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Age Old Subject
Senior Street Where did those wrinkles come from? Why have I got hairs on my chin? Or, in contrast, where did my hair go? And then there are those times when you can’t remember where you left your glasses/phone/keys/car/dog/kids. But in the aging realm of hot flushes, changing bodies, grasping new technology and mobility scooters there’s joy to be found in relaying the, often funny, scenarios that the aging process brings, bonding us with those who are travelling down that inevitable path. And, as card publishers’ outpourings testify that boulevard is strewn with funny fodder for humorous cards. “Getting older is an inevitable fact of life, and a perennially popular subject matter for greeting cards after all, the whole point of a birthday is to mark the occasion of someone becoming another year older,” succinctly states Mark Graham, editorial manager of the Humour & Character Studio for UKG. And despite not welcoming the onset of creaking knees and receding hairline, Mark believes, “People have always used humour as a way of either facing up to uncomfortable reality or sweeping it under the carpet. We may as well laugh about getting older because, as the saying goes, it’s better than the alternative!” And Go La La’s co-founder, John Higgins agrees, feeling that, like the weather, getting older is a typically British gripe, and this gives the card publisher plenty of scope for humorous cards. “Bits fall off/out and wrinkles start to appear alongside aches, pains and strange tufts of hair sprouting from weird places. We laugh about them because we can’t control them.” The technological advancements are not necessarily in synch with our passing years as we grapple with the ever-changing demands of social media, Zooming, and the frustrations when the computer/laptop just ‘won’t work’, can, in hindsight, create comic moments. Oliver Preston, cartoonist and founder of Beverston Press, perceives and illustrates these funny moments in people’s behavior. “As I get older I observe, and take on board the funny things that the older generation get up to. When I draw I try and explore what Thelwell called ‘the endearing lunacy of human behaviour.’ People often look at my cards and 16
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
Above: A Curious World design from Icon. Far left: A Happy Birthday design from Go La La’s Footnote range. Below left Oh the joys of getting older! A Holy Mackerel design. Below: A way to get around memory loss from Oliver Preston/Beverston Press.
say to me that “you obviously know all the same people I do,” but all I am doing is putting a spin on the dotty things that people get up to.” Then, not forgetting, there’s our fading memory as we reach our middle age! How we used to laugh when our granny couldn’t recall where she’d put her false teeth, thinking, ‘that will never be me’. How wrong we were! Kiss me Kwik is the longest running licensee of the Ladybird Vintage Collection, producing humour cards using the well-loved illustrations from the archive for over 15 years. “We love to explore the archive and come up with new and hilarious applications for these internationally beloved assets,” explains Kiss Me Kwik’s head of design Matt Barker. One of its best-selling cards, ‘Bad Mother’ from the Ladybird Books range picks up on one common ‘senior moment’… remembering people’s names - even of our own children! “This card is obviously relatable - borne out by the fact that it has gone viral several times across social media - often coinciding with Mother’s and Father’s Days. It has been shared many tens of thousands of times over its lifetime,” adds Matt. Rebecca Wright, director of Middle Mouse, points to one the designs in her popular Characterful range. “Inspired by the inimitable Lady Viola from Downton Abbey, this card sums up the feeling when your birthday is more candles than cake!” But one comic element of getting older reflected on cards, no matter how many birthday candles you have, is growing old ‘disgracefully’, defying the reality that, just sometimes, you can’t do the things you used to do, be that drink ‘til dawn, Above right: It happens to us all, a design from Twizler. Left: The Kiss Me Kwik design that recently went viral many times.