Strange postcards

Postcards are a thing of the past with electronic communications, but they were a source of fun and sauce

One of my favourites, I bought in Sri Lanka, a beautiful island I enjoyed so much just before the civil war began (July 1983, lasting more than 25 years, and claimed a first for suicide bombers and  up to 100,000 lives).

This postcard is titled,  ‘Beach Scene, Sri Lanka’.

I grew up in Worthing, a seaside resort near Brighton, one favoured by George Eliot, ‘Returned home much invigorated by the week of change, but my spirits seem to droop as usual now I am in London again.’ and Oscar Wilde who wrote The Importance of Being Earnest while staying there, as well as indulging in paedophilia with a thirteen year old bellhop.

I recall the colours of the seafront, bright plastic buckets and spades, rock and postcards, but not of the sea, sky or pebbles. I couldn’t wait to leave.

“Baffled gift shop owner Ian Donald was shocked when an officer turned up at his store and accused him of peddling pornography next to his sticks of rock and candy floss. . . . The complaint to the council came from Ashley Steinschauer, an assistant minister at the Elim Family Church in Eastbourne. “In Brighton I could understand it, but not here in Eastbourne. It’s damaging the image of the town and making it look sleazy.” The Argus 19th September 2012. This is a throwback to the 1950s when Director of Public Prosecutions coordinated an anti-obscenity campaign against saucy seaside postcards in Britain. Over 16 million were being sold each year.

This postcard by H Lime from Leslie Lester Ltd is close to / over the edge double entendre. Clearly sexual and using the woman as a object of sexual gratification, this postcard attracted attention from police forces all over the country, including seizures and prosecutions in 1953.

Shortcut to success

“Remove those old postcards from your fridge door. They are where you have been. Replace them with postcards of where you want to go.” ‘The Mini Motivator: Quick Tips for Success at Work and Home’, Australian Paul Hanna.