READERSVOICE.COM aims to give a few samples from interesting out of print books. This issue features a British joke book from WW2, Time to laugh by Maurice McLoughlin and John Cameron. Jokes, Stories, and howlers. Partridge Publications, London. This was a small paperback, almost a magazine. No publication date, but there is an ad on the back cover for Yeast-Vite Tablets, with testimonials written by satisfied customers in September 1944. There are a lot of wartime gag cartoons in the book.

Time to Laugh includes some of their single panel cartoons which had appeared in Punch, and in the sister publications Tatler and Bystander (1903-40). Bystander merged into Tatler in 1940. Here is a selection of their gags, some of which are still heard in various forms today. 

***

A WEALTHY-looking man walked into the saloon bar of a public house. “I’ll give five pounds to anybody who can drink five pints of beer in two minutes.” Everyone laughed except one small man in a bowler hat, who pushed through the crowd and went out of the door. After about five minutes he returned and went up to the wealthy man and said, “Is that offer still on?” “Yes, if you can do it,” came the answer. The little man then proceeded to order five pints and drank them up with ten seconds to spare. The wealthy one was amazed, and paying over the five pounds said, “Good gracious. How ever did you manage to do it?” The little man replied, “Well, I wasn’t so sure, so I went over to the ‘Red Lion’ and timed myself.”

MINISTER: “What was the reason for your husband rising and walking out during my sermon yesterday?”

Mrs. Mackenzie: “You shouldn’t take any notice o’ that. He can’t stop himself from walking in his sleep.”

“JUST think, three thousand seals were used to make fur coats last year.”

“Isn’t it wonderful that they can train animals to do such work!”

-continued next page

-READERSVOICE.com