My walking friend Robin tell me that the stunning light at this time of year is down to dust and the reds in the air. I think that’s what he said but like in my maths lessons at school I was not concentrating enough. My mind has a habit of wandering off, it’s a little like my sense of direction. Rescue is at hand in the form of an App on my phone that tells me where we are, and where we should be. Of course the problem is making sure there’s enough juice in the phone to keep it … Continue reading It’s to do with the reds…

Thought I’d share these images taken over the last few days in rural Derbyshire. The September and late evening sunshine in two of them combined with a brilliant atmospheric light and cloudscape made for a high contrast photos. No photoshop on these at all, this is pure Derbyshire. So glad I took that early evening walk out of Tideswell last night. Continue reading Derbyshire in the sunshine

We all take odd things on holiday. I recall in my schooldays before airline security was a thing, my school friends and I put a house brick into a fellow schoolboys luggage when he was due to fly to join his parents on their airforce base in Cyprus. We were at a boarding school that had a clientele of boys whose parents were in the forces, mainly the RAF. So when we started school again we all wondered if he’d taken the brick to Cyprus and indeed he had. I’m not really that keen on practical jokes, many played on … Continue reading Taking lettuce to Derbyshire

A proper tap has at least three prongs and one spout for hot, and the other on the other side is for cold. It’s easy to grip with soapy hands and is a classic of its time. It has washers in the right places and it served the nation well, you can still get them but like almost all taps they are probably made in China. The modern tap can have all sorts of fancy ways to switch it on and can includes a bit that operates the metal plug for the basin. It’s not a proper tap. It has … Continue reading Taps, is this progress?

I’m in Derbyshire and this is a typical Derbyshire dry stone wall. Unusually it’s been very dry here and across the U.K. in the last few weeks. We didn’t get a green and pleasant land by having blue skies and sunshine. We are having a bit of a break before the weather starts to change and winter is upon us, and walls like these return to their normally damp state. A big thanks to all those lovely people who donated to Longfield in exchange for one or both of my recently published books for children. So far I have sold … Continue reading By way of a change…

The final page, perhaps the punchline page is more to the point. The idea is to have read this to your children or grandchildren, and to persuade them that they should stay in bed at night. I hope you enjoyed this book and my other one. If you would like a copy all the proceeds are going to Longfield. Read all about them here. You can buy copies of these little tomes either in their shops in Cheltenham and Stroud, where I’m hoping you will part with at least a fiver per copy for them, or you can buy them … Continue reading Who is this monster, is it you?

The fact that this little monster is wearing a cherry and white shirt is no coincidence. I was brought up in Wigan where the local rugby league club sported cherry and white shirts, and to a young lad these players looked like monsters. Later I supported my local grown up team at Gloucester and they too wear cherry and white. Coincidence or a plot? Continue reading Is this the real monster?

Longfield will benefit from every book you buy from me, either here where I will send on your donation, or directly from their shops in Bath Road, Cheltenham, and King Street, Stroud. Feel free to give a gnat’s more if you can. Continue reading Now we know what we’re looking for…

Don’t forget to go to the Longfield site to see what they do.Their shops are in Cheltenham’s Bath Road and in King Street, Stroud. The books come packed in cd sleeves, so no need to risk thumbing through them and each shop has a poster illustrating the spreads, if you have n’t seen them here or here If you want a signed copy, then please just get in touch, via the in touch page when you order, and feel free to add a quid to your donation for my joined up writing. Continue reading Spot that Monster.

It’s rare for allotment plotters to stop for tea. I rarely do myself. Public speaking is something else that’s mercifully rare in my life. The two big events where I had to were my very first one, which was after an exhibition of the Association of Illustrators in the 70s when I was chairman and had to thank everyone for all their hard work. I had no work in the exhibition myself, which is a bit rich in the circumstances. I was not selected! The event was also at the Ritz in London’s West End so at least my first … Continue reading Monster like a good speech, this was not a great one…

This spread inspired by the huge pigeons that are barely able to take off after feasting on the allotments where I have my plot. I’m sure one of them follows me home. It walks with a rather old man’s limp looking like it landed without the full landing gear intact. It does n’t walk back with me, that would be weird. Hope you are enjoying all these spreads from my books. You’ll be relieved to know that there are only the two books. If you want any more there’s a surfeit of information on my website. Continue reading Monster pigeon, flying low…

This drawing was inspired in art by Gloucester Park. We used to live very close by the park and it was full of wildlife, not just the normal wildlife that feeds on nuts and scraps, but also the wildlife that wandered down from Eastgate Street on a Saturday night and fed mostly on kebabs and chips. The council, in their infinite wisdom, decided that lighting would be a good idea, to perhaps deter some of the more extreme wild life. When they had finished it looked more like the landing area of an international airport and night did indeed become … Continue reading Monsters in the dark, or are they?