WWII submarine struggles to survive

by Sean McLachlan on

England’s last submarine built during World War Two needs £1.5 million ($2.7 million) to avoid ending up on the scrapheap of history.

The HMS Alliance was launched just weeks before the end of the war and never saw action. It is the last surviving Amphion class submarine specially designed for long-range Pacific warfare. While it missed the big show, it saw active service until 1973. Now it’s the central display at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire, in England.

The HMS Alliance survived its active service unscathed, but is now in sorry shape. Pigeons nest in its corroded hull, and parts of it are actually falling off. Already £4.6 million ($7 million) has been raised for an emergency overhaul, but without the additional funds the submarine will no longer be suitable as a museum.

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum chronicles the history of the UK’s submarine fleet from 1901 to the present day, especially its key role in defending Britain during both world wars. A memorial to the 5,300 personnel who gave their lives in the submarine service is a centerpiece of the museum. Also on display is the Holland I, the Royal Navy’s first submarine, launched in 1901.


Image courtesy Keith Edkins via Wikimedia Commons.

The naughty postcard museum

by Sean McLachlan on

The British have always been famous for their humor, both dry wit and the naughtier brand. One man who combined the two is being celebrated in a new museum that opened in Ryde in the Isle if Wight yesterday.

Donald McGill, Britain’s “king of vulgarity”, illustrated thousands of postcards over an almost sixty-year career. He was best known for simple double-entedres like the one pictured to the right. He also has the distinction of making it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most sales of an individual postcard–one featuring a bookish man and an attractive young woman sitting under a tree. The guy peers over a volume and asks the girl, “Do you like Kipling?” to which she replies, “I don’t know, you naughty boy, I’ve never kippled!” That sold more than six million copies.

One of his most popular, and most controversial, shows two men admiring an attractive woman as one says to the other, “She’s a nice girl. Doesn’t drink or smoke, and only swears when it slips out!”

In the age of Internet pornography these barely qualify for a PG rating, but in Britain before the Sixties they shocked stogy traditional sensibilities. In 1953 many local jurisdictions raided the shops selling his postcards and burned any they found. The next year at the age of 79, McGill had to face what the museum’s curator called a “show trial” for obscenity. He got off with a fine, but the ruling almost killed the saucy postcard industry.

The Donald McGill Museum website is still under construction but shows some more examples of McGill’s work.


Photo courtesy Donald McGill via Wikimedia Commons.

British fashion site to men: Don’t pack the Speedos on your summer holidays

by Leigh Caldwell on

Online fashion store Very says it surveyed 3,000 people to find the worst male summer fashion sins and Speedos and other men’s bikini bathing suits topped the list.

So, Very is urging the so-called “vacuum-packers” who wear the tight suits to leave them at home, and buy a new swimsuit from them, of course.

“As many as one in 10 men say they only go shopping once a year – which may explain why so many men continue to embarrass us with their holiday fashion choices,” according to a Very press release.

The campaign to leave the Speedos at home follows the banning of Speedos at British theme park Alton Towers last year, and I, for one, must say I’m pleased to see the campaign against Speedos expanded to apply outside of the country, as well.

Other men’s summer fashion crimes on Very’s list include the “vacation uniform” of a football (soccer) shirt and shorts, socks with sandals and clashing Hawaiian shirts and shorts.

[Photo credit: Flickr user elastic design]

Photo of the Day (7.8.10)

by Meg Nesterov on
Delays happen. Sometimes there are mechanical issues. Other times, weather plays a role in the form of ash clouds or blizzards. And other times, your flight crew just needs to sample every flavor of Jelly Babies, the UK equivalent of Gummy Bears.

This Flickr shot from OurManWhere captures a moment in Bangkok in the Golden Age of Air Travel (at least for the crew) when travel is still an exciting and sweet time. So what if you are stuck in the airport when you could be enjoying a “Bigheart” treat? Add some local tabloid reading and a quick airport massage, and you could have a rather pleasant layover.

Catch any flight attendants on a sugar high or find a way to make the most of your flight delay? Submit your images to Gadling’s Flickr group right now and we might use it for a future Photo of the Day.

Scammer convicted for trying to sell London Ritz

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Got a few extra bucks to invest? Well, be wary of truck drivers selling hotels. Of course, if I need to tell you this, you should stop dining on paste for lunch.

Not only is the hospitality industry going to be under pressure for the rest of the year, which makes such an investment difficult, but there’s always the chance that the deal isn’t real. This happened in London, where Anthony Lee hit up some of the market’s top real estate pros for cash to buy the London Ritz.

A jury just convicted Lee, an unemployed truck driver, of trying to move the Ritz for a mere $380 million – a deal, when you think about it – and claiming to represent Frederick and David Barclay, the off-the-radar billionaire brothers who own the property.

Before getting busted, Lee’s efforts nabbed him $1.5 million, a down payment from property broker Terence Collins. This was far better than borrowing scratch from friends and family to pay the rent, which had been a problem for Lee.

So, why did Collins fall for it? Hell, he had a shot at one of the top hotels in the city at a crazy price. He rolled the dice with a million and a half on the table … and the wrong number came up.

[photo by takomabibelot via Flickr]