Years ago I worked part-time at a Camden bookshop, before having my first series of children’s books published by Grafton. The bookshop is long gone, its site now occupied by a Tortilla takeaway.
My Saturday task was to cash up the takings, put them into a leather satchel and post it into the night safe on the wall of the next door bank. Another member of staff was supposed to come with me and watch my back as I deposited the satchel, but didn’t that night for some reason. Camden can be a lively location, especially on a Saturday night.
Suddenly I felt what seemed like a gun stuck in my back. ‘Hand over the bag!’ said a gruff voice behind me. I was a bit tired after a long day dealing with occasionally awkward customers, so I whirled round and swore (rather inventively I believe) at the would-be robber. ‘Hey!’ he said, backing away, ‘Only a joke!’ and ran off. I was furious but shaken. My slightly battered cardboard cut-out of Snowy (and one of Tintin too), once in the bookshop window, was given to me when I left working there. Only rarely do I think of that scary event, and what might have happened if the robber really did have a weapon. Snowy lives in my work/bed room, a positive if only cardboard companion from the pages of the marvellous Tintin books.
Page from one of my many notebooks recording an excellent Snowy lookalike competition once held at Somerset House. I can’t actually remember who won, but maybe not the human entry? Who knows. Do contact me if you or your dog entered! Woofy!
This week I was invited to an extraordinary pantomime performed by the 
My only contribution to the event, apart from being an enthusiastic audience member, was carrying two giant toadstools from the theatre back to the 
One of my slowly evolving pinboards whose objects all have a story to tell. Objects include …
It’s not as if I usually wear my Hat of Surprise, but this hat is sometimes an important part of one of my many comic strip workshops, including those at 
Why this style of hat? It has associations with magicians, a hat that conceals, then transforms or reveals. My events enable participants to increase their creative powers, develop personal confidence and even have fun. Check out my 
One day earlier this year I got into conversation with a neighbour down the road busily working on a rather cool looking electric blue MG Midget. ‘Oh it’s you who makes all that racket revving and driving up and down the street!’ I said. It turned out my neighbour, when not lovingly restoring a Vespa or a classic car or two, is a 
There’s another connection to Little Tich. In 2019 I was fortunate enough 
What do strange scissors, miniature beds, creaky clockwork, novelty erasers, tools of the stuccatore and coffin photos all have in common? They’re some of the thirty subjects of 
The clockwork creatures usually live on a shelf above my work desk, their creaky mechanisms occasionally and disconcertingly activated at night by the vibrations of passing trains.
My drawing prompts this year were ‘Draw a Family Tree and/or Draw your Best Friend’, resulting in fabulous drawings and stories from participants of all ages.
