MY LAST FEW DAYS...
Is there a k in knackered?
A week in the life of a cartoonist. Ready?
Last Friday I spent working on a storyboard for one of my speed draw film thingies (about 130 so far) in a bit of a flap because the following week was going to be hectic. And I don't do hectic as well as I used to.
Got the storyboard done, although I didn't understand what is was all about. Something to do with software. But not understanding my subject is nothing new, in fact in can be a great help because I write the first script too, and if I understand vaguely what I'm banging on about, anyone will.
So time for the weekend, and to take Jamie to a football tournament. I'm looking out of the window now, because it seems that every time I mention the words football tournament it immediately pisses with rain. Strange. Not today. It's wall to wall sunshine. Anyway, I stood watching my little hero, fresh from his Players Player of the Year Award, as he scored a fab goal and showed the opponents that he and the team were not to be messed with. All this to a backdrop of black angry clouds, continuous rain, and nothing more than the occasional cup of sulky coffee to cheer me up. When we drove home we couldn't have been any wetter if we'd jumped into the local pool on the way.
And so to Monday, where I totally forgot to go to the school for my Comic Club workshop session, because I was building up to an evening conference cartoon gig in Birmingham. Birmingham? I thought, oh no (or words to that effect) but journey, evening, giving client satisfaction, and returning to the fold tired but happy all worked out well. I will include a cartoon from this jolly evening in this write-up if I remember...
Tuesday was a free day, with time to finish my incredibly complicated cartoon to promote the Thame Music Festival. Got a bit carried away, with an aerial view of Thame and hundreds of happy punters swarming around the lovely streets. Musicians stood 50ft high over this throng - but if you want to see this masterpiece you'll just have to go along and support this great event on 8th July. That's if we haven't all left the country exactly a month earlier...
A gentle evening with my proud beauty (that's Cathy in case you're wondering what I meant) and it was up at 4.15am to be ready to meet star videographers Alan and Ben to get to our very own exhibition stand at the Excel by 7am. That business about best laid plans applies here, so the M25 let us down. Possibly the first time this fine carriageway has done that to anyone. In spite of a delay which kept us still for over three quarters of an hour, we were parked under the dreaded venue by 7.45, only to be told that the exhibition hall didn't open until 8am. So there was nothing for it, and it was a tough call, but we just had to have coffee and bacon sandwiches while we waited. Huh.
Cut to 7pm. I've done my stint but the boys have to come back tomorrow. We've had a great day, largely thanks to an enormous tv we hired, showing the film that Alan and Ben put together, showing the wonders of speed drawing films. Other stands seemed to be rather quiet, but we were packed out all day - and not just because we were giving away cute DVDs of aforementioned film. Mind you, I looked a bit grotty on big screen. Think we'll use Doris Day style soft focus next time...
I travelled across London in the rain (and not a football tournament in sight. Maybe it's me...) settled into a little hotel near Bishopsgate and suddenly realised how hungry I was. The effect of the bacon sandwich had obviously worn off. Directly over the road was an eatery called Absurd - so macaroni cheese, coleslaw, chicken wings and a mega glass of Sauvignon seemed to work. It was the sort of thing that people have to do...
Next day it was all about conference cartoons. In case you haven't been attending, or haven't bothered to print out earlier blogs on the subject and kept them close to your heart ready to enjoy in quiet moments, this is where I sit at the back and knock out about 25 mono cartoons inspired by the topics of the day. Occasionally this is done on a 10ft board, where passers-by make their own witty suggestions. Other times I draw a bit more publicly, with a large video camera stuck over my shoulder. So no pressure.
This time a truly terrifying woman got me drawing on an 80" tv screen in front of an assembly of about 400. Luckily she's paid me so she won't have to see my terrifying side...
Home again, with the prospect of having a debrief (as we laughingly called it) with Alan and Ben, and then sending wise and witty emails to the numerous people who had found our speed drawing films just a bit brilliant.
Busy now, but we can still handle more.
That was the week that was, in the words of Millicent Martin...