Number 8 in this series of ten archive items from my dad’s loft are some surviving copies of The Blue Blanket fanzine, which briefly flared on the streets of Norwich from 1981 to 1982. Three years in Manchester may have seen a mixed development with my artwork, but it had a profound effect on other aspects of my life – especially through music. It was a fabulous time to be in Manchester – I moved there at the height of punk, and left just before the Haçienda opened. I saw all

This past month has been very hectic, not only with illustration work, but also setting up another major exhibition, a career retrospective at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. The exhibition came about immediately after my return from Tokyo. The hospital Arts Project at NNUH was running a series of workshops for children “Supernatural Garden” run by visiting artists from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, headed by Professor Yasuyoshi Saito and Dr Herb Fondevilla. I’

My house and studio is an island in a raging sea of noise. Right outside my window the builders are digging up the road yet again. The daily cacophony of tractors, diggers, clanging scaffolding and other commotion from the building site over the road has been a constant companion ever since we moved here in July, and there’s a long way to go yet. The house feels like a refuge. Much as I’m fascinated by the bustle of the construction site, much as the activity outside encourag

It’s surprising to think sometimes that the book Fatbag, my first professional (i.e. paid!) job as an illustrator, was 30 years ago this year. I remember creating the drawings like it was yesterday. Having graduated from Manchester I moved to Norwich, where my parents had decided to re-settle during my absence. Rural Norfolk was a complete contrast to Manchester. I knew nothing about Norwich at all, but there was a burgeoning music and arts scene which I slipped into pretty q

I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog due to another shift of base, this time away from the vicissitudes of London to the gentler climes of Norwich, the jewel city of East Anglia. There are a number of reasons why I’ve headed out here, one of them is familiarity with the city (my parents lived here for many years). My strongest memories of Norwich are rooted in the early 1980’s straight after I graduated when I spent two blissful years in the city, roaming the profusion of antiq