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COLOURISED London taxi driver as exhibitor at puppet show. The British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild's twelfth exhibition has opened at a Victory House, Leicester Square. The exhibition includes puppets, shadows, marionettes, scenic designs and model stages. Photo shows, Mr Charles Tebbutt, a London taxi driver, showing his Punch and Judy figures to passers-by when he arrived for the show. 25 October 1937 ENGLAND, SINCE longest running puppet was cancelled by Eastbourne council, colourised images have been released showing the joy Punch and Judy shows brought British families during hard times such as WW2.  Images show the jubilant faces of children and adults taking in the spectacular puppet show of Punch and Judy in towns across Britain.  Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy with catchphrases such as "That's the way to do it!" and "He's behind you!" becoming a staple part of British working class culture. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character who usually falls victim to Punch's slapstick. The Daily Telegraph called Punch and Judy "a staple of the British seaside scene". The various episodes of Punch comed, often provoking shocked laughter, are dominated by the clowning of Mr. Punch. The show is performed by a single puppeteer inside the booth, known since Victorian times as a "professor" or "punchman", and assisted sometimes by a "bottler" who corrals the audience outside the booth, introduces the performance, and collects the money ("the bottle"). The bottler might also play accompanying music or sound effects on a drum or guitar, and engage in back chat with the puppets, sometimes repeating lines that may have been difficult for the audience to understand. In Victorian times, the drum and pan pipes were the instruments of choice. Today, most professors work solo, since the need for a bottler became less important when street performing with the show gave way to paid engagements at private parties or public events. In modern shows the audience is encouraged to participate, calling out to the characters on the stage to warn them of danger or clue them in to what is going on behind their backs. The figure of Mr. Punch made his first recorded appearance in England on 9 May 1662, which is traditionally reckoned as Punch's UK birthday. Now the Punch and Judy show in Eastbourne has been axed after a council slashed funding for the beachside performance. Organisers of the traditional show on Eastbourne seafront say their show, which has been running for over a century, will not go ahead this year, calling it the “end of an era”. Now, a petition is looking to save the show and stop it becoming the victim of council spending cuts. "When you consider how long Punch and Judy has been going in this country it's very, very sad,” said Ray Sparks who has run the seafront show near Wishtower Slopes for the past 34 years.  “It's a free day out for children, kids are expensive and we help to entertain them for a day. We sometimes have 200 or 300 people in the audience. “If the council are able to re-instate the funding then that would be great. If not, I would say 'give us one more day' so we can do a farewell show.  “We will do it and give any money we get to charity. “The shows were in fact a day out for people to bring their children, grandchildren and in some cases great grandchildren to what is basically a free day out with picnics in a time when childcare is an expensive thing while they are on holiday. “We are not in a position to cover our own expenses and would certainly not expect the general public to.” In a statement on social media Ray Sparks, who also makes all the puppets himself, said Eastbourne Borough Council would no longer cover the costs of the show each summer. Previously the council had covered the costs to run the show each summer including the costs of using the site. Ray added that the council had offered them a free pitch for the show but that they had “reluctantly declined” as they could not cover the other costs associated with the show. ENDS