Cool Find: Keep Calm and Carry On

I went to a Tupperware party a while ago and bought a can opener. (Aren't I clever? Not only is this an introductory sentence, it is also a way to lure you into reading some of my older posts.... Tricky B!) At the Tupperware party, wonder host, Cool Friend #231 had a poster on her wall that was very cool. It was this:

I just love it. The sentiment is so essential for my stage of life. Mr Cool bought me one of these posters for Christmas and I am going to (I still haven't decided where to put it) hang it where I can readily see it when I am busy making breakfasts, lunches, cups of tea, feeding a baby while also trying to tame my hair and get kids and myself dressed for school etc etc etc.


The poster was published by the Ministry of Information in Britain in 1939, just in time for the beginning of World War 2. It was the third in a series of three, this one being the least known as the first two were so popular. It was rediscovered in a second hand store in the late 1990s and with the copyright being open slather, it has become a kitsch cool thing to have in your home or office.


There are now many other versions of this poster.... Pictures speak louder than words, so here are some examples....

I recently had a birthday and another very cool friend (#128), gave me a present. Very cool... Check it out... Love it!!

If you really dig the original 'Keep Calm and Carry On' slogan - go to the Keep Calm and Carry on Shop. Very cool British inspired stuff.

Cool as a .... Can Opener!

I must be grown up, because I have come to a point in my life where I realise that Tupperware is really cool.  I know, I know, I have always loved Tupperware, in a past life I was even a 'Demonstrator'.  Infact, I would love to be a Demonstrator again, but I love my friends and family too much to put them through the endless parties I would be begging and cajoling them to have. So, I look longingly from afar.

A few months ago, I went to my first Tupperware party in A.G.E.S. It was so much fun! There were lots of lovely people to talk to, I got to snoop through a friend's house (I resisted the urge to rummage through her bathroom cupboards) and we sampled Toblerone dip while doing damage to our credit cards with Bic ball point pens.  A great morning out all around.


At the aforementioned party, I bought a can opener. I had been meaning to buy a Tupperware can opener for years. My mum has one and it is great. But at the whopping price of $30 (I know this is not the correct price, I really don't want Mr Cool to know how much I shelled out for a simple can opener) I couldn't justify it. But, in 2010 I went through four can openers! I tried an $18 Magican one from Woollies (rubbish), a cheap $1 from Ikea (dangerously bad, rusted really quick), a mid-priced junk of a thing from a generic department store (pfft) and one of those old fashioned metal things you keep in your glove box in case you need it on a road trip (Eeek). I could not believe how unfortunate I was with this simple kitchen device.


So.... I did it. I bought the Tupperware can opener. I asked the demonstrator about it, while dodging questions about hosting my own party, and asked if she could assure me that it would last. And not just last for a year or two, I asked if she could guarantee that I would be able to take it to my retirement home. I mean, this thing was more than I spent on my last pair of shoes!  The poor lady didn't know what to say, so she nodded and smiled (I get that a lot).


Therefore the Tupperware Can Opener arrives in the Cool Files. It has a funky design, safe cutting blade, big handle thingy and says it is ergonomic - so it must be good.  If you would like to know more about this amazing kitchen device click here...


Oh, and by the way it has not gone un-noticed that most cans now have ring pulls.....  Don't worry, I just turn those babies upside down and use my fabulously cool can opener anyway!