Re: The Pages of Punch

1960: Pre Thatcher Britain

There are some special details here which remind us of the days before the Thatcher revolution. I can identify the following:

1. No automation
2. The tea break
3. The tea trolley
4. Head gear – cloth caps for the men and turban for the tea lady

How things have changed since 1960.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1960: Another TV Inspired Cartoon

The growth of television did much to hasten the final downfall of Punch. Here we see the problem of getting the kids to go to bed and leave the TV behind. There was no idea then of kids having TV in their bedroom let alone all the other electronic stuff that they own and use nowadays.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1960: As the Vicar said to the Clairvoyant….

There is no end to the jokes about ‘psychics’ not anticipating what is going to happen next. Neither of the protagonists here appears to have any faith in her crystal ball.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1960: Uniformity in the Boarding House

This joke merely reflects the standards of the time. The wives are all unwilling participants in this ritual. Broadsheet newspaper had not yet discovered the antidote: separate sections. It was about 1965 or thereabouts that this innovation appeared.

Re: The Pages of Punch

That was me back in the 60`s, i used to sneak down the stairs and peak through the curtain at the tv.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1960: Some Mistake, Surely…

The speaker either is naïve or joking in the face of adversity.

I’m not sure whether the coppers are just after one individual (who may or may not be the speaker) or whether they are raiding the place because of illegal gambling. In these days of deregulation it is sometimes hard to remember all the various restrictions that used to exist. Perhaps a gambling permit hadn’t been applied for though that would hardly justify such a large number of the plods all arriving at the same time.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1960: Maintaining the Family Tradition

In accordance with tradition young Robin is being sent to start his Prep School career which will ‘prepare’ him for his later entry into a Public School. We note the huge trunk for all that sports kit etc. which has to be wedged into the boot with the door still open.

It is equally traditional for Robin’s mother to try to soften the blow thereby amusing his future fellow pupils. They will certainly remind him of this in the weeks to come. Interestingly his father doesn’t claim that it had not done him any harm merely saying that he had survived.

In earlier decades this upper middle class situation would have seemed quite normal to most of the readers of Punch. I wonder whether this was still the case by 1960. By then there are not that many jokes with this kind of theme to be found.

Robin’s sister feels that she has the best of the bargain although there will be no dormitory feasts for her.

Re: The Pages of Punch

1960: Letters from Home

This nice little joke belongs to a category known as a conceit in which one pretends that something is true, knowing that it isn’t. So we can smile at the thought of Bonnie, Rover and Rex eagerly grasping a letter from home between their respective teeth. They aren’t going to read them though are they?

Re: The Pages of Punch

Akin to those adverts about adopting an animal of some description for a small monthly fee. In return, they send you letters and cards detailing their daily lives. Puleese...

Re: The Pages of Punch

1960: A Clash of Cultures

Once again I am reminded that beatniks were around long before my memory tells me that they were.

As rebellions go this one isn’t particularly extreme. She hasn’t adopted any of the physical manifestations of that culture nor has she dressed for the part yet.