It's not just cats that show ingenuity when they're after a free lunch - this is Spot helping himself to a nice barbecue sausage (Maisie is looking on, obviously hopeful of leftovers). Thanks to Tony and Lesley Hextall of Haywards Heath in West Sussex for sending me the photo.

In the early days of steam railways in Britain, the various rail companies advertised their routes and services on simple printed sheets. By the 1850’s, with increasing competition and improvements in printing technology, pictorial designs were being incorporated in their advertising posters. The use of graphic artists began to influence the design of the pictorial poster. In 1905, the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) commissioned Norman Wilkinson to produce artwork for a new landscape poster, advertising their rail/steam packet link to Ireland. In 1908, for the Great Northern Railway (GNR), John Hassall produced the famous image of the 'Jolly Fisherman' with the ‘Skegness is so Bracing’ slogan. The development of this commercial art form throughout the first half of the 20th century reflected the changes in British society, along with the changing styles of art, architecture and fashion as well as changing patterns of holidaymaking.