Today's Random Weirdness From The Bookshelf
Posted 9 November 2008 in Books by Catriona
Today’s random weirdnesses (if that’s a legitimate plural) all come from a book called The Girls’ Biggest Book. I’m not sure where I found this one—though it was originally given to someone called “Bubbles,” whose mother and father didn’t date their gifts.
It contains a school story by May Wynne, though, who wrote (according to this page) 211 books between 1899 and 1954.
(Of course, that page also says she was born in 1985, but I suspect that’s a typo, although even 1885 would be rather early, if she started publishing in 1899.)
But even if this book is from what we tend to call, ironically, a “more innocent time,” these illustrations are still hilarious.
I love this one for two reasons: people falling on their faces are hilarious (except when it’s me), and they look to be playing some odd variant of hopscotch.
Or how about Prudence’s adventures?
Lucky Prudence.
This one isn’t captioned. But judging from the look on the face of the girl on the left and the fact that the girl on the right is trying to pull her friend away by the elbow . . .
. . . I think we can label it “Peer pressure in action.”
Now, I don’t mean to question the sympathetic instincts of the woman in the fetching driving cap in this next image . . .
But surely his primary concern is that both his legs seem to have disappeared? Covering the place where they used to be with a coat doesn’t really seem like sufficient first aid to me.
It’s the expression on the teacher’s face that I love in this one:
Does it look to anyone else as though she’s deliberately opened the door on those two girls? They probably sit up the back of the classroom together and talk all the way through geography, and this is her revenge.
And now, holiday advice from fifty years ago:
I’m certain that the Great Barrier Reef Preservation Society would like to point out that riding on turtles is neither fun nor legal.
I love the world-weary expression on the turtle on the left, though. How many times do you think ill-advised tourists have knelt on him, for him to greet the behaviour in such a fashion?
And, finally, a history lesson from the 1950s:
Would you be inclined to trust either of these men?
Share your thoughts [5]
1
Wendy wrote at Nov 9, 11:35 am
While riding on a turtle is definitely illegal (I would imagine) it didn’t used to be. My grandfather told me once how when he was young (1920s/30s) he and his friends would go to Mon Repos beach here in Bundaberg (now a national park turtle rookery) and ride turtles. I don’t think they used a rope though. I never thought to ask.
Now you can’t even walk on the beach if there is a nesting turtle anywhere in the vicinity.
How times change!
2
Catriona wrote at Nov 9, 12:42 pm
Wow, really? I would have thought—even before it became illegal—that riding a turtle would be . . . problematic.
Wouldn’t they be extremely unstable? Not the sort of activity I would have thought would be advisable for kids.
3
Wendy wrote at Nov 9, 08:30 pm
WEll I don’t k now how successful they were…but i think it was in the attempt that they found their fun! I think they may have been teens to young adults…running amok old school style!
4
John wrote at Nov 10, 02:30 am
Wendy: You can’t go near the beach at Mon Repos now?
I remember when I was a kid—this would have been early 1970s—we’d go out there at night during the nesting season (is that the right verb?) and as long as you waited until the turtle started laying before you turned your torch on, they didn’t seem bothered.
We were sternly admonished (although I can’t remember by whom) that if we disturbed the turtle before she started laying, she’d turn around and go back to the sea.
5
Wendy wrote at Nov 10, 05:17 am
now it is heavily policed. You can’t just go down to the beach during nesting season..you have to pay and book to go through a visitor centre and then if there happens to be a turtle the rangers take groups down to see it. there are always problems with campers at the caravan park getting in trouble for having too much light on at night…it confuses the turtles.
we used to holiday there every year at xmas when I was growing up…and you could just wander down the beach at night and search for a turtle..for free…times have changed.
it’s no longer the good old days!