Thank you, both. I was a little bit chuffed, I admit it.
And so ultra confident of winning that while many of my fellow cartoonists were packing the posh venue at Smiths Square in London, hoping to go hope with some silverware presented to them by Angela Rayner and Jacob Rees-Mogg (I kid you not), I had my feet up in front of the telly 450 miles away, watching my fourth live footie match of the day, and munching popcorn. Because I never, EVER win. In fact, this award is the first thing I've ever won for my drawing, and I have finally matched my eldest daughter, Lynsey, who won first prize (book voucher) in an Easter art contest when she was just six, at our local Waterstone's book store, with her five-minute drawing of a massive egg and a tiny chicken sitting on top of it, much to the chagrin of her younger sister, Kimberley, who had put much more effort into her own splendid entry, and was always the 'arty one' of my four daughters (she later went on to get a degree in art and design at the art college her old man turned down 30 years earlier). Life, eh?
But now I can legitimately call myself an award-winning cartoonist without it secretly referring to the medal I received in 1987 for winning the indoor bowls tournament at my timeshare week in Aviemore. I only won by default, as no-one else had put their name down that week, and I never chucked a bowl in anger. But damned right I still collected my medal back then. I think my lust for glory may have diminished over the decades.
So thanks again for the kind words, Roger and Diane. I've had quite a few of those this past few days, and It's been surprisingly nice.
