The Pages of Punch

Yes JBR, it was printed below the cartoon. I had failed to include it when I scanned the joke so I have added it to my posting.

Ah, thank you.

1980: Support your national team

The blazer wearing deckchair pundit is shown as a relic from times long past. He is comforted by the fact that he can look down at that country as long as cricket is not part of the conversation.

1980: Stand up against all except me

The text that goes with this cartoon reads:

At home is one thing. At the office you must snap out of defeats without feeling shattered.

My reading of this cartoon is that she wants him to stand up for himself – but not against her.

1980: She is celebrating but what about Harry?

This shows correctly what she is thinking but in real life she would be dressing up the change as something like ‘he has found a voice which the public appreciates.’ Harry isn’t fooled whatever she says.

1981: It really is personal

Punch is now showing a definite trend towards somewhat salacious cartoons. It might be seen as a sort of compliment but Miss Thomas doesn’t appreciate this.

Wow! Talk about the victim being penalised for the problems the boss has!

Plus ça change! :frowning:

1980: An inhouse business advisor

She wouldn’t have said it and he wouldn’t have listened if she had. It might have been good advice but it also might have hastened the collapse of the business.

1980: Getting the funding

We are expected to feel that the Professor will need persuasive arguments rather than some obscure formula

1980: Anticipating Brexit?

The EEC (European Economic Community) was the forerunner of the European Union. We don’t hear about subsidies now and the tone of this cartoon is not hostile but it does not show respect for the EEC.

1980: Angels don’t need parachutes

The one without the parachute equipment is clearly an angel.

1980: Something new in Hamelin

There is a nod to the past and a nod to the present. The nod to the past is the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The nod to the present is the discovery of resistant strains of medical treatments.

1980: Rodin’s vet

Here Larry imagines a Rodin statue interacting with a painting at the gallery.

1980: A deep rooted problem

Is Dr Momfret a psychiatrist? Does his name imply fear of one’s mum? This is certainly one of the odder jokes in the pages of Punch.

1980: An important decision

What is going on here? In what way are we looking at an idyllic existence? Perhaps the question is ironic.

Does idyllic equate with super-minimalist?

It’s a weird one.

I thought it was just irony. The “idyllic” existence is such hard work.

Very true, but there was virtually nothing in the garden!

1980: An opinion that is no longer fashionable

The chances are that some people had cared but they were not the people whose opinion had mattered. They do now.

Ah, the good old days.