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!"

THE TYRANNY OF SLANG

World Book Day this week was an ‘event’ designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading for the enjoyment of all. Children especially are encouraged to explore the pleasures of books and reading, and so build up a love of words. Writing narratives in any novel often relies on the use of slang to add an air of authenticity to the story, depending on the characters and where they are placed in society. Frank Reynolds (1876-1953) cartoon highlights the pitfalls of the use of slang in everyday life!

Transcript below:

MISTRESS TO NEW MAID: "Mary, you haven't half dusted the drawing-room."
MARY: (highly gratified). "Ah, not 'alf I 'aven't."

SLOGGERS END

Today sees the start of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, which will be the tenth CWC, and this year it is hosted by the three South Asian Test Cricket playing countries: India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Cricket has never really been a Northern Hemisphere sport even though its origins emanate from England.

Cricket arrived in other parts of the globe during the early 18th century and was introduced to the West Indies by colonists and to India by British East India Company mariners in the first half of that century. It arrived in Australia almost as soon as colonization began in 1788, and New Zealand and South Africa followed in the early years of the 19th century.

Scotland though is hardly a cricketing nation and certainly the farther North you go, the less popular it is. However, throughout the counties of England it is still played regularly by many, and every game has the same passion and fervour of a World Cup match. Frank Reynolds (1876-1953) cartoon depicts a village game where this passion is ably demonstrated.

Transcript below:

LOCAL FISHMONGER: (as exasperating batsman is at last disposed of). " 'E's filleted !"

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."

LIFE BEFORE BROADBAND

During a week when BT Broadband crawled to a standstill yet again and gales and heavy salt deposits played havoc with the main power supplies, the realisation of how much the modern world now relies on the internet technology for ‘instant’ communication was more than evident. Back in the 1920’s the wireless as it was known was only becoming a feature of life. The British Broadcasting Company began radio services in 1922, becoming the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1926, and gained control of the airwaves.

No other broadcasting organisation was actually licensed till 1973, but foreign commercial radio stations broadcast programmes in English up until World War 2, when they were all virtually silenced bar Radio Luxembourg which continued transmitting American style entertainment. In 1964 the first of around 10 offshore Pirate Radio Stations began transmitting until finally silenced by the Marine Offences Act of 1967.

The BBC attempted to win back the millions of listeners who had tuned into these ‘pirate’ radio stations by introducing Radio One. The DJ’s Tony Blackburn and the late John Peel were hired by the BBC to continue their style of broadcasting made famous by stations like Radio Caroline's 'Morning Show' and Radio London's ‘The Perfumed Garden’.

Bert Thomas (1883-1966) cartoon highlights the influence the new ‘wireless’ had on the population of the 1920’s as prominent people of the age were suddenly thrust into the homes of unsuspecting listeners.

Transcript below:

 

OLD LADY: (as a certain politician's name is announced on wireless). "Shut

that off! I won't have that man in my house."

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?"

HORNS OR WINGS ....

Today in Shetland sees the start of the annual Up Helly Aa season, with the Scalloway Fire Festival getting underway tonight. Scalloway is the first of 10 Fire Festivals celebrated throughout the Isles, from mid-January through to the end of March. The main Up Helly Aa held in Lerwick on the last Tuesday in January is the largest Fire Festival in Europe and the most well known of them all.

The Lerwick Festival is also the oldest dating back to the late 1800's, and evolved from traditional torch-lit processions around the town at Christmas and New Year. The Viking element of the Festival emerged later and has now become a prominent feature of all the Fire Festivals. The Viking costumes are all made by the participants themselves and a very closely guarded secret. Speculation is rife throughout the Isles as each Up Helly Aa Day dawns as to whether the Jarl Squad, as it is known, will be sporting helmets with horns, wings, or what has now become quite common and more authentic, neither of them.

Leonard Raven-Hill (1867-1942) cartoon shows the problem sometimes encountered when trying to procure horns.

Transcript below:

CURIO DEALER: "There's a nice pair o' horns, on'y a couple of pounds."

CALEDONIAN: "They're awfu' dear."

DEALER: "Of course they're orf a deer. Wot d'yer 'spose they're orf! A rabbit?"

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!"

THE SAME TO YOU ...

New Year's Eve 2010, and I would just wish everybody the very best for 2011 and hope you all have a healthy and happy time throughout the coming year. Frank Reynolds (1876-1953) cartoon of the early 1920's depicts the 'problem' of returning the seasonal compliment with an original turn of phrase.

Transcript below:

PUPIL: "A Happy New Year to you, Sir."

TUTOR: (who has a horror of the phrase. "The Same to You") "Thank you, Smith; and I sincerely trust that the ensuing twelve months will be fraught with unbounded joy for you also."

*   *   *   *   *

In the time honoured tradition of the New Year Sales, for this post only, we have a 'two for the price of one' edition. Attached below is a topical cartoon from the pen of A. Wallis Mills (1878-1940) to help bring us into the New Year with a smile.

Transcript below:

WIFE: "I'm writing a paper on Calendar Reform for our Club. Do you know which Pope it was that gave us our present calendar ?
HUSBAND: "Pope?" Good gracious! I thought it always came from the grocer."

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."

HOMEWARD BOUND

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month 1918, Germany agreed to a cease fire, and that day, later to become known as Armistice Day, finally saw an end to one of the largest wars in history. A formal state of war between the two sides persisted for another seven months, until signing of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on 28 June 1919, but it is generally recognised that the 11th of November 1918 was the official end to the hostilities. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized and more than 9 million combatants were killed, in what was then known as the Great War.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary in June 1914, was the single act which brought the whole of Europe into conflict. The great powers of Europe, consisting of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the British Empire, France and Italy were at war within weeks, and as all had colonies, the conflict soon spread around the world.

The military forces finally all came home to civilian life after four years of warfare and Frederick H Townsend (1868-1920) cartoon highlights the larger than life tales of the conflict on the Western Front.

Transcript below:

 
TOMMY: (homeward bound and determined not to disappoint). "Why, Missy, three days before the Armistice the air was that thick with aeroplanes the birds had to get down and walk."

IT'S ALL IN A NAME

Today the 1st of November is the anniversary of the 1938 Horse Race in America dubbed the ‘Match of the Century’ between ‘Seabiscuit’ and the then favourite ‘War Admiral’ at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The race was held over a track just under a mile and a quarter long, and ‘War Admiral’ started out as favourite with odds of 4-1 on, with an estimated 40,000 people trackside, and a further 40 million listening in on the radio. Legendary trainer Tom Smith with his unorthodox methods had devised tactics for the race which ultimately paid off, and after a memorable head to head race ‘Seabiscuit’ won by four clear lengths. ‘Seabiscuit’ was subsequently named “Horse of the Year” for 1938.

‘Seabiscuit’ was an odd name, but the rules governing the naming of horses are strict, for example, horses names cannot be longer than 18 characters and spaces, and names currently on the Register of Horse Names or names of horses who have won a major flat or jump race cannot be used (so there can only be one ‘Best Mate’ or ‘Shergar’). And most famously, names whose meaning, pronunciation or spelling is obscene or insulting are prohibited. Over the years some have slipped through the net with ‘WearTheFoxHat’ and ‘Noble Locks’ being the most notable.

Silly names are often quoted in the racing press and on television as folk have struggled to find an exclusive name. ‘No D Feet’, ‘No Da Deh’, ‘Sexliesandalibis’, ‘Snoozin Susan’, and ‘Wontonsoupforyou’ are just a fraction of the thousands of ‘unique’ names already listed. Bert Thomas (1883-1966) cartoon below highlights the problems involved in naming a horse.

Transcript below:

OWNER: "You let the whole bloomin' field walk over you."
JOCKEY: "Well, whatcher expec' with a horse called 'Turkey Carpet' ?"

MESS UP THEIR SUCCESSES

Turkey’s entry into the 1st World War on 29 October 1914 prompted Britain to open a new military front in the remote Ottoman province of Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). British and Indian troops, sent to the Persian Gulf in early November to protect British oil interests in Abadan made rapid progress inland against weak Turkish resistance. In less than a month, they had occupied the towns of Basra and Kurna.

Despite the unforgiving climate, British forces continued to march steadily up the River Tigris in 1915. By 28 September, under the leadership of General Charles Townshend they had taken the town of Kut-al-Amara just 120 miles south of Mesopotamia's major city, Baghdad. The tide turned quickly, however, at the Battle of Ctesiphon in which Turkish troops under the command of Yusef Nur-ed-Din withstood heavy casualties to defeat Townshend's attacking forces. The war continued into 1916 and despite more heavy defeats Kut-al-Amara was recaptured on 24 February 1917, and Ctesiphon was taken soon afterwards. On 11 March 1917, British troops finally entered Baghdad. The path was cleared for an advance into northern Mesopotamia, towards the heart of the Ottoman empire in Anatolia. The war with Turkey finally ended on 30 October 1918.

Henry M. Brocks (1875-1960) cartoon of 1915 highlights the fact that to most of the people in Britain at this time, the war in Mesopotamia had previously been a distant and largely unknown campaign.

Transcript below:

 
MR PESSIMIST: (cheering up for once). "British Mesopotamian success."
MRS PESSIMIST: "That's the worst of it. They mess up all their successes."

SWEET MEMORIES

The latest Government proposals for the increase in pension age to 66 is being actively considered, to try and ensure it will be sustainable into the future with the life expectancy of individuals increasing year on year. Over a hundred years ago in 1908 the Old Age Pension Act was passed and the first payments made in January 1909. The maximum payment of five shillings (25p) for a single man or woman was meagre - the equivalent of just under £20 a week now. To get even this you had to be at least 70 years old, at a time when only about 5% of the population were older than that. You might be denied it at all if you had been sent to prison in the previous ten years, were habitually drunk, had never worked when able to do so, or were otherwise of bad character. To check up on claimants and their entitlement, civil servants known as pension enquiry officers would visit people in their homes, assess their circumstances and then make recommendations to a separate pensions committee. William Gunning King (1859-1940) cartoon depicts such a visit by the Pensions Officer.

Transcript below:

 
PENSION ENQUIRY OFFICER: "Have you ever been in the hands of the police?"
APPLICANT: "Well--er--sir, you see I used to be a cook! Girls will be girls!
Besides, it was a good many years ago, and he was a sergeant!"

WARTIME AIR RAIDS

This week in 1940 during World War II the Blitz began, when 348 German bombers strafed London in the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. While the Great War (1914-1918) as it was known then, had relatively few air raids in comparison, there was still the threat of an attack from the air by the Zeppelin airships and later the Gotha aeroplane. George Belcher (1875-1947) cartoon of the period highlights the public concerns over these early attacks.

Transcript below:

STOUT LADY: (discussing the best thing to do in an air-raid). "Well, I always runs about meself. You see, as my 'usband sez, an' very reasonable too, a movin' targit is more difficult to 'it."

HAMEFARIN - COONTIN KIN

The trouble sometimes with trying to trace ones ancestors was the tendancy up until very recently to name the newborn after their father, grandfather, mother, grandmother etc. etc. While I wouldn't have had it any other way, four of our own family with exactly the same name were alive and kicking at one time, which was not unusual at all, but did cause the occasional confusion especially at Banks, Building Societies and Christmas time. This was in the days long before computer ID's, PIN numbers or Passwords and the cartoon by A. Wallis Mills (1878-1940) chosen for today highlights a similar circumstance.

Transcript below:

ELIMINATION

                                STRANGER: "Can you tell me where Mr. Tooley lives?"

                                NATIVE: "There's fifteen families o' Tooleys."

                                STRANGER: "Mr Samuel Tooley?"

                                NATIVE: "There's twenty Sam Tooleys."

                                STRANGER: "He is, I believe, a carpenter."

                                NATIVE: "Ten o' em's carpenters."

                                STRANGER: "His age is seventy-eight."

                                NATIVE: "Ah, that must be me. What can I di fur ee?"

CLASSIC CARS

Motoring in the early 20th Century was an exciting if dangerous pastime. No driving tests were introduced until 1935 and accidents were common. Hand signals were the norm; indicators had yet to be invented. The ubiquitous Ford Model T was first built in 1908 and by 1920 half of all the motor vehicles in the world were Model T’s. By 1927 production ceased after 19 years and 15 Million vehicles. Many elderly folk had never seen or travelled in a motor car before and the experience was a huge novelty, as in this cartoon by Henry M Brocks (1875-1960) depicts.

Transcript below:

DEAR OLD LADY (having a lift - her first motor ride - as chaffeur signals a turn) "Look here, young man - you keep both hands on the wheel. I'll tell you when it begins to rain."