Social media and nosey questions

[Loobs778]

Hi All,

Myself and some colleagues were discussing the comic strip and were keen to try and find out more about the Author/ illustrator/ team who put these together.

Do you know what the best way of doing this is without being too invasive? There is very little on the internet when searching other than the few articles I could find.
Is there a book, wikipedia planned?

R, Loobs778

[Mince]

The writer of the Beau Peep strip, Roger Kettle, posts here under the name Roger Kettle.

There's also a guy called Rob Baker who posts here who knows everything.

[Roger Kettle]

Welcome, Loobs!
The regulars on this site have been around for a long time and I'd hate to bore them yet again with my life story. If you're genuinely interested in the background of the strip and have some questions you'd like to ask, feel free to send me a private message and I'll do my best to answer them.

[Mince]

How come she gets to ask by private message? I had to ask on this board. One post and it's favouritism already!

[Loobs778]

Great stuff 

A few basic ones I assume. Those you've probably been asked over and over I guess.
Where are you now, where were you brought up, what do you look like?
Are you and the illustrator still in touch?
What are your favorite stories that you find humorous?
Who inspires you and how did you get your ideas?
Did you find they ever reflected what was happening politically or socially?
Do you still draw, how long would they take to put together?
Have you a huge collection and studio of your own?
Do you own the originals or did the papers buy ownership as part of your contract?
Have you given any talks or presentations to art colleges or universities? I ask because we had an illustrator come to Wigan & Leigh art college when I was studying there many years ago and it was a huge eye opener. Not only to see the skill and craftsmanship of the illustrator but to hear about business contracts and how interesting the world we knew very little about was.
I could go on...and all of the above just lead me to more questions Roger 
I find people's lives fascinating and yours is part of the UK culture that should be shared. Genuinely people love the era you and your illustrations/ short stories represented. As seen in some of the threads of comments some people would like to feel they have a piece of that or that their memories are there for all to hold dear.
Whether that be original or limited prints, having a bit of banter on here with you or just searching for information on the internet.
so, I leave this with you and the lovely, funny people I am so greatly enjoying listening to (reading).

R, Loobs778

[Mince]

Go at it, Roger!

[Roger Kettle]

Hmm. Yes, I may have to get back to this when I have a spare week!

[Roger Kettle]

I was born in Glasgow but grew up in a tiny Highland village called Dalwhinnie, now famous for a rather expensive whisky. I went to primary school in Dalwhinnie before completing my education at Inverness Royal Academy.
What do I look like? A very old man.
(Parts 1 and 2 of 76).

[Mince]

I [...] grew up in a tiny Highland village called Dalwhinnie, now famous for a rather expensive whisky.

So it was not famous when you grew up there? The distillery was built in 1897. Exactly when were you a kid?

[Roger Kettle]

Interesting question. Initially, the distillery only produced raw whisky which was blended elsewhere. It's only in the last 20 or 30 years that they have produced a quality, in-house whisky under the name "Dalwhinnie". I actually hate the stuff but that's neither here nor there. When I was a kid of 8 or 9 (c.!910), I used to play in the distillery with my pals. We would leap from overhead beams into the 20 ft deep mounds of barley used for the whisky production. Health and Safety regulations were different then.

[Mince]

We would leap from overhead beams into the 20 ft deep mounds of barley used for the whisky production.

Oh my! There is a short story by the horror writer Stephen King (Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, Firestarter, IT) called The Last Rung on the Ladder and it's just magnificent. It's not a horror story at all, but a story about childhood. And it involves a brother and sister jumping from overhead beams into large piles of hay.

The Last Rung on the Ladder

[Roger Kettle]

Plagiarist!

[Loobs778]

Oh wow, this is interesting. Love it...
So you studied graphic design? Locally?
What was it like then?
I think I was one of the last generation to study with tutors who were experimental, open minded, genuinely great people. Are they any that you remember for any particular reason?
Honestly feel that i should be sat having a cupa with you and so terribly sorry for all these but I'm genuinely fascinated.

Loobs778

[Roger Kettle]

I'm afraid I didn't study graphic design. I cut out a monkey-shape from corduroy once.

[Loobs778]

IRA? How did you learn the technique of drawing comic strips?