The People's Friend Magazine

24 November 2021

The People's Friend - Issue 7905 - Fantastic fiction with seven short stories, including 'Make Your Own Magic', a story set on Bardsey Island by Alison Carter, and Gwen Rollinson’s sparkling Advent romance, 'Guess Again'. Neil McAllister enjoys a day trip to the historic city of Nottingham, Dawn Geddes talks to real-life Nessie hunter Steve Feltham, Simon Dell tells us how he made a unique home for wild mice in his garden, Dianne Boardman looks back at the legendary influence of Coco Chanel, and Gillian Harvey discovers how bicycles are changing lives in Zambia... Plus more stories, serials, health, gardening, knitting, recipes, travel, and much more inside. --- Back in 1869, when the recently widowed Victoria was on the throne and Gladstone was Prime Minister, when Alexander Graham Bell was yet to make the first telephone call and Darwin's "Origin Of Species" had been published just ten years earlier, a brand-new magazine - "The People's Friend" - hit the shelves for the very first time. Right from the start, the "Friend's" mission statement was clear: "We intend that fully one half of the 'Friend' shall be devoted to fiction... the 'Friend' being intended for fireside reading, nothing will be admitted into its columns having the slightest tendency to corrupt the morals either of old or young." As the years passed, the "Friend" grew and thrived. Through massive social upheaval, wars, strikes, financial crashes and natural disasters, the magazine continued, dispensing entertainment, instruction, comfort and good cheer to its readers. It became a constant in readers' lives; a true friend to turn to in times of trouble.