VALENTINE CARDS

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30365, 14 February 1964, Page 2

VALENTINE CARDS

‘Sick’ Humour Prevails (Special Crspdt. N.Z.P.A.) LONDON, February 12. Far fewer embossed forget-me-nots, delicate ribbons of blue, and syrupy rhymes will this year be sent through the post on Valentine’s Day next Friday, says the “Daily Herald.” Most of them have been replaced by “sick” humour. Today’s Valentines are decorated with “monstrous pot-bellied little weirdies,” with mouthfuls of abuse replacing the sweet lyrics of old. “I may look a dope,” announces the outside of one card, but it continues inside, "but I’m smart enough to stay away from you.” Another card says: “Thought I send you a Valentine with one of those off-beat little weirdies inside.” A black arrow invites the recipient to turn the card over. She finds a tiny mirror. Another card depicts a grotesque and wrinkled monster declaring, “It’s hell without you—worse than having the lavatory out of order.” The manager of One of tire big card supplying companies said there was a definite swing to what he catted the “sophisticated card insult.” Forty per cent of sales were the true-love Valentines of Victorian silk. The rest were either "broadly humorous,” or for want of a better word, “contemporary.”

More Poles are expected to go camping this summer than ever before.