BAD MEMORY

Winter is fast approaching and locally the weather has taken a turn for the worse with a strong gale from the SE battering the coastline. The vital lifeline ferry link between Shetland and the Scottish mainland is ploughing her slow passage down the NE Coast having left the Islands at 5.30pm last night, Onboard are 95 hardy souls whose original intentions were to arrive in Aberdeen this morning at 7am, but with this Harbour now closed due to the weather they are heading for Rosyth on the Firth of Forth with an estimated arrival time of late tonight.

After some 30 hours or so at sea, many will feel it will have been the worst sea journey they have ever experienced. Having said that, being more of a sailor than an airman myself, given the choice in a flying gale, I would still opt to be tossed around the ocean for hours than be flipped about inside a cigar tube thousands of feet in the air, while strapped into a space no bigger than a cupboard. Doubtless there are many who would rather do neither. Bert Thomas (1883-1966) cartoon probably captures the spirit of sea travel in winter which hasn't changed a lot in a hundred years.

Transcription below:

GARRULOUS PASSENGER: "Oh, Captain, I've crossed the Atlantic dozens of times in all kinds of weather and never remember feeling so ill. I wonder what's the cause ?"

CAPTAIN: "Bad memory."

THE GLORIOUS TWELFTH

This is one of the busiest days in the shooting season, with large amounts of game being shot. The date itself  being the traditional start of the shooting season for Red Grouse is enshrined in legislation through the Game Act of 1831. Since UK Law says that the start of the season cannot begin on a Sunday it has sometimes been postponed to the 13th August. Whatever day it starts on not all Red Grouse are in danger though, as shown here by George D Armour (1864-1949) cartoon where a serious lack of skill on the part of the shooting party has in fact resulted in very few actual birds having been shot.

Transcript below:

PROPRIETOR OF SHOOTING: (inspecting game-book after being away) "The boys didn't get many birds, but you've entered 'various' too often. I like everything put down."

SCOTCH KEEPER: "I couldna' juist dae that. Ye see there was a gillie and twa dogs, no' to mention some sheep and Sandy's auld coo."

WISH YOU WERE HERE

Now that we are well through what is called ‘Summer', the daily delivery of postal mail has a number of holiday postcards arriving from far and distant places, showing beautiful sunny scenes and gorgeous views of exotic locations around the world. While grateful that friends and family are having a lovely time enjoying the summer sun, we in turn appear to be languishing back home in a never ending spell of cold, wet and misty days.

The bright summery spell we all enjoyed back in April, May and parts of June have long since disappeared into the memory banks, and in turn we mope about muttering and complaining of the weather. Amidst this plops yet another card through the letterbox with comments about hot, sunny days and the time spent enjoying all that these holiday resorts have to offer. Hamilton Williams (circa 1920) cartoon shown below typifies our summer weather at the moment, and highlights the old rural Post Office pastime of reading the postcards arriving from all over the world prior to delivery.

Transcript below:

HIGHLAND POSTMASTER: (to party sheltering from the rain). "Wull ye no come in oot o' the rain, yer Leddyship, an' I'll gie ye a wheen postcairds to read to while awa' the time? There's some gay queer anes by the last post!"

WE'RE HAVING A LAUGH ... !

After an absence of some 3 months, while I have been sourcing some more ‘new’ old cartoons to share with you all, I thought that this being the longest day it would be a good time to re-start the blog. Today is the first day of summer according to that fountain of all knowledge – Google – and so with that in mind I have chosen a holiday related cartoon from George Belcher (1875-1947) It’s good to see that while summer visitors get a lot out of their holiday and return refreshed and invigorated by their stay, they in turn also leave a lasting legacy with their hosts!

On another note, I would just like to thank the authors of the following blogs for listing "CARTOONS OF OLD" among those that they follow regularly:  Desperate Reader,  Shetland My Love, and Auld-Rasmie . Thanks to them the number of ‘visits’ have increased dramatically over the last few weeks especially, and if you are one of the new readers, welcome, and I hope you enjoy these old cartoons and have a laugh at them with us all.

Transcript below:



VISITOR TO VERY QUIET SEASIDE PLACE: "And what ever do you people do with yourselves in the winter ?"

LANDLADY: "Oh, we talks and laughs about the people what stays 'ere in the summer."

BOUNCING ALONG

This past week has seen a series of events, all of which could lend themselves to an old cartoon. The start of the Easter School Holidays, the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, the Hong Kong Sevens Rugby, and the advent of British Summer Time and the annual battle with all the various digital time keeping devices programmed into every piece of equipment nowadays. The final of Dancing On Ice and the start of the Formula One World Championship. Out of all these I plumped for a Motoring Cartoon from the early 1920’s by George D Armour (1864-1949), showing the dangers that driving at speed can bring.

Transcript below:

MRS O'BRIEN: (who has been instructed that she must on no account speak to the chaffeur when driving). "Chaffeur! chaffeur! I must spake! Mrs Rafferty hasn't been on the back sate of the kyar fur the last ten minnuts!"

TROUTS AND TYROS

With the Sea Trout season opening on the 25th February and the Brown Trout Season on the 15th March, thoughts of anglers the length and breadth of the country are turning to their annual battle with the wily fish. Many an ardent fisherman has tales to tell of the ones that got away, and in the Highlands of Scotland, gillies are looking to a new season of guiding, cajoling and informing many a newcomer into the ‘tricks of the trade’. George D Armour (1864-1949) cartoon shows that even the tactics of an expert can sometimes be proved wrong.

Transcript below:

 
SELF SATISFIED TYRO: (who in spite of disregrading expert advice has caught a "fish")   "I was a bit too cunning for that one, Duncan."
DUNCAN: (gloomily extracting the fly) "Ay, there's daft idjits in the watter as weel's oot o' it."

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

St. Valentine according to ancient history was an early Christian martyr, executed on February 14th and established as a Saint by Pope Gelasius in 500AD. This was deleted from the Roman Calendar of Saints in 1969, but it has traditionally been a day when lovers expressed their affection for one another. Since the 19th century hand-written Valentine Cards have given way to mass produced greetings cards. By the second half of the 20th century all manner of gifts were being exchanged and now this practice has extended to the internet where an estimated 15 Million e-Valentines were sent in 2010.

Whatever the thoughts behind the commercialism of Valentines Day, it has traditionally been one of romance and courtship, and this is highlighted by Leo Cheney’s (1878-1928) excellent cartoon from the early 1920’s.

Transcript below:

MURIEL: "Before I consent to marry you, Archie, I must ask you one thing.
Do you ---- er ---- drink anything ?"
ARCHIE: (proudly). "Anything."

KANGAROO FEATHERS

This week sees the annual celebration of Australia Day on 26th January, commemorating the arrival at Port Jackson, Sydney Cove of the ‘First Fleet’ in 1788, and the proclamation of British Sovereignty. Though the actual date of the formation of the colony in New South Wales did not take place until February the 26th of January has been recognised as the national day since 1808. All Australian states had finally recognised this date as Australia Day by 1935.

During The Great War, or World War 1 as it became known, over 330,000 Australian nationals served overseas in the conflict, with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs). The most well known place was Gallipoli, the Turkish peninsula where many ANZACs fell on that fateful day in 1915. Australian troops also fought in the Middle East, the Western Front, Belgium, France, and other European nations. As a result troops from the AIF and ANZACs were occasionally to be seen on the streets of London, and George Belcher (1875-1947) cartoon highlights the problem some had in identifying these soldiers.

Transcript below:

FIRST LADY: "That's one of them Australian soldiers."

SECOND LADY: "How do you know?"

FIRST LADY: "Why, can't you see the kangaroo feathers in his hat?"

FESTIVE SPIRIT

The glitches have been exorcised at last ... hopefully, and now we're back on air again. Serious technological problems with the transferring of data to the blog for over a month now, but I think it's finally sorted and we can post up the weekly 'oldie' to give you all a smile again!

The offering this week by George S Dixon (b. 1890) maybe typifies the scene as we move ever closer to the year end, and the start of a New Year. Maybe there will be a few Yule Log's being carried into a few households across the land ? 

Since the Gregorian Calendar skipped the '0' year, starting at 1AD then technically the 1st of January 2011 is the start of the new decade. Therefore Happy New Decade to everyone, and thanks for checking in on the blog from time to time, and hope you all have a great New Year!

Transcript Below:

The Festive Season

"By Jove! Jones is keen on the old customs! They're carrying in a Yule-

log to his place. (Pause) No, I'm wrong ----- it's Jones."

SCHOOLS BACK

Six weeks later and it’s all over, the holidays are finished, the summer’s gone and it’s back to school again. Today in Scotland probably the biggest shake-up in secondary education is about to take place as the planned ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ is introduced. Whether this will be the success the Government hope or not, time will tell, but the main question often asked will still be on the parents lips as depicted in this James H Dowd (1883-1956) cartoon.

Transcript below:

 
BOY: "Please, teacher, what did I learn today ?"
TEACHER: "That's a peculiar question."
BOY: "Well, they'll ask me when I get home."

HOLIDAYS - THE PHOTOS

Continuing the theme of summer holidays, the aftermath of a week or a fortnight in the sun is the showing of all the holiday photos. Nowadays with digital cameras, mobile phones and social network sites there are instant playbacks of those immortal moments within minutes. Back in the 1920’s and 1930’s the camera and the photograph was still a relatively new phenomenon. William L Ridgewell (1881-1937) cartoon illustrates some of the problems associated with this new technology.

Transcript below:

"It's no use, Cyril, I don't understand this camera. I can only see your feet."

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."

HOLIDAYS - THE PACKING

With less than half of the school summer holidays now left, there are still a few intrepid souls heading off into the sunset on their annual planned vacation. The big decisions are deciding on what exactly to take with you and what to leave behind. This Bert Thomas (1883-1966) cartoon highlights the situation we all very nearly find ourselves in each year.

Transcript below:

LADY: (off for the holidays). "I think we've got everything now"

CABBY: "Seems a pity, some'ow to leave the winder-boxes behind, don't it?"

SCHOOLS OUT!

Six weeks or so of  "I'm bored" and various other small crisis as the youngsters are slipped for the Summer Holidays and they go on a variety of adventures. Some of them planned and some unplanned as they all seek a new activity to explore or attempt. In a hundred years little has changed, and while possibly today's children don't necessarily have the same freedom as those of the early 20th century, the end result is often the same. A. Wallis Mills (1878-1940) cartoon depicts a flustered mother's attempt to find her wayward son.

Transcript below:

FLUSTERED LADY: "Have you seen a small boy?"

RECUMBENT GENTLEMAN: "Sandy-haired fat little demon? He's playing by himself near the breakwater."

FLUSTERED LADY: "No; I'm looking for my son __ a golden-haired plump little boy."

RECUMBENT GENTLEMAN: "Oh, I beg your pardon. He's playing by himself near the breakwater."

EXOTIC TRAVEL

Travel to distant and often exotic locations were a luxury few could afford in the early 1920's and 1930's but, as before, cartoonists brought out the excitement of such travel, highlighting the possible thrills and exhilaration of such a trip. Leonard Raven-Hill's (1867-1942) cartoon from the late 1920's illustrates such a scene.

Transcript below:

COLD COMFORT

VISITOR TO THE WEST INDIES: (who has been warned against bathing in the river because of the alligators, but has been told by the boatman that there are none at the river's mouth). "By Jove, this is ripping! But, I say, how do you know there are no alligators here?"

BOATMAN: "Well, you see, Sah, de alligator am so turr'ble feared ob de shark!"

HOLIDAYS

Now that the night and day has turned, it's time to think of holidays and sunshine before the Christmas cards start appearing in the shops. European Community travel nowadays involves no great hassle as you progress through customs, as we are all one happy family allegedly. However border control was a different story in the early 20th century and all travellers were subjected to a full search. Ernest H. Shephard's (1879-1976) cartoon below depicts a scene at a French Customs point.

Transcript below:

CUSTOMS OFFICER: "Have you anything to declare?"

OLD LADY: (very slowly and distinctly). "I'm joining my husband at Vichy. He is suffering from rheumatism."

WORLD TRAVEL

The number of Britons indulging in foreign travel in the 1920’s and ‘30’s was small – being confined almost entirely to those wealthy enough to afford the cost and time to travel. In these modern days all that has changed and holidays abroad are a common occurrence. But those early 20th century cartoonists invited you to spend time with them in exotic locations around the world, as well as onboard the main transport of the day, passenger steamers and liners plying their trade across the oceans. Charles Grave (1886-1944) often chose marine travel for his excellent cartoons.

Transcript below:

THE MERCHANT: "But, your 'Ighness, look. Ver' good, ver' real, dam genooine antique!"

THE PASSENGER: "You're wasting your time, Willie. Ah coom from Wolverhampton, where they make them things."