Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, March 15, 1916 — John Shaqi
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, March 15, 1916Various
History
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, March 15, 1916
Various
English wit and humor -- Periodicals
DEAR SIR,--The question of Land Settlement after the War resolves itself
in the last resort into the employment of cheaper methods of cottage
building. Will you allow me to put in a word for the revival, in the
neighbourhood of the sea, of the old Suffolk plan of building with what
is locally known as "posh," after the name of the original inventor, who
was an ancestor of FITZGERALD'S friend. "Posh" is a mixture of old
boots--of which a practically unlimited supply can be found on the
beaches of seaside resorts--and seaweed, boiled into a jelly, allowed to
solidify, and then frozen hard in cold storage. "Posh" is not only (1)
impenetrable but also (2) hygienic, the iodine in the seaweed lending it
a peculiarly antiseptic quality, and (3) picturesque, the colour of the
compound being a dark purple, which is exceedingly pleasing to the eye.
Lastly, the cost of production is slight, as the raw material can be
obtained for nothing, and the compound can be sawn into blocks or bricks
to suit the taste of the tenant. I am convinced that cottages of "posh"
could be built for less than a hundred pounds a-piece; and at that
figure cheap housing becomes a practical proposition.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
Decimus Dexter.
"Stooting" and "Marmash."
DEAR SIR,--The choice of material matters little so long as it is
properly treated. Any sort of earth will do, or, failing earth, a
mixture of ashes with a little mustard and marmalade, the waste of which
in most households is prodigious. But it must be properly pounded and
allowed to set in a frame. For the former process there is no better
implement than the old Gloucestershire stoot, or stooting-mallot, or in
the alternative a disused niblick. The earth, or the "marmash" mixture,
as I have christened it, should be poured into a bantle-frame--which can
be made by any village carpenter--and vigorously pounded for about three
hours. Then another bantle-frame is placed on the first, and the process
is repeated. No foundation is required for walls erected by the plan of
stooting, but a damp-course of mulpin is advisable, and it is always
best to pingle the door-jambs, and binge up the rafters with a
crumping-block.
I am, Sir, yours obediently,
Mungo Stallibrass.
The Beauty of "Bap."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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