I’ve just been chatting to the Researchers from The One Show about “Keep Calm and Carry On”, which they are planning to cover on 29th March. I had tried pitching to The One Show before, but hadn’t been picked up. It looks like I won’t actually be on it, as they will be filming at Barter Books (Alnwick is a little far from Winchester, although I really want to go and see the store!), but as usual, I hope that my historical knowledge makes a contribution… and is acknowledged! It will be interesting to see who else they talk to – I know it includes James Aulich, who wrote this great book on War Posters, and was behind the digitisation project at the Imperial War Museum.
The One Show
8th March: BBC Inside Out

The other week I was filmed for ‘Inside Out North East’, and this will be shown (in the North East) on Monday evening, but will then be available on iPlayer afterwards. I have had a few questions as to why I am on in the North East when I am based in the South. The 21st century poster story starts in a bookshop in Alnwick… Barter Books…
Keep Calm and Carry On Apron

So, for a week in the Loire Valley, I cooked for 83 people on 4 gas burners (2 of which were rather temperamental), including a vegetarian option! Despite Marvin’s apron of Master Chef (:-)) I was Chief Cook on this trip – responsible for ensuring that the meal was ready roughly on time, enough to go round, and didn’t make anyone sick! Lots of responsibility, eh?
So, before I went, having left my trusty Stork apron at home (it’s all about advertising, baby!), I decided to get a KCCO apron from Barter Books, to remind us every time it looked like the plan wasn’t going to come together… and it always calmed us down, focused us on the task in hand, and we achieved it all! Got plenty of conversations going too, especially with regards to how it would translate from a Biblical perspective.
To the left: Marvin & I “serve up” To the right: Liz & I chop up (she wasn’t freaked by the knife at all!)
Apron Review: The apron was good quality, with an extremely handy front pocket (I had it full of cooking notes, tin-openers, pens, etc. most of the week, washed/dried easily (but watch out for the red leakage to begin with), adjustable neck length, and long waist-band. Great!
Dr Bex Lewis in a Keep Calm and Carry On T-shirt
This morning I had this photo taken for another press release (after the NYT article) … we had some fun taking them – trying to make sure the slogan was on view! Nice, eh?! One of the first comments I had as I walked in was “ooo, I saw Katie Price wearing that the other day”, and it has generated quite a lot of other comments too – people are just so interested in it… I met a super-fan (Jas) at the Winchester Web Scene last night, who said that he owns most variations of it (that’s us having a chat in the background)!
Thanks to Tim Griffiths at the University of Winchester for the photo.
I purchased my t-shirt from Barter Books (only £12.60 +p&p).
Wikipedia: Still There + Some New Additions
Good, I seem to have got the level of the content right (oh, I have more, but I don’t think they want everything on there!), as I’m still on there, and the main editor has gone in and made further changes, so that’s all good news! Welcome if you’re visiting via Wikipedia!
Meantime, another article in response to Rob Walker’s article: Signs of the Times
Celebrity "Wearers" of Keep Calm and Carry On
Celebrities love to wear “statement t-shirts” and what could be more of a statement than “Keep Calm and Carry On”
- Katie Price (Jordan)
- Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley of Harry Potter)
- James May (Top Gear) (using the phrase in context)
- Ben Bradshaw (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport)
- Philip Hollobone (Conservative MP)
- Neil Reddin (Conservative Councillor, Bromley)]
If you want to buy one of these t-shirts, or other bits and pieces, I’ve been checking out Barter Books, and Keep Calm London, and Yes/No Maybe


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