The Art Of Donald McGill

Saucy postcards were once a feature of British seaside resorts, an expression of risque and, frankly, politically incorrect humour. Donald McGill, a former Naval draughtsman, was the acknowledged King of the Saucy Postcard but seventy years ago he found himself, as a 79-year-old man, in court facing charges of breaking the Obscene Publications Act. The rise, fall, rise and fall of the saucy postcard sheds a fascinating light on the shifts in British moral attitudes.

To read the story in full, follow the link below:

Whatever happened to saucy seaside postcards?

Garden Cities

Ebenezer Howard sought to bring the best of the countryside and the town into urban planning by developing the concept of garden cities. While there are examples around the world, there are only two in England, at Letchworth and Welwyn. To read the story of a significant development in urban planning, follow the link to my piece on Country Life magazine’s social media platform.

Driving Tests

The first Briton to pass a driving test was not the first person to pass a British driving test. To find out more about this curiosity and to discover the history of the improvements in road safety, follow the link below.

Curious Questions: Who was the first person to take a driving test?

Kiwi Fruit

It is a fruit native to China and is its national fruit but in 1959 in a piece of marketing genius New Zealand exporters renamed it to make the world think it was theirs. Read the fascinating story of how kiwi fruit conquered the world, an agricultural success story of the second half of the 20th century, by clicking on the link below.

The kiwi fruit is from China — so how did it get its New Zealand-inspired name?

British And American English

Why are Britain and America two nations divided by a common language? Why did American English diverge from British and what has Noah Webster to do with it? And how should you really pronounce lieutenant?

The answers to these intriguing questions are to be found in my latest article to feature on Country Life magazine#s social media platform.

To read the article in full, follow the link below:

Curious Questions: Why don’t we all agree on how to pronounce ‘lieutenant’?

The Flying Dutchman

There is a link, admittedly obscure, between The Flying Dutchman and King Arthur through his half-sister. What is it and what is a mirage and what is the difference between an inferior and a superior mirage? There is more than meets the eye when you delve into the subject.

To discover more, follow the link below:

Curious Questions: What really happened to the Flying Dutchman?

The OED And “Anonymous” Post Boxes

February 1, 2024 is the 140th anniversary of the publication of the first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). It was compiled by the remarkable and eccentric James Murray with a little help from his friends, working in a corrugated iron shed in the back of his garden. And what was so distinctive about the post box outside of his house?

To find out more, follow the link below:

Curious Questions: Who created the Oxford English Dictionary?

As The Days Lengthen, The Cold Strengthens

According to the proverb, as the days lengthen, the cold strengthens. Why, once the winter solstice has passed, does our weather become increasingly colder? The answer lies in the phenomenon of specific heat, identified by the 18th century Scottish scientist, Joseph Black, and the insulating properties of water. Incidentally, it also explains why pans heat up more quickly than the liquid inside them.

To find out more, follow the link below:

Curious Questions: Why does the weather keep getting colder even when the days start getting longer?

If The Shoe Fits…

How was the system of sizing shoes developed and why are the British, American, and European scales so different? What have barleycorns to do with it all?

To find out, click on the link to access my article featured on Country Life magazine’s social media platfrom below:

How did they come up with the numbers for shoe sizes?

London’s Eiffel Tower

“Whatever the French can do, the English can do bigger!” was the proud boast of Sir Edward Watkin, but his attempt to build a tower that was bigger than the Eiffel Tower and would have been ten times taller than London’s then tallest structure, St Paul’s Cathedral, was doomed to failure through a poor choice of venue and compromises in design. However, something equally iconic rose up on the site.

To read the curious story of Watkin’s Folly, follow the link below:

How London nearly had its own Eiffel Tower