Newsletter Extract: Coronavirus and Covid-19

What a difference a month makes. At the beginning of March a friend of mine visited from New York for a few days. By the time she left, her company had cancelled the European leg of the trip and she was fortunate to be able to get home before borders were tightened all over the world. Whilst she was here, we visited Akaroa where a cruise ship was in the harbour. Locals were mildly concerned, but I am sure they were more worried this week when a passenger had to be tested for coronavirus (they tested negative, to our relief, as the ship had been in Lyttelton the day before).

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It seems that all that anyone can talk about now is the novel coronavirus. And as a biochemist who worked seven years in the pharmaceutical industry, I do find the virus and the associated disease fascinating. But like everyone else, I worry about the older and more vulnerable members of my family and our community. Tom Hanks may be able to Instagram his way out of it, but this virus will take its toll on those with impaired lung function or weakened immune systems.

My parents are in their 70s. They still live where I grew up in Dorset in the UK. Dad has stopped going to lawn bowls and choir and Mum has stocked up her already well-stocked pantry. This is a good thing as the UK government has said Britons over 70 will be told "within the coming weeks" to stay at home for "a very long time". Thank goodness…

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

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Or head to the archive to read more here.

Newsletter Extract: Time management when time is running out.

I'm a big fan of the late Randy Pausch who was excellent at getting a balance in his life. If you haven't seen his talk on time management and you need more time to do the important stuff in your life you should check it out here on YouTube (although it takes an hour to watch, it is time you will save after watching it!). When I'm in need of a refresher, I listen to it when inking.

One of the things I think (I definitely need to listen again) he mentions  in his talk is Stephen Covey's Urgent vs Important Matrix:

Stephen Covey wrote The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People . I haven't read his book, but I use his matrix all the time. Basically, you need to work on the things that are important first and let go of the things that are not important. With the constant barrage of information from the likes of social media, it is worth bearing in mind.

Forget Kids– Get a Dog is something that's not urgent but it is important to me. Working on it this week is sad in a way because so much of it reminds me of Billie. And he was the reason for writing it in the first place, as he brought so much joy to our lives (hey, I  love my niece and nephews, but...). Also, when I showed fellow cartoonists some drawings from the book way backin 2011, it had a lot of resonance. So I want to put it out in the world before it's too late.

And that's where we get to the next thing that happened this week…

Head to the archive to read more here.

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Newsletter Extract: A Hot and Dry New Zealand Summer

Canterbury is one of the driest areas in New Zealand but even by Canterbury standards this summer has been exceptionally dry and there is a worry that we may have forest fires of the like that the Nelson area has been experiencing. My folks are visiting in March, so I'm sure it will rain then, but I'm hoping that it rains tonight, as forecast, as we need it.

I am having to water the garden every day. Unlike other parts of the world and even other parts of the country, Christchurch doesn't charge for water being used, which means that people often let their sprinklers run for a long time, at all times of the day (when a water main broke under our house when we were away, it gushed for months without anyone noticing). I usually water early morning, or evening, but it has been scorching in the middle of the day.

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It is noticeable in the garden which areas I'm able to reach with the sprinkler or hose. Most of the rest of the garden is looking very crispy. I have to hike up to the top with a can to water my precious Bramley (precious because most Kiwis think a good cooking apple is something like a Granny Smith or a Golden Delicious - tsk.), but it's worth it.

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.

Illustrated Epistle Extract: Our First Classic Kiwi Christmas Holiday

Normally we would never ever go away between Christmas and New Year in New Zealand. It often rains and isn't that warm. And everybody is on holiday, as this is the big summer school holiday. New Zealand is as busy as it gets (which, admittedly isn't busy by UK standards, but  means crazy drivers on the roads and premium prices in accommodation). But one of my sisters was coming over from London with her family and the other sister had booked a bach for us all up in the north of the North Island, the Coromandel.

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It used to be that ordinary Kiwi families had holiday homes ("baches", or "cribs" further south). But the increase in property prices, particularly near water, has meant that baches are becoming places that only rich New Zealanders (or foreigners) have. We were lucky to be able to find an old wooden bach that could accommodate all of us (bigger than the one above).
I haven't been to the Coromandel in 15 years and it has changed a lot. The old wooden baches have been replaced by much bigger and modern versions and any available land by the beach either had been built on or is being subdivided to be built on. There are very few beaches left in the Coromandel that don't have baches on their edges (New Chums is one and it is rammed with tourists because of it). The developers have their eyes on these. The money from Aucklanders and other rich outsiders (beachfront sections are retailing for $2 million) has changed the Coromandel. Places like Matarangi swell from 700 residents to 3000 and it feels like all of them have brought powerboats and jetskis.

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Or head to the archive to read more here.

Illustrated Epistle Extract: Things That Will Kill You in New Zealand

Since we have been back in Lyttleton, we've had a few small tremors (3-ish on the Richter scale) and a larger jolt (4-ish) and I'm glad our house is timber and that the chimneys were taken down after the two big Christchurch earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. We live on a hill and there are some large rocks above us, but there are also large trees and buildings in between us and those rocks, so having those rocks come tumbling down in an earthquake is less of a worry than in some other places. A 7.8 earthquake in Kaikoura in 2016 caused massive landslips that closed Highway 1 (Yes the major road connecting New Zealand's north to its south) for over a year, so being protected from slips and rockfalls is a something you have to consider.

At least being on a hill there is less risk of tsunami. In 1868, a tsunami drained Lyttelton Harbour and then ran up 3 metres above sea level, causing damage to wharves, jetties and boats, inundating paddocks and drowning sheep. It was due to an 8.5-9.0 earthquake that happened in what was then Peru (see Te Ara entry). Our house is about 40 metres above sea level, which puts us at low risk of tsunami damage, unless we are down at the pub on London Street, though even there it would have to be massive.

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD

Illustrated Epistle Extract: What Makes a Place Home?

I arrived back in Lyttelton last week, after 11 weeks of travel in Europe and I'm so glad to be home. Nearly 3 months away was too much. That said, I went to places that are like second homes to me. I grew up in Dorset and going back there always feels like heading home, even if I can't spend as long there as I used to. Revisiting Hondarribia in the Basque Country in Spain was a kind of homecoming, as we left it a year ago. It is the only place other than New Zealand that Duncan and I considered living really long-term.

My travels made me wonder what makes a place home? For those of us who grew up in Britain and remember the pop star Paul Young, the answer might be wherever you lay your hat, but for me that's not the case. I've lost plenty of hats over the years and I'm sure some of them have ended up in landfill…

I feel at home when I can do most of these things:
    •    walk out of my front door and into the countryside,
    •    get to the sea easily,
    •    grow some of my own food,
    •    enjoy my day to day routines, including my work,
    •    go out and have a drink, or a nice meal once in a while,
    •    bump into people I know and meet up with friends,
    •    be with loved ones.

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This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

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Illustrated Epistle Plus: Things to do in London when you don't like big cities very much

I've spent a lot of this trip to Europe in London because that's where my sister lives and her accommodation rates are very reasonable (a couple of days of child care here and there). The older I get the harder I find it to be in places like London, which are so busy and so geared towards excessive consumerism. The best way I find to enjoy it is to seek out green spaces or places that have historic or cultural interest. London has incredible museums, galleries and parks and gardens (ranging from tiny private gardens to the miles of parks and ancient woodland that form south east London’s Green Chain).

Here are some of my favourites:

1. Exploring the South Bank. Walking along the true right of the Thames between Waterloo and London Bridge stations takes you past a lot of interesting sites, including the ever-changing London skyline. I make a point of going to the National Theatre's espresso bar because it consistently has the best coffee in England (IMHO). On this trip, I was happy to discover a garden shop en route.

2. When I'm in the area, I usually stop in at the Tate Modern gallery. Even if I don't appreciate the modern art, I always enjoy the views of London from the top floor.

Cous cous!

I don’t know why, but I like this.

3. The Guildhall in the City of London (that is the very central bit) has a lot more art that I can appreciate. You can also go down into the basement and see the remains of the 2000 year-old Roman amphitheatre.

William De Morgan ceramics in an exhibition at the Guildhall gallery

4. Many of the City's commercial buildings have small art exhibitions that you can have a look at for free. This was the way I discovered the wonderful iPad drawings of Linda Kitson.

5. Buying cheap and good bagels from Brick Lane.

6. I'm writing this in Briantspuddle in Dorset. Dorset's most famous author is Thomas Hardy. When I was in London I made a point of going to St Pancras Old Church, where the young Hardy (at the time an apprentice architect) had the unenviable job of exhuming and reburying human remains to make way for the railway.

I loved coming across this sign in an inner city garden.

Fleet Street is full of history, although some of it is sad considering the demise of newspapers and comics.

And then of course there are the pubs.

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This is an expansion of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:

http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD