The Belles of St. Lemons
Encyclopedia
The Belles of St. Lemons was a comic strip
in the UK
comic
The Beano
, first appearing in issue #1495, dated March 13, 1971, although the characters themselves had first been introduced in the 1968 edition of The Beano Annual
.
The title of the series was both a play on the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons
" and Ronald Searle
's Belles of St. Trinians
cartoons.
- the "belles" all conforming to comic stereotypes (the fat one, the unintelligent one, the leader etc.). The headmistress of the school was Miss Clump (originally Miss Phit in the annuals). The weekly strip ended around 1972, although further episodes continued to appear in The Beano Annual
s.
Other characters featured in the strips included the rival St. Sniffles School (similar to Posh Street School, a rival of Bash Street School), and occasional cameos from The Bash Street Kids
themselves.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
The Beano
The Beano
The Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink...
, first appearing in issue #1495, dated March 13, 1971, although the characters themselves had first been introduced in the 1968 edition of The Beano Annual
The Beano Annual
The Beano Annual is the current name of the book that has been published every year since 1939, to tie in with the children's comic The Beano. there have been 73 editions They are traditionally published in August, in time for Christmas, and since 1965 they have had the date of the following year...
.
The title of the series was both a play on the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons
Oranges and Lemons
"Oranges and Lemons" is an English nursery rhyme and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as #3190.-Lyrics:Common modern versions include:...
" and Ronald Searle
Ronald Searle
Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI, is a British artist and cartoonist, best known as the creator of St Trinian's School. He is also the co-author of the Molesworth series....
's Belles of St. Trinians
St Trinian's School
St Trinian's is a fictional girls' boarding school, the creation of English cartoonist Ronald Searle, that later became the subject of a popular series of comedy films....
cartoons.
Overview
St. Lemons was essentially the girls' boarding-school equivalent of The Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street Kids
The Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
- the "belles" all conforming to comic stereotypes (the fat one, the unintelligent one, the leader etc.). The headmistress of the school was Miss Clump (originally Miss Phit in the annuals). The weekly strip ended around 1972, although further episodes continued to appear in The Beano Annual
The Beano Annual
The Beano Annual is the current name of the book that has been published every year since 1939, to tie in with the children's comic The Beano. there have been 73 editions They are traditionally published in August, in time for Christmas, and since 1965 they have had the date of the following year...
s.
Characters
The Belles were:- Curli - The one who had hair curlers in her hair, and was fond of knitting. She is revealed in the annuals to have a close friendship with Spotty of The Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
.
- Dizzi - The ugly one, similar to Plug of The Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
.
- Dozi - The sleepy one.
- Dumpling - The fat one, similar to Fatty of The Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
.
- Kooki - The one who was fond of cooking.
- Mina - Didn't speak much, but had a mynaMynaThe myna is a bird of the starling family . This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia...
bird on her head that would do most of the talking for her.
- Piggi - The one with lots of spots, similar to Spotty of The Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
.
- Poni - The one who had a ponyPonyA pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
.
- Prune - The leader of the group, filling the role of Danny from The Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
.
- Swotti - The clever one - seemingly a mixture of Herbert and Cuthbert, two characters from The Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
strips.
- Blondie - The blonde one.
- Suzie - One of the Belles, apparently an ordinary girl.
- Puddy - A black, tomboyTomboyA tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
tabby-cat who serves as the school mascot. To an extent, she filled the role occupied by Winston in The Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street KidsThe Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
strips.
Other characters featured in the strips included the rival St. Sniffles School (similar to Posh Street School, a rival of Bash Street School), and occasional cameos from The Bash Street Kids
The Bash Street Kids
The Bash Street Kids is an ongoing comic strip featuring in the British comic The Beano. The strip was created by Leo Baxendale under the title When the Bell Rings, and first appeared in The Beano in issue 604, dated 13 February 1954. It became The Bash Street Kids in 1956 and since then, it has...
themselves.