Tag: Books

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Why do we do what we do?

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It’s a question that I keep asking myself. At the outset, I used to draw for a living. It was generally a collaborative sort of thing; in short, I was a commercial artist with a bent for large noses. I’ve drawn a lot of stuff, and generally, I was asked to do it for money, so I got lucky. Later, I was asked for ideas on what to draw, so although collaborative, I sort of got more authorship, if you want to use a fancy name for it. I came up with some of the odd ideas all by myself. … Continue reading Why do we do what we do?

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“Go on then, make me laugh”

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I listen to a lot of Radio 4, and there’s a lot of humour on the channel, and even more talk about whether something is funny or not. There’s a lot of ‘or not’ too. “Feedback”, a programme that looks at Radio 4 output, has recently had people complaining about a ‘so-called funny programme’ (so-called used here because they think it’s not ) called “Jonathan Pie”. This character first appeared on Social media and was a credible take on a TV News presenter’s foul-mouthed interaction between him and his producer, Roger. It was funny because it was so credible. For … Continue reading “Go on then, make me laugh”

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Sliding door moment: cow gum,dandruff and the Rooster years

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I’d been in London for a while, 2 years perhaps, I’d got a job firstly at a smallish ad agency on Picadilly facing Green Park. It was a job I didn’t really understand and they gave me a tiny office next door to a large office where the Creative Director occupied his time. I was supposed to be his assistant. A sort of ‘Gofer’ , go for this or go for that. It was not a job I enjoyed very much but it put me in contact with other assistant art directors, in particular with a bloke from Pembrokeshire called … Continue reading Sliding door moment: cow gum,dandruff and the Rooster years

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The Potter and Funny Business

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Back in the early 80s I had an agent, their business was marketing and selling illustrators and cartoonists like myself to ad agencies and design companies. There were only 2 or 3 people in the business and they were good at what they did. Generating work for us and generally getting very good fees for us, the sort that we artists would never have the brass nerve to ask. We got on well. Times were good. Each Christmas we were tasked with thinking off something novel to give to out clients, apart from just a free lunch at a fancy … Continue reading The Potter and Funny Business

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Reading aloud should not have been allowed.

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I started writing this blog over ten years ago. I was encouraged by being in a local writers group, though somewhat intimidated by some of the more skilled members who could write superb stuff straight off in our meetings. The idea of the group is to be given a subject, write for an hour, then read it out. I wrote some awful drivel and eventually gave up, but used to pop in now and again to listen to some of the stars. I then found it more natural to write this blog, at home! I’m still in the group, I … Continue reading Reading aloud should not have been allowed.

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Gill by the River.

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When I went for an interview with a lady called Ruth Gill at a huge ad agency in London back when stuff was in black and white and the London tube had wooden escalators, she asked me at the end of the interview what my hobbies were. My reply was ‘ I haven’t got the job have I?’ She was gracious in her reply and said she was sorry ‘No’. I think she used the question to fill the gap after the more serious questions and what’s more she was not remotely interested in what I did in my spare … Continue reading Gill by the River.

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Books you might not want to read on a train.

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“Surrounded by Idiots”. It’s a book lent to me by my daughter in law whose high powered job is to look after people, not in a nursing sense, she’s big in Human Resources. Spends hours of her days talking on the telephone or via computer to people all over the world. The book is about people types and how they can be graded in colour, and on reading the first bit of it I started to understand exactly what it was talking about. It tells of a CEO of a large company who said he was surrounded by idiots, and … Continue reading Books you might not want to read on a train.

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Embellishment, or advertising as it was called in those days.

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“Did you really earn a living from that? Someone once asked me that, and there were many times when I thought someone else might, by the look on their face, ask me the same question again.What the questioners had in common was a look of utter disbelief that I did in fact make a living from drawing cartoons. I made a very good living from my so called skills, especially in the late 70s and 80s. “Will I have heard of you?” was another regular question and after I’d said “No” they would generally follow up with the name of … Continue reading Embellishment, or advertising as it was called in those days.

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The Siege of Gloucester

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An afternoon out in Gloucester at the Folk of Gloucester a wonderful historic old building and the venue for the launch of a book about the Siege of Gloucester. One or two fine gentlemen and ladies in period costume made the day. There was a talk by the author but I was a bit late for class and missed that out, taking more interest in a flintlock musket, the sort that would have been used in the siege, when Gloucester’s parliamentarians resisted the surrounding forces of the Royalists. I have some sympathy even now as I’m not much of a … Continue reading The Siege of Gloucester

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Radio Fun, again.

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Andy is going to be on the radio again, after his debut performance just before Christmas reading our first Henry book we are to be featured again with our second book ( there are three in the series ) and this time after Andy’s superb reading I am being interviewed by Adam the presenter. Last time we came after Harry Styles, I wonder who will be with us this time. Here are the details of the broadcast, it’s on Thursday evening. Here’s the official announcement with all the times: “We’re playing your upload ‘Henry Mouse Is Trying Again’ on BBC … Continue reading Radio Fun, again.

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Coming up next year…

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I’m working on a little book written by my chum Gordon Thorburn, ( Men and Sheds ) who apart from writing about sheds and bomber pilots from the Second World War ( Books about all sorts ), has written a little tome about…well, I’ll leave exactly what it’s about until I have it all ready. I’m doing the drawings for it and hope to publish it on-line in the New Year, or perhaps will be able to make a start before Christmas, as you’ll have plenty of time to read, learn, and digest. We’ll see. It will be on this site … Continue reading Coming up next year…