THE ROVING REPORTER

I could think of countless uses for this little piece of German genius. Everything from reading at the bus stop to taking notes whilst out doing detective work, sure would help conceal your iphone from people reading over your shoulder.

Hands up who wants one of these.

OH DARLING!

Austin Briggs 
b. 1909   d. 1973

Cartoonist most famous for the creation of  Secret Agent X-9, Flash Gordon & Jungle Jim, but later won awards for illustration work for magazines such as TV Guide.

This 1950’s  illustration would have been somewhat  inspired by the invention of plastic and of course plasticated raincoats. Capturing light reflecting off a wet garment made for a big cartoonist challenge.

Waterproof fabric had been around since the 1820’s, originally invented by Charles Macintosh, after he developed the process of spreading rubber onto cotton to create the first ever waterproof fabric. He then went on to create the orginal Mac raincoat.
See Blogpost BEHIND THE SEAMS.

IT ALWAYS RAINS ON TENTS

USUALLY WHEN I'M IN THEM.

I will be attending a weekend music festival in a few weeks. Part of me is excited at the prospect of a downpour, you know i can don my Wet & Wendy raincoat, umbrella & gumboots, but you know what? My friend has orgainised a campervan and I feel blessed at the thought of not having to hose down my tent upon my return home.

UP UP AND AWAY

Hurricane force winds blast a walker off his feet on Bournemouth beach, on March 10, 2008

You wont see a Wet & Wendy umbrella looking like this.
 I believe the term is 'Unbrella.'

PITTER PATTER

Charles Green Shaw
b. 1892
d. 1974
Illustrator, Writer & Poet known for many things including his regular contributions to the New Yorker & Vanity Fair.

Illustration from Dorothy Shaw’s 1943 book ‘Pitter Patter’

SOMETIMES

...Just sometimes it's sunny when it's raining. It's an event really and not something that seems to happen very often around these parts. Today's rain was grey and soppy, not sunny and dreamy like this.

Dont take a seat, I think the bench is wet.


Photo by:
omnia_mutantur- flickr images

SMALL PLEASURES

THE OBSERVERS BOOK OF WEATHER.
Written in 1955.

Today I learnt something from my little weather book (note this may have been disproven in the last 55 years).

The ‘constant speed’ rate that rain falls from the cloud to the ground is;
Fine drops: 3.2 km per hour
Medium drops: 24 km per hour
Large drops: 29 km per hour

Ive never thought about the speed before, but I know now that walking in light rain is more of a pleasure not merely because of the volume of water- but because its slower. ahh slow rain.

I'M LAUGHING AT CLOUDS

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
1952.
Starring; Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor & Debbie Reynolds.

      

                                    Wet & Wendy’s No. 1 Inspiration.

AS THE CLOUDS BREAK FOR WET & WENDY

LET IT FALL

As I sit at my desk in the middle of Summer to layout the Wet & Wendy Blog- the heavens open and it starts to bucket down, I'm not sure who's inspiring who here.