OTS: Scouting for Boys 7

Chapter VII: CHIVALRY OF THE KNIGHTS

Fortitude.
“…Some of you may have heard the story of the two frogs. If you have not, here it is:
Two frogs were out for a walk one day, and they came to a big bowl of cream. In looking into it they both fell in.
One said: “This is a new kind of water to me. How can a fellow swim in stuff like this? It is no use trying.” So he sank to the bottom and drowned through having no pluck.
But the other was a more manly frog, and he struggled to swim, using his arms and legs as hard as he could to keep himself afloat; and whenever he felt he was sinking he struggled harder than ever, and never gave up hope.
At last, just as he was getting so tired that he thought he must give it up, a curious thing happened. By his hard work with his arms and legs he had churned up the cream so much that he suddenly found himself standing all safe on a pat of butter!
So when things look bad, just smile and sing to yourself, as the thrush sings: “Stick to it, stick to it, stick to it,” and you will come through all right…”

This is the last of these - I hope you’ve enjoyed them and learnt their lessons. I know I have.
Something else tomorrow.

OTS: Scouting for Boys 6

Chapter III: CAMP LIFE

Comfort in camp.
“…An old scout is full of resource, that is, he can find a way out of any difficulty or discomfort. He is full of “dodges,” like the boy in this picture who had to rap on the door with the knocker which he could not reach. He showed resourcefulness…”

OTS: Scouting for Boys 5

Practices: Drill.
“…Growing lads are very apt to slouch, and should therefore do all they can to get out of the habit by plenty of physical exercises and drill.
Stand upright when you are standing, and when you are sitting down sit upright, with your back well into the back part of the chair. Alertness of the body, whether you are moving, standing, or sitting, means alertness of mind, and it is a paying thing to have, because many an employer will select an alert-looking boy for work and pass over a sloucher…”

OTS: Scouting for Boys 4

Chapter VI: ENDURANCE FOR SCOUTS
or How to be Strong

Smoking.
“A scout does not smoke. Any boy can smoke; it is not such a very wonderful thing to do. But a scout will not do it because he is not such a fool. He knows that when a lad smokes before he is fully grown up it is almost sure to make his heart feeble, and the heart is the most important organ in a lad’s body. It pumps the blood all over him to form flesh, bone, and muscle. If the heart does not do its work the body cannot grow to be healthy. Any scout knows that smoking spoils his eyesight, and also his sense of smell, which is of greatest importance to him for scouting on active service.”

Apologies to smokers for this one.

OTS: Scouting for Boys 3

Details of People cont.
“…I was once accused of mistrusting men with waxed moustaches. Well, so, to a certain extent, I do. It often means vanity and sometimes drink.
Certainly the “quiff,” or lock of hair which some lads wear on their forehead, is a sure sign of silliness. The shape of the face gives a guide to the man’s character.
Perhaps you can tell the characters of these gentlemen?”

OTS: Scouting for Boys 2

Chapter IV: TRACKING

Details of People.
“…It is said that you can tell a man’s character from the way he wears his hat. If it is slightly on one side, the wearer is good-natured; if it is worn very much on one side he is a swaggerer; if on the back of his head, he is bad at paying his debts; if worn straight on the top, he is probably honest but very dull.”

Off the shelf: Scouting for Boys 1

I thought this week I’d post some images from ‘Scouting for Boys’ by Lord Baden-Powell, first published in 1908 in weekly instalments. My copy, a fifteenth edition, is from 1930 and was given to my Dad on his 13th birthday in 1937.
The book was the fourth highest-selling of the 20th Century and contains a wealth of information about survival techniques or ‘woodcraft’. These include how to make a shelter, a rope bridge or a boat, how to find North without a compass, how to work out the width of a river or the height of a tree, how to save someone’s life, how to start a fire, make bread etc.
Having been written 100 years ago it is also suffused with the prejudices of the time and this is encapsulated in the drawings which Baden-Powell drew himself, some of which are absurdly funny. Here's the cover which isn't funny but shows the spirit of the British Empire.

Paris fraud 7

The Paris-ite, Marie Antoinette, à la fenêtre, wondering what’s going down. It was her; she was guillotined in 1793.

She definitely wasn’t there – not even her head.

This is the last post about Paris (I hope).

Paris fraud 6

Fifi in the rain not far from the Eiffel tower (see puddle for details).

Dogs were there, but not Fifi.

Paris fraud 5

Monsieur Bonaparte standing tall under the Arc de Triomphe.

Commissioned in 1806, after his victory at Austerlitz, the Arc wasn’t finished until after Napoleon’s death. His body passed under it on it’s way to his second burial at Les Invalides in 1840.

He was never there (vertically).

From the files: Max Mandl

Due to more cold-induced apathy I’m raiding my accumulated files of ‘interesting stuff’ today.
This is a scan of a photocopy of a drawing on a page in a Portuguese book called Almanach Bertrand, published in 1914. It’s signed by Max Mandl, who, according to my in-depth research (he's not on Wikipedia), may have been born in Sibiu, Transylvania in 1864. Later he may have moved to Munich where he may have worked for the publishing house Braun & Schneider. He may have died in 1937.
I found a Portuguese blog that may be dedicated to the Almanac Bertrand but it doesn’t seem to go back beyond 1926.

None of which has anything to do with Paris, but, to quote Andy Warhol, "So what?".

Paris fraud 4

Monsieur Quasimodo at Notre Dame.

He wasn't there (he doesn't exist).

Paris fraud 3

Monsieur Eiffel in front of his tower.

He wasn’t there either – he was up the road in the Cimetière de Levallois-Perret.
He died in 1923.

Off the shelf: Sasek

Due to a very heavy cold the Paris fraud series is on hold. Instead, another occasional theme I wanted to start on this blog is to post work, from my bookshelves, by other cartoonists and illustrators.
Continuing my present obsession with Paris and lampposts, here’s a drawing by Miroslav Sasek, from the book ‘This is Paris’ published in 1959, reissued in 2004. My, rather tatty, copy is a reprint from 1964, picked up in a charity shop for 20p. It’s dedicated “to David, on his seventh birthday, love from Auntie Vera”.
I’m not a great fan of his work but I like the simplicity of this, especially the cat.

Paris fraud 2

Monsieur Monet at the Orangerie.

He died before it was finished.
(He wasn’t there).

Paris fraud 1

Monsieur LeCliché at the Louvre.

He wasn’t there.

Paris froid 7

Sacré-Coeur, just after closing time, just after sunset, just before dark, seen from the very spot where I stood to take the photo. It was there when we went, it probably still is now. I lied about the horse – I couldn’t be in two places at once, could I?
I’ve done a week of these holiday snaps. It feels like a decade. Being a proper blogger is harder than I thought. I’ll alter course a bit tomorrow.

Paris froid 6

You can point your camera pretty much anywhere in Paris and get a picture – as long as you press the button. A bit of evening light helps. There’s a lot of it knocking about in this one, taken, again, from in front of Sacré-Coeur. There may be some monuments in amongst the rooftops, who knows. Full marks if you spotted the lamppost.

Paris froid 5

Here’s a tree with the Eiffel tower nestling between its branches, seen from just to the left of the Sacré-Coeur. This is slightly out of focus because I removed my glasses to take the picture (or was it cold and I couldn’t stop shivering?). A pointless photograph, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Don’t worry – not many to go now; I only took 142.

Paris froid 4

This is a view from the basement of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. That’s me on the horse again, having ridden up the hill to Montmartre. I’m offering up my sword to the Moon (the small white thing that looks like dust on the lens). The French Moon is remarkably similar to the English one, but they call it ‘La Lune’, after a tune by Debussy.
It wasn’t me who broke the railings.

Paris froid 3

This is the Jardin des Tuilleries with added snow. If you look carefully you can just make out my friends, Maggie and Mimi, in the evening light. These two are fond of getting up late and shopping. That’s why these photos have so much evening light in them.
Note the lamppost. Watch out for it in future posts! (if you can’t see any horses).

Paris froid 2

One of the best things we did was walk down the Seine towards Notre Dame at dusk on New Year’s Eve (we had to walk down the middle because the banks were closed - ha ha). This is Pont Neuf, complete with lampposts. The photograph has been cropped in the interests of balance.
That’s me on the horse. Watch out for us in future posts!

Paris froid 1

What better way to start my new plan than to post a few holiday snaps!
Over the New Year I was invited to spend a week in Paris with some friends. It was cold but rather wonderful. My style tends towards the Post-Cardist school of photography and this is a good example - it’s got at least two monuments and a lamppost. It’s Place de la Concorde in the evening light. Remarkably boring, but I was there when it happened.
More to come.

Plan B: Change direction...

When I started Non-Stick Plans in April 2007 it never occurred to me to think about what to do if my drawing-a-day plan actually succeeded. The result has been an absence of any plan, non-stick or otherwise, since April 2008. Consequently it's become a bit of a goalless draw. It's become, not extinct, but indistinct.

At last I’ve decided on a new plan which will be to widen this blog's horizons a bit and make it more personal (like a real blog). Starting from tomorrow I'll be posting a greater variety of stuff including 'work I find interesting', photos, paintings, writing etc, as well as the occasional drawing.

How long this plan will stick is anyone’s guess, but at least it's a plan, of sorts. Feel free to back away slowly.

A political animal

Ophidontistry.

Biting cold

Winter
hazard
for
vampires.

Wishing...

... you a
Happy
Christmas.

We don't
believe
in Djinns
in the west
- do we?

Two
wishes
left...

Canopy