http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/Exercise_zps14e5260b.jpg
1960: All the Prisoners are Protestors
This was the Ban the Bomb era when it was considered smart to get yourself put in prison for your opinions. Pat Arrowsmith is the doyenne of these ‘old lags’. On looking her up I was surprised to see that she was educated at Cheltenham Ladies College and that she had read History at Cambridge. I wonder if she appears in their lists of alumnae? It seems that she has served eleven prison sentences for her political activities.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/mouse_zps6fc27771.jpg
1960: Involuntary Bid
The woman-and-mouse joke has a long pedigree.
“Sold to the lady at the back. Where would you like to have it delivered, madam?”
“Right here and please hurry up.!”
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/beard_zpsdf48490e.jpg
1960: Being Different
In Victorian times beards were very much admired. Then we noted that Lupin, the son in Diary of a Nobody, was out of step by being beardless. This cartoon suggests that the recipient of the compliment has also struck out against the trend.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/soup_zps2014683f.jpg
1960: Not a Deserving Cause
This cartoon manages to create a link between World War Two and the then current dispute about nuclear weapons. These WVS ladies in their distinctive green uniforms have been looking for an opportunity to repeat their exploits during the previous war. In this highly fictitious interview the spokesman for the US Air Force would have had to suppress his amusement at the thought that the mighty U S of A was in need of their charity.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/dismiss_zpsb44dd356.jpg
1960: More Hankering for the War
The park keeper (ex NCO I assume) still misses the chain of command that he had experienced during the war. Presumably his temporary staff had learned to stand to attention during their peacetime National Service.
On a pedantic note I see that the cartoonist has missed out on the chance for the park keeper to wear his WW2 medal ribbons on his uniform. (I have a medal myself from my National Service days and I think that I probably know where I last put it.)
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/parking_zps74acedb9.jpg
1960: Already a Problem
I have no idea how many more cars are on the roads today than 66 years ago but it must be a lot. The problem was surely evident then in a relatively small number of places.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/towing_zpse32b3ec3.jpg
1960: Laid Back Authorities
If the police towed the car away then the HP people would have to pay the fine in order to repossess it.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/shopping_zps6b60d03e.jpg
1960: Charting the Rise of Consumerism
The cartoon supports the idea that women find it pleasurable to go into shops and buy things. I don’t imagine that Mrs M. is unique in finding it no pleasure at all. Already keen on mail-order she has now discovered the benefits of ordering things she really needs on the internet. Recent events have caused me to follow her example more often than not.
The little girl’s father is clearly worrying about his bank balance. The blissful shopper leaving the store with her purchases appears to have no such concerns.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/brisklayer_zpsb5794878.jpg
1960: She Knows Where He Is
This kind of cynicism anticipates the ‘Sixties’ as we tend to think of them.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/prison_zpsfb5e2250.jpg
1960: In a Time of Moderate Inflation
Today we would tend to say “Bus Conductors! Where have you been all these years?”
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/prison2_zps2eec64c1.jpg
1960: Another Prison Joke
Prison wouldn’t be much of a deterrent under the circumstances.
I don’t think that the uniform is correct for 1960.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/acme_zpsa704e5d6.jpg
1960: Rectification Needed
The passer-by is clearly mystified by the incorrect name of the organization so the call really is urgent. What is the CAB person worried about? Surely it isn’t members of the public turning up and demanding vice.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/MisterX_zpsaeb8c8fe.jpg
1960: That’s Who I Am
I am rather puzzled as to what the joke really is here.
The obvious solution is surely that he must be called by this anonymous pseudonym then it must be for a good reason. The effect of this has now been lost by blurting it out so casually.
That may not be what the joke is really about but I can’t find any other explanation.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/Benn_zps559e9366.jpg
1960: Wedgwood Benn Renounces Peerage
Antony Wedgwood Benn (as he was then known) had finally managed to rid himself of an inherited peerage which he hadn’t sought and which prevented him from sitting in the House of Commons. The cartoonist seems to be saying why bother with the Commons when the Lords is the better place to sit.
Nowadays you can actually be a peer and sit in the Commons and no-one thinks that the Lords is the better place.
Tony Benn (as he was later known) ceased being an M.P. in order ‘to spend more time with politics’ and became a national treasure before he died…
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/message_zps7300bcab.jpg
1960: Junior Critic
Precocious children are usually a good source of humour. It appears not to have occurred to this self-important boy that there isn’t a message and that there doesn’t need to be a message.
Short trousers for boys were soon to become obsolete.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/parrot_zpsdaaf1d0a.jpg
1960: The Medium is the Message
A parrot issuing a commercial is indeed cause for surprise.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/santa_zps78b76994.jpg
1960: Just Try and Stop Him
I suppose the questioner knows the answer but understands that Sir likes to be asked.
Wing collars in 1960? I don’t think so!
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/Myalbum/paperback_zps58f002dd.jpg
1960: Standards
The model prefers the thought that she will appear on the cover of an uplifting paperback.
1960: Patience Exhausted
No more practice for the budding pianist.
