Boring Postcards

yet more trains!

2010-09-20T02:40:00.000-07:00

I apologise but I cannot resist these railway postcards. This is 'Damredub' A propelling loaded sand train out of Churchways Quarry in 1980 on Leighton Buzzard Railway.

I suppose it's one for the collector but as a postcard that you might send to someone - unlikely.

More Trains!

2010-09-13T05:24:00.000-07:00

I know trains are always an easy target but there a target that I struggle to resist.

Here is one of the Maglev Transit system at Birmingham International Airport. Not surpsisingly it's unused.

More next time.

Civic Centre Swansea

2010-08-30T05:33:00.000-07:00

I really need some new postcards - shall be looking out for some from now on. In the meantine I give you the Civic Centre, Swansea.

New Boring postcard page

2010-06-22T05:17:00.001-07:00

Will the excitement never end? - I have just uploaded some postcards to my website and will continue to do so. Please have a look at http://matthew-harris.moonfruit.com and follow thw link to Boring Postcards. thank you.

Baldock

2010-06-14T04:18:00.000-07:00

I thought I had already put this on my blog. Maybe I've missed it - either way it's worth repeating. This is a classic from Frith's of St Mary's Way Bladock - enjoy.

How to Source New Cards

2010-05-18T03:39:00.001-07:00

With new supplies of cards a little thin on the ground, I joined a site called postcrossing.com in an attempt to source some new ones.

It's a nice idea for a site where cards travel all over the world and you request the style of card that you like to collect.

As always, the interpretation of 'boring' differed wildly between the individuals but this is probably my favourite card to date. It is, in case you hadn't realised, the vestibule of the metro station Vorobiovy Gory. I shall endeavour to get some more in - next update follows soon.

Hotels

2010-04-28T01:49:00.001-07:00

I always find it odd that postcards of hotels can make for some of the best boring postcards. I give you this as an example.

Again, you may disagree with me that it's boring. I think it makes the hotel look like a prison. Maybe it was one...

Tesco at Dorchester

2010-04-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

And it's been used! Sent in 1993 alerting someone to the fact that it was bargain day!

So What's Boring?

2010-02-01T04:22:00.000-08:00

Looking down some of the comments, I can see I've stirred up a common question with this blog: Just what is boring?

Of course I'm not going to tell you what you should think and the term is a bit general. I suppose to sum it up, I feel that these are some of the most unlikely postcards you may wish to send. Sure the photo of the Mersey Tunnel is quite stunning but why would you send that as a postcard?

Anyway, I hope the blog's enjoyable whether you agree with some of the posts or not and please keep commenting. In the meantime I give you The Old Rectory, Crowhurst - New Wing.

More next week.

PS Bert if you're still reading - yes I would be very interested in some of your Russian postcards.

More Railway

2010-01-26T03:19:00.000-08:00

I am delighted and also a little embarassed to find that, having neglected this blog for some time, I now have followers!

I am sincerely grateful. It is disheartening to think that you are just doing this with no-one reading and therefore you have inspired me to carry on so Thank You.

Please enjoy this card, the second in my railway collection, depicting the coming of the Docklands Light Railway. This shows the Construction of trackbed and station foundations in Devons Road, 3rd July 1985. I promise I will be back with an update next week.

Matt

Railways

2009-09-23T03:02:00.000-07:00

Firstly my apologies for not blogging for a while. In my other role as a supposedly responsible single parent I find that school summer holidays tend to put all my other projects on hold.

So for now I will just post this card that I recently picked up depicting the Docklands Light Railway before it was constructed - this is a 'Derelict Elevated Route East of Limehouse 1983' Enjoy and I promise I'll be back again next week.

Howcroft Head Greetland

2009-07-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

When I first started writing about Boring Postcards back in 1999, I had hoped that one day I might write a book about them.

Unbeknown to me, I had already been beaten to it by Martin Parr and his brilliant 'Boring Postcards' which was published by Phaidon shortly after I'd started my writing. I got to meet Martin shortly afterwards and this card, which he sent to me, is another of my favourites. It also appears in the book so do check it out if you haven't already got a copy.

Southend Pier Damage

2009-07-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

Another odd card: This one depicts pier damage at Southend on Sea in the 1980's. Incredibly it's one of a 'collectors series'! I don't know how many there are but this is number 4. (I happen to have two by the way)

The series shows damag to to the pier caused by the tanker Kingsabbey. Luckily for us this one concentrates on the lifeboat station which was declared unsafe and had to be blown up. Hee the station can be seen both pre and post explosion - enjoy!

Dartmoor Prison

2009-07-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this should be in the category Boring Postcards or Inappropriate Postcards. It's not necessarily boring - the building itself is dull - but the photo shows some pleasant countryside surrounding it, even if it does suggest that the photographer popped up from behind the wall for the split second that it took to get the photo, before scooting off in case he'd been spotted by the guards.

I find myself asking who would buy this card and also who would send it? Would it be sent from an inmate? How delighted would you be to receive it? It's certainly not going to come with the ultimate postcard cliche, 'Having a lovly time wish you were here.'

There is an unused 3p stamp on the reverse which I think would have been the cost of first class postage around the mid 1970's. However there is no message so we can only guess as to who had intended to send it.

The Control Tower London Airport

2009-07-02T01:58:00.000-07:00

After last week's stab at making my own postcard, I'm delighted to return to the genuine article. Here then is the Control Tower at London Airport.

Nothing I can add here other than to urge you to bask in all it's boring glory.

I know it's cheating

2009-06-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

This isn't really a postcard and I know I shouldn't put it here but I often wonder what would be the modern equivalent of a boring postcard.

This is a disused quarry near to where I live. I find it interesting in that it suddenly appears out of nowhere on what is otherwise a very pleasant country walk. If I were designing a boring postcard today I'd definitely consider this.

I may include some photos from time to time but not too many in case I upset the purists. Come back next week for a genuine boring card.

Mersey Tunnel

2009-06-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

There's not much I can ass to this other than to ask, once again, the question why? Why would anyone publish this and why would anyone want to buy it?

Answers on a (boring) postcard please.

From Russia With Boredom

2009-06-10T02:47:00.000-07:00

I can't remember how I got this. All I know is that it's from the former Soviet Union which has some classic boring postcards - it's just difficult to get hold of them.

I speak a little Russian but can only translate the words 'sea' and 'tourist'. It looks like it was published by the local tourist board!!!

I'll put another Soviet card on in the next couple of days.

A Eureka Moment

2009-05-26T01:19:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd lost this. This is the first boring postcard I ever bought. Broxbourne Civic Hall in all its glory. Shame about the crease but I'm just relieved to have found it.

This is the card that started the collection and I have to say I've probably still to better it. After 20 years I don't think I've found a duller card. Anyway, I'm just happy to have it back!

While you're here please visit my Squidoo page at http://www.squidoo.com/boringpostcards and the Flickr boring postcards group http://www.flickr.com/groups/boringpostcards/pool/

Hastings

2009-05-19T02:44:00.000-07:00

There is an art of the postcard maker that we have yet to highlight. How to make a potentially pretty scene look dismal and dispiriting.
Hastings is a pretty town on the Sussex South Coast and it also receives the best of the English weather. So why publish a postcard with such a bleak scene as this?
Maybe it’s supposed to look arty or mysterious as opposed to plain awful. Whatever the photographer’s thoughts were, would it make you want to visit Hastings?

Civic Centre & Assembly Hall Walthamstow

2009-05-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

I'm often asked what do you consider to be boring? After all one man's Sydney Opera House os another's Braintree bypass.

I've written a whole article on the subject here http://www.squidoo.com/moreboringpostcards but one of the first subjects I look for is Civic Buildings. They are uniformly hideous and this one is no exception.

Enjoy - more soon.

Basildon

2009-05-04T02:40:00.000-07:00

A postcard from Basildon Town Square. This begs two questions - the obvious one is why would anyone want a postcard from Basildon Town Square and secondly has the publisher not spotted the young lad in the picture who is clearly enjoying a good old scratch of his backside? (I've blown this photo up full size and it's not pretty)

I must have bought this around 1993 and it's never increased my desire to visit Basildon.

Queens Road Roundabout Hertford

2009-04-28T03:55:00.000-07:00

What can I say? - This is one of the best in my collection and it really is out of focus as well. A classic.

MOVING OVERSEAS - NEW ZEALAND

2009-04-24T01:38:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to visit New Zealand ten years ago and personally consider it to be the most beautiful place on earth. Therefore it was surprising to discover that it is a close rival to the UK as a source of boring postcards.

This is the best one for me - Lyttelton Road Tunnel. It's the longest road tunnel in New Zealand linking Christchurch to the sea port of Lyttelton. Clearly they're very proud of it but on a postcard????

I now have an article on Squidoo about my hobby - if you want to have a look it's at http://www.squidoo.com/boringpostcards

EAST KILBRIDE

2009-04-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

This postcard is another of my favourites: Simply titled City Centre, East Kilbride, it was going to be used in a feature for the Scottish Daily Mail. Unfortunately, my timing being as good as ever, it co-incided with the release of Martin Parr’s Boring Postcards book and the Daily Mail itself had already planned to feature him.

The card was sent in 1974, a golden era for Boring Postcards, and the writer was having a lovely time apparently! It does however appear that they lived in Wood Green so East Kilbride probably seemed quite pleasant in comparison.