ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 TheThe Jester Jester

PINT SIZE ISSUE! Royston

MAD MAGAZINE’S A NIGHT OUT IN GILES OUTING AL JAFFEE DIDCOT! ANNOUNCED

BEER GLORIOUS CZECH CARTOON NEWS, VIEWS & BEER CARTOONS FREEDOM FUTURE EVENTS

TheNewsletter Newsletter of of the the Cartoonists’ Cartoonists’ Club Club of Greatof Great Britain Britain THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK The Jester

The CCGB Committee The Chair Issue 414 - October 2008 Published 11 times a year by The Cartoonists! Club Dear Members, will persevere - it!s a learning of Great Britain curve for us all. Our first Tuesday on October Chairman: Terry Christien I!m sure I!ve mentioned this be- 7th will once again and as al- 020-8892 3621 fore but as I listen to the traffic reports in the morning, I!m not ways be a social meeting. It [email protected] only absolutely delighted that I!m seems the odd committee meet- Secretary: Jed Stone not part of it, thrashing around ings through the year may well 01173 169 277 the M25 or worse, but instead be in different locations and de- [email protected] part of a self satisfied bunch of pending on the committee con- Treasurer: Anne Boyd us lowering our carbon footprints sensus, could be combined with 01173 169 277 by working from home - a pat social occasions for the conven- [email protected] on the Wacom for us! ience of the membership up and Membership Secretary: I must just mention a point of down the land. As I said we!ll Jed Pascoe: 01767-682 882 order from the last Jester - you!ll work our way through it and if [email protected] recall there!ll be a Big Draw day any of you feel the need to and the venue is London St. suggest/arrange an interesting venue one month, just holler! Clive Collins: 01702-557 205 Pancras Station and I gave the impression that Pete Dredge is The significance of the regular [email protected] your link man on behalf of the first Tuesday has been that it!s Neil Dishington: 020-8505 0134 Club, but Pete is very much easier and cheaper to book a [email protected] doing it for the PCO (Profes- venue earlier in the week rather Ian Ellery: 01424-718 209 sional Cartoonists! Organisation) than say a prime time Friday [email protected] which incidentally, providing your which invariably will be more Graham Fowell: 0115-933 4186 criteria fits, you can join at expensive especially when [email protected] www.procartoonists.org. you!re not sure how many will Helen Pointer: 01883-373 202 The Club membership and turn up. But thinking caps to the [email protected] guests of course, are more than fore. Roy Nixon: 01245-256 814 welcome to support the Cam- Turning to our faithful regular up North Jester contributor, Mike Turner: 01206-798 283 paign for Drawing cause - it!s young Bill Ritchie. How on [email protected] an excellent venue and a really buzzy day out - there!ll be earth does he manage all that Steve Bright: 079 5270 3845 workshops, family goings-on and in-depth stuff about our busi- [email protected] drawing amuck - remember it!s ness? His own comic cartoon Pete Dredge: 0115 981 0984 Saturday 18th October! style has a particular "flavour! to mobile: 0788 421 1322 How good to see a selection of it, as much as flavour is the right [email protected] Les Barton!s cartoons on the description. It immediately Noel Ford: 01974 831468 home page of the Club website. transports me back to the Ru- [email protected] I!m trying to train myself to make pert, Topper, Dandy and Beano Tim Harries: 01633 780293 regular visits, so do as I do! Go annual days which I remember [email protected] to www.ccgb.org.uk. with such eclectic relish. Thanks The Club committee is wres- Bill for those constant transpor- tations back to a bygone era Jester Editor tling with conducting regular which so many of us treasure. Steve Willis committee business online in order to free up our monthly And thanks too for all your con- 01235 833 414 meetings so more time is de- tributions, if you!ll forgive the [email protected] voted to socialising. The transi- cheese, in your professional ca- tion from the usual face-to-face reer in comics. - Hale, hearty chat to being led by the key- and entertaining stuff! Front Cover: Royston Robertson board mouse can be a little tedi- See you Tue Oct 7! Adios! Back Cover: Pete Dredge ous and less immediate but we Terry Christien

2 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK NEWS ! Tory Blues

The Political Cartoon Gallery have announced “Tory Blues: A cartoon history of the Conserva- tive Party between 21st October 2008 and 7th January 2009 This exhibition of original po- litical cartoons charts the history of the Conservative Party from Benjamin Disraeli, through the likes of Balfour, Baldwin, Chur- chill, Thatcher and Major, to to- day!s Party Leader, David Cam- eron. Included, for the very first toonists both past and present Martin Rowson and Peter time on display, are original car- including work by Sir John Ten- Brookes amongst many others. toons covering both the Party!s niel, Sir Francis Carruthers The exhibition is to be opened election victories and defeats as Gould, Sidney Strube, Sir David by the former Conservative MP well as important events in the Low, Leslie Illingworth, Trog, Mathew Parris. A book by Alan history of Britain!s most suc- JAK, Michael Cummings, Nick Mumford entitled Tory Blues will cessful political party. Garland, Ronald Searle, Steve also be launched at the exhibi- The exhibition consists of 60 Bell, Chris Riddell, Paul Thomas tion opening. original cartoons by leading car- Dave Brown, Peter Schrank, Letters to the Editor

Dear Jester, Nigel Sutherland on the club around. Chic, Ted Monaghan I read Clive Collins!recent piece forum wonders how a cartoonist and John Paice have gone. How with great amusement, particu- gets commissions these days is Bill Tidy? larly the part about the interfer- without a computer. Well, I am Could anyone who remembers ing busy-body. nearly 84 and almost retired me email: [email protected] They abound. I had a similar from cartooning. However, I do experience. I dropped a few have a fax machine and five or Harry Maggs coins into an unfortunate!s cap six irregular clients from way and some bloke passing said back. They all want colour work "You only encourage them you these days which I enjoy doing know". I retorted "I'll do what I with my watercolour paints. like with my money, it's MY dad". Thanks again - very much ap- Neil Dishington preciated! I hope to see you be- fore long.

Dear Jester, Frank Holmes

Many thanks for all the good Dear Jester, wishes received by phone, cards and internet (Thanks Mike This is ex-member Harry Maggs for the printout). My operation calling in from America. Just went well but I am still wobbly checking on how many mem- on the legs. bers from my era are still

3 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 –OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK Armchair Travel: Brussels The fire in the Channel Tunnel shops specialising in comics and It!s also reputed to be a bit on has been pretty bad news for graphic novels.You might have the pricy side. If you!re in the travellers heading off to the to use your imagination here as mood for a Captain Haddock continent. While there!s a par- the websiite unhelpfully fails to keyring or Tintin t-shirt the best tial train servce at present, tell you where the trail starts and place to visit online is at there!s no doubt currently the has no pictures of the murals. it http://store.tintin.com/en easiest way to visit is from the does though tell you where it From the comfort of your arm- comfort of your armchair. So ends up and that!s the Belgian chair, you can now pull the top it!s out with the laptop and off Comic Strip Center at off a bottle of Belgian beer. A to Brussels. www.comicscenter.net. shame because if you were in First port of call is the guide at The Belgians are rather partial the capital itself, you could pop www.brussels151.com. This to the “Bande Dessinees” and along to the eccentric Toone bar, offers 151 ideas for visiting the this is a useful place to find out a tavern run by puppeteers who Belgian capital and good more. This is a big museum. give you a puppet show with news...some of the suggestions Current exhibitions include 50 your pint. (www.toone.be). are cartoon based. Years of the Smurfs! Feeling peckish? You!ll get For starters, why not join the Onwards! And no trip to the moules and more at Les Dames comic strip trail. Thumping great world waffle capital would be Tartines, a gourmet restaurant murals of classic Belgian comic complete without a little Tintin popular with artists, cartoonists art adorn the walls of buildings shopping. La Boutique Tintin is and politicians. The website at around Brussels. And the walk just off the Grand Place and is www.lesdamestartine.be cur- takes you past a number of packed with Tintin merchandise. rently appears to be having problems though. The brussels151 website!s last cartoon recommendation is not sadly for armchair travellers. There appears not to be a web- site for Galler, a chocolaterie in the Grande Place. Here though, visitors can purchase Chocolate Cat!s tongues based on Philippe Geluck!s cartoon Le Chat crea- tion. Quite frankly, the mind bog- gles! Finally, somewhere to stay! The Hotel Amigo has Tintin charac- ters livening up the walls of its bedrooms. Better still, the hotel offers a Comic Strip Adventure Package including a Tintin spe- cial collection chocolate box, entrance to the Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art and a Guide book "La bande dessinée dans la ville". Almost priceless at "273 a night for a room! Further details can be found at the hotel website at www.hotelamigo.com Stop press: you can pick up a map of the Comic Strip trail at the Brussels Tourist Office.

Steve Willis

4 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK Husband!s marriage of cartoons and comedy

At the beginning of September, Clive and I felt that we got better show. Much cartoon related chit the Oxfordshire chapter of the value than anyone else as we chat followed. A grand night out! CCGB...that is to say Clive God- went out for a post performance dard and myself...made our way drink or two with the stars of the Steve Willis to Didcot to Cornerstone, the town's newly opened Arts Cen- tre. On the bill was an evening with comedian and poet Ian McMillan with Tony Husband. "A Cartoon History of Here" is a show that the pair perform mostly in smaller, intimate ven- ues. It started with standup comedy from Ian McMillan. Maybe I've led a sheltered life, but I'd never heard of the man. Can't think why as he's got his own radio show, has appeared on 'Whose Line is it Anyway' and 'Have I Got News For You' and is absolutely tears down your cheeks hilarious. He told stories rather than jokes, read some pretty daft poetry and warmed the audience up very nicely for the main part of the show. Above: Ian McMillan and Tony Husband milk the applause. This was a make it up as you go along epic poem about Didcot Below: Cartoon under construction! which was written and per- formed with audience contribu- tion and participation. In the background Tony Husband illus- trated everything as it happened with cartoons. Later he told me that normally in a small venue he would have worked with a flipchart, but here he drew onto acetates that were projected for the theatre venue. This was good clean fun for all the family and despite the poten- tially chaotic outcome, really worked with everyone singing along to the final poem we had all written. At the end of the show, Tony's originals were taken away by members of the audience.

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Below: Jings. Crivens etc: A Menace bullying the chainsaw artist converts a sewing, flower pick- tree trunk into Oor Wullie. ing Walter the Softy From the Dundee Courier & in case it encouraged Press. gay-bashing. Right: The Daily Record report Thanks to John that in the late 1980!s The “Speedy” Harrison Beano stopped Dennis the as always.

8 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK

Above Top: South Korean Artist!s skeletons of his favourite cartoon characters. Nice!

Above: Spread from TV Memorabilia charting Above: Tabloid tribute to Bill Melendez whose the storytelling and artwork of Mr. Benn creator, animation skills brought Mickey Mouse and David McKee. Peanuts to the screen.

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It’s our latest entertainment - beer belly dancing.

Grubb

Sorry, the ale’s a bit lively today.

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" My wife said she'd divorce me if It’s Time For I came home smelling of beer once more ! Fill 'er up again, mate !" A Few Beers

Didn!t we do well in the Olympics? The topic is sure to be fresh in your mind, so send in your Exercise cartoons. Please send them to the usual Jester email or snail mail address shown on the inside back cover.

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17. Release (5) 19. Parched (4) 21 See 23 across 23. The Jester had one months ago (5, 4) 25. Offer (3) 30. Wind Instruments (5) 32. English county (5) 33. Garland (3) 34. Gut (5) 35. Pioneered (7) 36. Look(3) 37. Traps (6) 38. Labour's sweet-scented blooms ( 5 )

DOWN

1. Sunny Season (6) 2. Group in the community (7) 3. Make possible (6) 5. Faithful (5) 6. Land surrounded by water (6) 7. Expectant (4) 8. Money lender? (6) 10. Not unlike a foxglove (5) 15. Poem (3) 18. One plus one (3) 20. Might be a month (3) 22. An advertisement (6) 24. Cosy places (5) CLUES 8. Old crone's container (3) 26. Affronts (7) 9 and 14 across. Travelling 27. Sneezy part of flower (6) TV Celebrity (7, 5) 28. Amuses monthly (6) ACROSS 11. Black Sea Port (5) 29. Oozes (6) 12. Belligerent wife's mare (3) 31. Possessor (5) 1 and 4 across. The new man 13. Electronic post (5) 33. Hit with a whip (4) at the helm (5, 6) 16. Cosy retirement place (3)

12 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK Giles exhibition visit to Cartoon Museum

You are invited to a CCGB pri- Cover by Carl Giles, Annual 46th Series, 1992 vate view at The Cartoon Mu- The British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent. seum in Central London to see Copyright Express Group Newspapers the forthcoming Giles Exhibition on Tuesday 2nd December. The time is between 6.00 and 7.30 pm. There will be a charge for this event and it is likely to be around £10 with wine. First though, I need to know how many people will be attending. I have to know names in ad- vance because it will not be possible to simply turn up on the night. Initially please let me know as soon as possible if you plan to attend. After the viewing finishes, I!m sure we!ll want to carry on elsewhere in the big city for further drinks and food and I!ll be happy to hear from anyone who has any suggestions.

The Cartoon Museum is also Other news from the Cartoon Editor!s Top Tip! showing “Couples and Fami- Museum is that they have a va- Xmas is coming and it will lies! relationships in car- cancy for a Learning & Out- soon be time to buy those toons” between 9th September reach Officer 3 days a week. Christmas cards. Get your- and 24 December 2008 to mark Details on the “About Us” sec- self a RNLI catalogue and the 70th anniversary of Relate. tion of the museum!s website at you can buy Giles cartoon So your visit to London gets you www.cartoonmuseum.org . cards. Pack of ten for £4.25. two exhibitions for the price of one! Steve Willis Could they by chance be related?

Many thanks to eagle-eyed Bill Ritchie who sends us these images of the pen-wielding Steve Bright and the sunflower painting Vincent van Gogh. The likeness is quite un- canny. They both share the same stern stare and hirsute look. If there is a difference, it!s that Steve appears to have a full complement of ears to affix his glasses. At Jester Towers we would appreciate more examples of cartoon doppelgangers for fu- ture issues.

13 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK Bullets and Cartoons

On August 21st this year, the This was too much for Brezhnev posters on display were blow- 40th anniversary of the Soviet and his Politburo who were de- ups of his photographs. Union's invasion of Czechoslo- termined to reimpose hardline In Wenceslas Square I had the vakia, I stood in the middle of Communism. And so, on Soviet interesting experience of being Prague's Wenceslas Square orders, forces from the Warsaw interviewed about the cartoons dominated by the imposing Na- Pact countries invaded the by a keen young woman re- tional Museum and the striking whole of Czechoslovakia in a porter from Radio Liberty. And equestrian statue of St. Wences- red blitzkrieg although the Poles so, I made my Prague radio de- las. and Hungarians joined in with but! In 1968 Russian tanks were in reluctance. Sadly and grimly following the the square and the facade of the The invading armies were told invasion, Czechoslovakia was museum was being sprayed by they were going to crush a subjected to "normalisation" by machine gun bullets. The build- counter revolution which was a which the severe hardline form ing is still pitted with holes blatant lie. Czechoslovakia had of communism was reimposed caused by these and they have no intention of leaving the Soviet for the next 20 years. been left as a permanent re- bloc and knew that such an ac- It all ended with the collapse of minder. A temporary reminder tion was impossible. Communism throughout Eastern was provided by the presence of In Prague in August, most of Europe in 1989. Czechoslova- a Soviet tank from the period. the cartoons from 1968 were kia's "Velvet Revolution" was led My Czech wife Milenka (born in displayed in Wenceslas Square. by playwright and long time dis- Prague) and I attended the main one depicted a Russian soldier sident Vaclav Havel who was commemoration events, includ- with a little dog lifting its leg over elected President of the Czech ing an open air concert in a one of his boots while above, a Republic. Since then, all Czech beautiful setting given by Czech dove's droppings hit his helmet. cartoonists have been able to singers who were popular in He is shouting in Russian "Help! express themselves freely. 1968. There were several exhibi- I am being attacked by counter tions of photographs, archive revolutionaries”. films, posters ("Ivan Go Home") Other cartoons dealt with the Alex Noel Watson and many "resistance" cartoons killing of hundreds of innocent drawn by the young and old. Czech citizens and the raping of The illegal invasion ordered by women and girls by Russian the Soviet leader Brezhnev was soldiers. Many Czechs were prompted by the fact that the robbed at gunpoint for their Czech leader Alexander Dubcek wristwatches, something the had embarked on a programme Russian soldiers had never pos- of moderate reforms in an at- sessed. Some of the cartoons tempt to establish "Communism showed Russians with several with a human face". He wanted wristwatches on their arms. to soften the severity and brutal- In another, the legs of a Rus- ity of Soviet dominated Commu- sian soldier are drawn on roller nist rule in his country. skates in the form of tanks. Oth- For the first time since the ers depicted Czech girls running Communists seized power in the away from pursuing soldiers aftermath of the second world "Run sister. Ivan is after you." war, Czech citizens were able to All the posters and cartoons travel abroad, the secret police were torn down and destroyed terror was stopped and censor- by the Russians but fortunately ship of the press was lifted. they had been photographed by Freedom of expression meant a photographer from Paris that at long last Cartoonists were Match. He succeeded in getting free! them to Paris. The cartoons and

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MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS

In taking a look through our membersip list, we have real- ised that a small number of members have regrettably not renewed their CCGB subscrip- tion as yet. This may be a conscious de- cision on your part, which we on the CCGB Committee would sincerely regret. Should this be the case, we would be keen to discuss the reasons for your decision and whether there is anything that can be done to alter it. Alternatively, renewal may have simply slipped your mind. Easily done, and easily rectified, either by a cheque in the post to the Treasurer, or by setting up a standing order with your bank. (See page 19 for Treasurer address details.) However, we are now at a stage where a speedy re- sponse is required in order to retain membership. We are currently reviewing all mem- bers' details, with the produc- tion of an updated Members' Directory and portfolios sec- tion of the website in mind. It is therefore imperative that we receive any outstanding renewals by October 12th. Payment for any outstanding membership fee is £35 which is cheaper than the £50 cost of rejoining at a later date. Failure to renew will sadly result in membership being terminated, and details being removed from the website straightaway. We would obvi- ously much prefer to keep everyone as a member, so if you have yet to renew your membership, please do not ignore this reminder.

The CCGB Committee. Blimey! And I thought WE could knock it back.

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Clive Collins After their recent surprise even going to fly out the entire sobbing, entitled !Rodin"s First shopping spree, The Abu bar staff in suitably all-white at- Rejection Slip" - can be located. Dhabi United Group, cele- tire.” Early Ray Lowry cartoons are brated their purchase of Man- It is thought that, to compen- much sought after, especially his chester City by adding Tower sate for their loss, the Group range of !Guess Which Of The Bridge, The 02 Dome, Buck- decided instead to buy, and Characters Is Talking" splatter ingham Palace, No. 10 Down- transport, !The Coal Hole", hith- extravaganzas. ing Street, the 2012 Olympic erto in The Strand. In keeping Park, !The Angel of the North" with the source of the Group"s Quote: and Madonna"s underwear to wealth, it was likely to have its !Freed from human restraint by their carrier bags. name changed to !The Oil Well." their drawings, most cartoonists It can now be revealed that our “It"s a shame, but there we are,” seem to have an odd take on very own CCGB escaped pur- said an anonymous CCGB life. I think replacing sanity with chase by them foreigners by the spokesman in a hoodie. sketches is splendid." skin of our teeth. The scout for Sandi Toksvig - Daily Telegraph ADUG, given instructions by his Breaking news: !Seven" Magazine oil-rich masters to bring home The very first Thelwell !Little !something quirky and British" for Girl on a Pony" cartoon has been Lastly, the kids, tried to buy our Club found (true) - a theme that was I am indebted to Alex Noel and its headquarters, lock, stock to provide endless double-page Watson, polymath of this parish, and barrel, but decided that spreads in Punch, almost up for putting me straight on Arthu- there were too many schisms until the day he stopped drawing rian legends and All Heroes within its membership – even for them, for tax purposes. French, in the September issue more than the average Premier Hopes are high that Larry"s first of Jester. Now there"s a school- Division Football Club. When cartoon – a statue of a man boy who stayed awake during asked, one sector of the Club holding a piece of paper and History and Classics! said they didn"t want to go to Abu Dhabi on the first Tuesday of the month because they couldn"t get a good cheap rail deal, while another splinter group said they"d already hired the Mabelthorpe Eatery and Mojo Ballroom for all future committee events. Besides which you couldn"t get a decent pint in Abu Dhabi. The prospec- tive buyers had tried logging onto the website but had given up, deciding that banging their heads against the nearest wall would prove less painful. The plan had been to fly the pub out to Abu Dhabi, brick by brick, in order to re-erect it in a desert setting surrounded by palm trees and sultry maidens, all dancing to Country & Eastern music. “It was going to be so taste- ful,” sighed a member of the scouting team, “And we were

16 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK Nottingham knees up

The early autumn sun shone brightly and warmly for the small but perfectly formed group of cartoon- ists and partners who made the trip to Nottingham on September 13. It was good to see Dave and Irene Gaskill, Duncan and Michelle Bourne and John Stilgoe and partner, Chris but where were all the locals? I know where you live! Never mind. As Michelle quite rightly said, it pro- vided the opportunity to speak with everybody and after a pleasant couple of hours enjoying the outdoor seating area of Langtry's pub it was off to the nearby Mogal Azam for an excellent curry. Thanks for the company and • Merry men and women! Back Because of the small, mixed hopefully, next time will be row (l to r) Pete Dredge, Dave group the engaging conversa- just as sunny!" Gaskill, Chris and John Stil- tion rarely touched on car- goe. Seated (l to r) Duncan & tooning. No bad thing really. Pete Dredge Michelle Bourne, Irene Gaskill FORTHCOMING EVENTS

11th June - 18th October October 4th-5th 2008 November 26, - February 15, Cartoons from The Independent Birmingham International Com- 2009 Exhibition of Saul Stein- @ The PCG ics Show 2008: Thinktank, Mil- berg!s work: Dulwich Picture lennium Point, Birmingham Gallery, London 30th July - 2nd November Beano and Dandy Birthday Saturday October 18th Tuesday 2nd December Bash @ The Cartoon Museum Big Draw. This year at St Pan- Social visit to Giles Exhibition at cras Station, London. the Cartoon Museum, London. 20th September - 2nd Novem- ber Who!s Laughing Now? Andy 21st October - 17th January 21st January - 14th March Gilbert Exhibition at The Silk Tory Blues. Cartoon History of Browned OFF! First 18 Months Mill, Derby. 01332 208899 The Conservative Party @ The of Gordon Brown!s Premiership PCG. @ The PCG October 2nd - 11th January 2009 Cartoons & Coronets: The 5th Nov - 8th February 2009 Until Sun 25th October 2009 Genius of Osbert Lancaster Giles at the Cartoon Museum. Dan Dare & the birth of hi-tech Wallace Collection, Hertford Britain Exhibition at the London House, Manchester Sq, London. Science Museum.

17 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK Notes from the North. An amazing story happened on also appeared but so far, the rette and slipped it into the barrel my doorstep last month. The genuine reason behind the mys- of the gun. Of course, when discovery of a secret cave tery of this desirable residence people came in the door, they 'house' in the Arbroath cliffs. The with excellent sea views contin- saw the hunched figure with a local lifeboat crew who were in- ues. suicide note and a smoking gun. volved in a coastal search came Browsing around Waterstones It's a wonder no-one had a heart across a rope ladder on the cliff bookshop, I bumped into an ex attack. face. Two members of the crew DC Thomson studio artist. We Another piece of black humour climbed the ladder that led to a got chatting about the good old we remembered was when an cave. They discovered an inner days in the art department be- unsuspecting editor came into cave that had a wooden door - fore the dreaded health and the studio, laid his pipe in an painted to match the sandstone. safety department, the p.c. en- ashtray and went off to discuss On further inspection behind the forcers and the no smoking rules some artwork with a manager. door, they found a room about took over. We remembered Too good a chance to miss. the size of an average bedroom. some of the gags we pulled that Our prankster got a dollop of The space had a well made would have given that lot a field highly flammable Cow Gum ad- wooden floor, storage space and day. hesive, took out the tobacco, put red leather bench seat, probably For example, one lunchtime, in the gum, topped it up with to- from a bus, painted walls and a when most of the staff were out, bacco. hook for hanging a lamp. one or two stayed in to eat their It is not recorded what hap- The question was who created lunch. One older guy lay over his pened next. The manager made and occupied this property. drawing board to have a nap. his exit. Did he light his pipe? Could it be someone having Our resident prankster who shall Did it explode? Just as well he trouble getting a mortgage in remain nameless got hold of a could not trace the culprit. Ah the these hard up times? Was it a very realistic replica colt 45 good old days! local fed up with the no smoking which as a prop the artists used After all that I feel like a nap bans who had moved in for a for their Western illustrations. He myself. Maybe I'll nip down to quiet puff? A secret love nest for scribbled out a note and placed the coast, climb down the rope a romantic encounter although a it with the gun beside the dozing ladder for a siesta. Hope the North Sea gale would put a victim. gorillas haven't moved in! damper on any amorous activi- Just before the folks came ties? Or maybe it was a hermit back from lunch, he lit a ciga- Bill Ritchie moving in to contemplate peace! Maybe it was something more sinister. A criminal on the run, an illegal immigrant or even a modern day pirate landing their booty from the sea. Come to think of it, it would make an ideal studio for a cartoonist wanting peace and quiet to think up gags and draw them! A couple of "gorillas" did turn up to claim the property. They even got tv coverage but their grunts and thumbs up signs did little to solve the mystery. I think they were a couple of local pranksters in costume and not the real thing on the run from a zoo. A "for sale' sign bearing the name of local estate agents

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Please don!t forget to send your Exercise cartoons in time to meet the deadline of October 12th to the Jester email address at THE JESTER [email protected]. Snail mail address shown on this page. DEADLINE IS Mike Turner has a new email address. Change your records to: [email protected] THE 12th OF EACH MONTH Many many thanks to Mark McHugh and the Aus- tralian Cartoonists Asociation who wrote and sup- plied the Al Jaffee article. JEZPUZ RESULTS

ACROSS: 1)Steve 4)Willis DOWN: 1)Summer 2)Enclave 8)Bag 9)Michael 11)Yalta 3)Enable 5)Loyal 6)Island 12)Nag 13)Email 14)Palin 7)Agog 8)Banker 10)Lupin 16)Bed 17)Untie 19)Arid 15)Ode 18)Two 20)May 21)Aunt 23)Agony 25)Bid 22)Notice 24)Nests 26)In- Contributions via email: 30)Oboes 32)Essex 33)Lei sults 27)Pollen 28)Jester [email protected] 34)Colon 35)Settled 36)See 29)Exudes 31)Owner 37)Snares 38)Roses 33)Lash Contributions via post: The Jester c/o Steve Willis Cedar Top 17 The Greenway West Hendred Wantage OX12 8RG

All articles and cartoons welcomed (especially for the front and back covers)

Email submissions are preferred, as then images and text do not need to be scanned – but snail mail is still accept- able. All images sent by email must be jpegs at a resolution of 300dpi.

REMINDER: There may be fewer committee meetings these days but the social at the Cartoonist Pub in Shoe Lane London is still Membership enquiries to: Jed Pascoe (Membership Secretary), our regular meeting place 4 Osprey Close, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1TW on the first Tuesday of the Tel: 01767-682 882. Email: [email protected] Subscription enquiries to: Anne Boyd (Treasurer), 75 Jacobs month. Next meeting from Wells Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1DJ Tel: 01173 169 277. 6.30pm onwards on Tues- Email [email protected] Website enquiries to: Ian Ellery, 25 Nelson Road, Hastings day 7th October. TN34 BRX. Tel: 01424-718 209. Email: [email protected]

19 THE JESTER ISSUE 414 – OCTOBER 2008 CCGB ONLINE: WWW.CCGB.ORG.UK