Something to contemplate on a cold and wet day. This is the view from a ferry in the Greek Islands and if my memory serves me right this is where Leonard Cohen found his muse. The man was very popular with the women I went to college with back in the 60s and I could never quite understand it. Always struck me as a bit of a miserable sod, and I could not quite get why someone so miserable could be so liked by these women. It seemed there was no advantage to being cheerful. What the hell had he … Continue reading House 21. Reflective View

There are times in a cartoonist’s career where there’s the opportunity to win the lottery ticket job where you get paid an inordinate amount of money for the rights to a drawing. These moments are as rare as hen’s teeth and I can’t really say that I’ve ever been there. I’ve had my moments but not the big ticket. There was a time when someone asked my to do some work for them and that I’d get a royalty for every image that was used. So there’s the carrot and now the schtick! To be fair they did not promise … Continue reading You’ve got to be in it to win it.

Not in England but in the mountains of Montenegro. A walking trip a couple of years ago now, where we explored the area with a couple of brilliant Serbian guides. I almost expected a red coated young girl to emerge from this place to collect firewood. In another spot I thought we heard birds on a small lake, but they were frogs. No doubt that after midnight they would turn into handsome princes. Continue reading House 16. If you go down to the woods today…

Off for a walk into the Chedworth area of Gloucestershire and it promises to be sunny. My friend Robin and I have done this walk before starting from the Roman Villa and roaming through some of the finest countryside this area has to offer. Last time it was in the middle of Summer, this time it’s a cold but sunny start. Perfect day for walking and we were headed for Fossebridge and the pub for lunch, then back across the Vestey estate to our starting point at Chedworth. There’s a steep climb after the pub sojourn up the field and … Continue reading The School in the Woods

This pretty little house is not far from the River Severn in Gloucestershire, east of the A38 in an area that is generally not bothered by tourists, or anyone much for that matter. It reminds me of how children draw houses with a four window and a door in the middle and a pretty little garden in the front. It seems undisturbed by modern life and has no new fangled anything to disturb the peace that emanates from it. It’s painted green not crushed avocado and they probably still have the tin in a shed ,somewhere. Happy little place. Continue reading House 15. Taken from a child’s drawing?

This place is North of Los Angeles and I took the photograph on a trip a couple of years ago. The small town of Carpinteria has a few houses and a large wide high street off the main freeway up the L A coast. This is a private house and looks like something out of a film set. I’m not sure if the outside tiles have any function other than decoration but the whole place looked like a brilliantly choreographed production number. Carpinteria with a few shops and a super little museum prided over by some ladies of great respectability. … Continue reading House 14. OTT in Carpinteria

Superbly located in a small village that is almost entirely owned by one family, this place has a fine view over the previous village occupants. It’s right next to the typical English church grounds. There are a few of these almost feudal villages in this area, where the houses are entirely controlled by the local landowner. This particular landlord is quite enlightened having brought very high speed broadband to the village for all to enjoy as well as a central heating works, or should that be a heating works that’s in the centre of the village that works. It’s for … Continue reading House 13. Dead centre of the village.