Discovering Scarfolk: a wonderfully witty and subversively dark parody of life growing up in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s

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Perhapsit didn’t—or maybehe’sjust adheringtothe party line. After all, the thought-detector vans could drive by at any moment.

Discovering Scarfolk - Richard Littler - Google Books

The Opportunity Doorway scheme for women was launched in 1976. Here's an excerpt from the council's literature: All promotional literature was designed and printed by the Scarfolk Advertising Agency, who, it was later revealed to the surprise of all clients concerned, had been working not only for the Conservative, but also the Labour and Liberal Parties. It’s pretty good. The invented memorabilia is a great touch and the humor and satire generally hit the mark. Still, it’s more flippant than anything, so the story of the missing sons doesn’t make a big impact and scarfolk never really gets established in a memorable and unique way, more so serving as a vehicle for the book’s excursions into cold-war-era paranoiac nostalgia. Of all the 304 general elections that were held in the UK during the 1970s, these three election posters for the Conservative party are among the few campaign materials that are still extant. This is largely due to the fact that campaign slogans were more often compulsorily tattooed onto ailing citizens who collected welfare benefits.*Saatchi is Scarfolked - Imperica - arts, technology, and media magazine". Imperica. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014 . Retrieved 14 October 2014. The Scarfolk blog itself is still very much active, though. Its popularity continues to grow, partly because the way in which it refracts the present through the prism of the past makes it very relevant to our troubled times. For many, we actually seem to be living in Scarfolk these days. At first, because of the washed-up colors of the images, I thought it was on purpose, some kind of 70's-esque nod, but the pixellation and low resolution of the images is quite clear in some points. As one of the greatest trumps of the blog is exactly the amazing Scarfolk design aesthetics, it is very unfortunate to see the images in such low quality. A Scarfolk television series, co-written by English writer and comedian Will Smith, was described as "in the works" in 2018, [9] but ultimately did not enter production. [27] See also [ edit ]

Scarfolk, the Most Spectacular Dystopia of the 1970s Visiting Scarfolk, the Most Spectacular Dystopia of the 1970s

Darran Anderson (June 2014). "The Creeping Terror of Childhood". The Honest Ulsterman . Retrieved 14 October 2014.

At the turn of the millennium I gave up my job as a graphic designer to focus on screenwriting, which I struggled at for the best part of a decade, even though I sold a few scripts. It was inevitable, albeit accidental, that my skills would eventually merge. I was only ever any good at art and English at school.” Some observers have detected a kinship between Scarfolk and the musical genre of ‘hauntology’, as exemplified by the Ghost Box record label. It’s a link that Littler himself can understand. Indeed, he describes the unmade screenplay that he cannibalised for the blog as ‘hauntology-themed’.

Discovering Scarfolk - Design Week Discovering Scarfolk - Design Week

The charity lobbied the council which eventually agreed to regulate the amount of people that could be hurled from tall buildings (see poster above).I’ve come to appreciate that municipal/government aesthetic, including post-war architecture, more since I started Scarfolk. I like ephemeral artefacts, old branding, library music, public information campaigns that have been largely relegated to the cultural dustbin and didn’t have a life outside of their time, though I’m aware that people like me recycling them give them a new kind of life.” a b c Simon Usborne (17 April 2013). "How to wash a child's brain: Designer Richard Littler creates fictional world based on terrifying public service films – Features – Films – The Independent". The Independent . Retrieved 14 October 2014.

Discovering Scarfolk : Richard Littler : 9780091958480 Discovering Scarfolk : Richard Littler : 9780091958480

Scientific studies conducted by some of the finest minds in the Gentlemen's Science Club of Great Britain clearly show it’s not your fault that you were born female. The notion that the council planned to employ a nuclear option is further supported by a minor story in a local newspaper from the time. In October 1979, seven-year-old schoolboy Nigel Johnson, mixed up his family's contribution to his school's annual harvest festival. Instead of the intended box containing four cans of oxtail soup and spaghetti hoops in tomato sauce, he took a quarter tonne of enriched uranium and other weapons-grade nuclear materials. Scarfolk is a town in North West England that did not progress beyond 1979. Instead, the entire decade of the 1970s loops ad infinitum. Here in Scarfolk, pagan rituals blend seamlessly with science; hauntology is a compulsory subject at school, and everyone must be in bed by 8pm because they are perpetually running a slight fever. "Visit Scarfolk today. Our number one priority is keeping rabies at bay." The Let's Think About... booklet was published by Scarfolk Council Schools & Child Welfare Services department in 1971. It was designed for use in the classroom and encouraged children between the ages of five and nine to focus on a series of highly traumatic images and events. The Under-7s Fire Service was one of several children's emergency services in Scarfolk. There was also a mountain/volcano* rescue team and an SAS-style toddler regiment. The children received little training but they did get a lolly if they were good and/or survived their first week of active duty.

Council archive

Littler’s twin interests in design and writing make the Scarfolk blog a perfect fit for his talents.