More about the true meaning of Gloucestershire names

Hucclecote One of those parkas your dad or granddad used to own in the seventies that you never bothered to throw away. The undefined fur on the collar is somewhat perished and moth eaten. It has no waterproofing qualities at all and never did, and if mistakenly worn in wet conditions will act like blotting paper. May have the slight smell of patchouli oil, the rennants of a visit to a music festival but more likely to give off the odour of cow manure. Here’s another of my recent drawings for my little book of Gloucestershire names and their true … Continue reading More about the true meaning of Gloucestershire names

Tibberton

Here’s today’s almost finished rough. I’m working on a little book of place names and their meaning. ( I’ve made them all up of course ) Tibberton is a small village on the outskirts of Gloucester going west, but I describe it thus: Tibberton The way a female Tuffley walks after a night out on the Abbeymead. The heels of her shoes clatter on a wet pavement, generally accompanied by some choice language like: ” It wos you wot sed these shoes were ok Dawn but they’s crap, oh bugger av just lost me cheps” which loosely translated means ” … Continue reading Tibberton

Banksie revisited, what a shame.

We were blessed here in Cheltenham with a visit from famous graffiti artist Banksie about a year ago when he painted this blank wall on the end of a terrace of houses. I thought it was a good joke given that Cheltenham listens to the world through GCHQ, and it brightened up the house facade. A year on and this is the result. Nothing very funny about this mess. Wrangles about who owns it and who can profit from it have made it into this, together with a visit from someone with more paint and a lot less talent than … Continue reading Banksie revisited, what a shame.

Netball woman, and other sporting moments.

This is another drawing from the archives recently found. It’s from a book called ’43 Unsporting Moments’ and was written with my old collaborator Gordon Thorburn. The book dates from 1996, so getting on a bit now. I’ll quote here from the text which is about a fixture at a prison: ” This girl, who would have been the dominant personality in any East German field-events team, did not seem especially keen to join in the sport today. She gave the impression that among her preferred activities was having college girls on toast for breakfast…” The lady on the outside … Continue reading Netball woman, and other sporting moments.