L = The Lady [Vol 224 No 63873 27 Jul 2010 £1.80 pp 84]
Okay - so technically this starts with a T but I have been searching for an L for 3 weeks now! This is one of those magazines that I remember people talking about when I was a kid ("I'm going to leave school at 16 and look after other people's children before/during/after I have my own"). I thought it looked like the most boring magazine EVER (after 'People's Friend' - watch out week P! :)
I'm really not sure who it's aimed at - I thought it was for people wanting to play with children, but it's a mix of 'contemporary culture' (house-sitting staycations, TV reviews, Elle McPherson, and modern art at stately homes - including the feathery thing below) and adverts for older people's stuff (stairlifts, care homes, and the BioBidet ("a toilet seat, a bidet and a dryer all in one")).
There was also an ad for the SALRC - the Society for the Assistance of Ladies in Reduced Circumstances (founded in 1886 by Miss Edith Smallwood) - for women who live on their own and only get a basic pension/benefits. Refreshing that they've resisted calling themselves something more modern and catchy - maybe like POW (Poor Old Women) or SOB (Skint Old Birds)... ;-)
The small ads are a mix of people wanting nannys and carers, and people wanting to be nannys and carers. Specificity is the key!
Good on 'em!: the Editor's Letter (always italicised!) at the beginning of a magazine is normally a fawning summary of the key features in the issue. This Editor nodded to this, but only as a foil to slagging off Elle McPherson for being a prima donna!
The nominal theme of the issue was the great outdoors. The last time I went camping I was 14 - there's a reason I haven't been since. I went camping again 2 weeks ago... and the reasoning still stands :) In future I'll only be going camping in a Taylor Bedmobile.
Good on 'em!: the Editor's Letter (always italicised!) at the beginning of a magazine is normally a fawning summary of the key features in the issue. This Editor nodded to this, but only as a foil to slagging off Elle McPherson for being a prima donna!
The nominal theme of the issue was the great outdoors. The last time I went camping I was 14 - there's a reason I haven't been since. I went camping again 2 weeks ago... and the reasoning still stands :) In future I'll only be going camping in a Taylor Bedmobile.
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| from The Lady, 29 July 1965 |
- Was it the most interesting magazine I've read? No, but it was definitely more interesting than A, B, C, D, F, G, J, K and probably H.
- Is it the longest-running magazine you've read? By far - established in 1895!
- Would I buy again? I wouldn't not buy again :)
- Time taken to read: a tube journey, a bath, falling asleep in bed, and a little bit more
Bought from a Whistlestop in a hospital - from a man (friendly, bit flirty) with a £2 coin.
[in case you were wondering... I was distracted by sparkly objects on sale outside the Whistlestop, and then my phone rang and I forgot to take a photie... so here is my reconstruction of it... ;-O]