Author: Purple Brolly

When children are travelling on a long car journey, a popular game to pass the time is“I spy with my little eye, something beginning with…”  and the first letter of a nearby object. Others try to guess the object and the game goes around. This was the inspiration for the ‘I-SPY‘ book series, launched in 1948 by headmaster, Charles Worrell (1889-1995) from Somerset.

Worrell wanted to encourage children to be observant of their outdoor environment and pick up interesting facts along the way. So the I-Spy books were educational and helped to develop hobbies and interests, since children had to write in their books when and where they spotted particular varieties of the book’s topic, e.g. dogs, horses, churches, aircraft, etc..

Millions of children have enjoyed the books, which were initially self-published, then taken on by a succession of publishers, with Michelin Travel Publications being the current owners. In 1983-87 TV presenter David Bellamy put his name to some of the British wildlife titles, including ‘I-SPY Creepy Crawlies’ and ‘I-SPY Garden Birds’. The most enduring titles over the decades are ‘I-SPY Cars’ and ‘I-SPY on a Train Journey’, which refer back to the original “I spy…” idea of keeping boredom at bay.

(Image: Leo Reynolds at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-SA/2.0)

Founded in London in 1930 by Irish emigrée Mary/’Mollie’ Bagot Stack (1883-1935), the Women’s League of Health & Beauty (WLHB) is known today as the more contemporary-sounding ‘FL-exercise’. It captured the rising interest amongst women in keeping fit, especially after the hardships and new roles many took on during WW1. Bagot Stack’s system was the culmination of her scientific studies and private tutorials for elite ladies beginning in 1907 which included dance, comportment and the ‘imagine-you-are-a-falling-leaf’ type of exercise instilling grace and charm.

The initial aim was to strengthen women for child-bearing and -rearing, and WLHB spread quickly here and in Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. Bagot Stack’s first child died and she had become widowed by the time she established WLHB, giving her an added impetus and with affordable fees and the claim that her methods would lead to peace and harmony, she was adept at promotion. Her second child, Prunella Stack (1914-2010) took over after her mother died.

One of the WLHB’s mass displays was for the Coronation celebrations in 1953, giving a further boost in membership after another devastating War. Many have attended classes all their adult lives and are FL-exercising in their nineties! Bagot Stack’s great-granddaughter, Saba Douglas-Hamilton (1970-) is Fl-exercise’s current President.

(Top image: pexels.com / Public domain)