I was looking for a character with a bit of pizazz for my next homemade birthday card, but I guess that this guy’s going to have to do.
Tortoise
Category: cartoon
The Eternal Optimist
Scientists have conclusively proved that being a Huddersfield Town supporter is good for your health: researchers have discovered that optimists are 11 to 15% more likely to live longer. For Townies make that at least 22%!
A supporter of Huddersfield Town Remarked to his wife with a frown, "If the lads don't buck up, We'll be out of the Cup, And the Terriers are going to go down!"
The Pink-foots on Vacation
I went for the great wildlife spectacles of spring migration and nest-building for twins Connie and Annabel, who live alongside the flood meadows of the River Trent.
I found myself thinking, if Ikea ever broke into the wildlife market . . .
A Classic Cake
It’s so hard to find a birthday card with a Horbury theme, so it was back to the drawing board for this one, celebrating local architect John Carr’s towering achievement, the classical confection that is the Parish Church of St Peter’s & St Leonard’s.
Happy birthday to Alex!
Carr topped the spire with that rather un-Christian symbol, a Grecian urn, but this crashed down and was replaced with a wrought iron cross. The urn, which was about 7 feet tall, was carefully pieced together again and, in my teenage years stood as an oversize garden ornament in a house on Cluntergate which I believe had once belonged to a Mr Green.
When Moths turn Bad
My friend John Gardner, celebrating his birthday today, has built up an impressive list by running an ultra-violet light moth trap in his garden. Hopefully these reprobates haven’t turned up.
Moths have a bad name in my brother Bill’s childhood writing. He wrote this damming indictment aged six and it’s survived in a school exercise book from his infant school days.
Teenage Tuna Tearaways
I found it slightly alarming how easily I slipped into the sleazy slang of these Teenage Tuna Tearaways. Ivy’s is the first ever child’s birthday card to have been given a PG – ‘may include unsuitable dialogue’ – rating.
Maunder
MAUNDER, talk incoherently, or in a low tone, grumblingly. “What are teh maundrin thear abaht?”
Wakefield Words, William Stott Banks, 1865
A Clip Studio Paint animation of a page from my illustrated version of William Stott Banks Wakefield Words, A List of Provencial Words in use at Wakefield in Yorkshire 1865.
Link
Wakefield Words, paperback, available post free in the UK from Willow Island Editions.
Lockdown Birds
We’re delighted to have some of our facilities open for your visit, you’ll notice we’ve made some changes to help keep everyone safe.
RSPB Dearne Valley Old Moor website
We’re looking forward to being allowed to travel again as far as our nearest RSPB reserves, but for the time being we’re limiting ourselves to walks from home. Non-essential shops and hairdressers opened again today.
An earlier version of this homemade birthday card (happy birthday, Paul) suggested that a Masked Booby had turned up at Old Moor, but I don’t think that I’d get that one past the Rarities Committee.
Eye Test
All the right ingredients. Latest birthday card for Emma, a food analyst (and I bet that you can’t buy such a job-specific card in the shops, even when they open again next week).
Hen & Pencil
After the unpredictable floppy rabbit’s ears in my last animation, I decided to try a pencil stage with this alarmed chicken.
This wasn’t drawn directly in pencil in my sketchbook as suggested here – although a flick-book would be fun to try – it’s the pencil tool in Clip Studio Paint. I shall now move on to the inking stage.
