This cute postcard and the ones that follow were sent several years ago to my daughter by her Granny.
Whenever Granny went on a day trip she never failed to mail a card to each of her grandchildren which I think was a lovely idea.
There are always lots of fun things going on in every scene.
Sales and looking for bargains! . . . . Now there's something we all enjoy!
Wheelbarrow races used to be very popular but I'm guessing they might be considered 'unsafe' these days!
Any game can end in disagreement. . . Lemonade anyone?
If you are familiar with scenes like these then you probably know the artist was Racey Helps. I used to presume they were painted by a woman but in fact they are the work of a man, and here he is.
His name is Angus Clifford Racey Helps. He was born in 1913 and lived in Somerset, England. During the war years, whilst working as a hairdresser, he wrote and illustrated short stories for his young daughter. One day a book publisher entered his hair salon and saw one of the illustrated stories and fell in love with it. This was the start of Racey Helps' career as a writer and illustrator.
I recently discovered a lovely Racey Helps web site and on it there is a short video of the man himself being interviewed about his work. He was a very quiet and unassuming gentleman and quite a dapper dresser it would seem. If you'd like to see it you'll find it on the Racey Helps website.
Although written several years ago, the little story books like the one above are still available from booksellers. The postcards can of course be found on Ebay.
Thankfully my daughter kept all the postcards that Granny sent her and looking at them again has brought back many happy memories.
Until next time
Eli