Ginger beer or Gay...

"Ginger beer is (I believe) Cockney rhyming slang for queer, so in the 40s/50s gay men were often referred to as Ginger Beers."
Talk about Enid Blyton forum

Interesting discussion...

As far as I know people are born with their sexual orientation.

As far as I know most people are more or less bisexual. Very little of sexuality has to do with gender, actually... There's not much difference in skin, lips or hands, caresses and kisses feel as good whether it is a boy or a girl kissing or caressing.

As far as I know children get interested in sex quite early, even without having been sexually abused or raped. I know it was being discussed in school when I was 10-11. Children as old as the Famous Five are old enough to know which gender they "fall in love with", and imagine being adult and having a sexual relationship with someone. Nevertheless, sex is not part of Enid Blyton's books.

But - homosexuality is not sex. Whether George is lesbian or not is not an issue. Anyone can imagine her any which way they like. Imagine a love story between George and Anne if that rocks your boat. Imagine them having an adulthood together, where everyone believes they are "just best friends", when they actually are each other's common-law wives... (I'd like to write that book :-D) I mean - people do that all the time! [This is why we have the awful sequels and prequels and what-nots, like Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley (yuk!) and loads of fan-fiction.]
Saying George is lesbian is not an insult. Dozens of lesbians have read the books with a crush on her. This doesn't take anything away from anyone else's reading experience. Dozens of straight girls have read the books with a crush on Julian or Dick - or both. Girls do that. I really see nothing wrong with it. (And, I'm sure dozens of boys have read the books too with crushes on Anne, George, Julian and/or Dick.)

"In one Five novel, I'm sure Georgina says she will 'never marry a scientist' implying she was thinking of marriage to somebody.""Yes, that's right George does say it in one of the stories. "Scientists" proves to me that George was NOT gay, scientists are usually male, aren't they? I may be wrong - I'm not interested in Science - but I seem to recall reading somewhere that scientists are usually male."
"Georgina was referring to her Dad of course as the Scientist-type she wouldn't marry."

Georgina was referring to her dad, of course, but how is not wanting to marry someone like her dad is a proof of her not being lesbian?  When the books were written, most people were supposed to marry, and you married someone of the opposite sex. Maybe George was thinking about that - the social obligation - and not sex when she said it... >:->

But - back to ginger beer. Ginger beer and ginger ale are not alcoholic - usually. But - when you make these things at home, the yeast can produce quite a lot of alcohol... What you do is you take sugar, ginger, lemons and a lot of boiling water, and when the mixture has cooled down a little, you add a little yeast and let it ferment a couple of days, then bottle and put in the fridge. Quite easy, actually. :-)

Homemade ginger beer and Dark'n'Stormy drink
Homemade ginger beer with ginger beer plant (sort of sourdough for ginger beer)
Homemade ginger ale
Finnish Sima