BARGAINS GALORE

The January Sales have started, and there are a myriad of offers on display, with the shopper being enticed to buy with the reward of large discounts or an additional item thrown in for free. With the rate of  VAT now at 20% it is in the interest of every shopper to seek out the best deal. Bertram Prance (1889-1958) cartoon from around 1920 shows what wonderful gifts were being given away with every purchase. For the record £2 in 1920 is worth about £40 in today's money.

Transcript below:

WIFE (emerging delightedly from shop). "Look what they gave me for spending

           two pounds!"

HOLIDAYS - THE TICKETS

When going on holiday the main thing is to be sure the tickets are all sorted and to remember to take them with you. Sometimes, as in this cartoon by Bertram Prance (1889-1958) not everybody is kept fully in the picture.

Transcript below:

WIFE: "What! You haven't got the tickets yet?"

HUSBAND: "No. The fact is I've never been told where we're going."

GOLF - IT'S A FUNNY OLD GAME

On the eve of the 150th British Open, todays cartoon highlights the now universal game of golf. The Open was first played in 1860 at Prestwick and attracted a field of 8 professional Scottish golfers, who played three rounds of the 12 hole course in a single day. The style of wear for the golfer of the early 20th century favoured the 'plus fours', or trousers that extended just four inches below the knee, hence the name. Thankfully the more casual style of today has now become the norm. This cartoon by Bertram Prance (1889-1958) depicts some of the pomposity that surrounded the game for a long number of years.

Transcript below:

COLONEL PEPPER: (to woman sauntering aimlessly across fairway). "Now then! Hurry up with that baby of yours."

WOMAN: "Baby yourself - playing with that little ball and in them knickers!"