every time, I'm thinking this explanation may be a daily occurrence!

The reason Ms. Blyton, by today's standards, can't spell 'Hello' is because her books pre date the standised spelling of the word. Hullo is an Old English word equivalent to modern hello.

We get asked, why Hullo? or what does Hullo mean? regularly, well now you know...

Of course during recent months we have expanded the definition of 'Hullo' and it can now also mean a short, voice message that you can send to your friends for free - they don't even need to be HulloMail users as you can send a Hullo to any email address.

Tip: We find it helps with pronunciation if you say 'Hullo' with a Scottish accent but if accents aren't your thing try a couple of whiskeys, and try again!


  








2 comments:

Eni said...

Wow, I wasn't aware that Enid Blyton spelt "hello," "hullo." This may be due to the fact that we are now used to having her "updated" texts that may have altered the old spelling. Well, speaking of Enid Blyton, I am glad to inform you that I have published a book on her, titled, The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage (www.bbotw.com).
Stephen Isabirye

HulloMail said...

Glad to hear we are providing interesting facts, especially to someone with such an extensive knowledge of her work... enjoy