Bottling It

Despite the riots and political upheavals in Egypt, the collapse of civilised values in the UK and the world teetering on the brink of catastrophic global warming, local newspapers can be relied upon to unearth the quirky an amusing. Just as the nationals can be relied upon to unearth it a second time two or three days later.

This week’s Westmorland Gazette presented me with a couple of odd stories. They both threatened to be more bizarre than any cartoon I could do to accompany them. Almost.

The first is a story about a couple who … well, difficult to explain really. Fed up with teenagers loitering near their house and dumping litter, the couple came up with a Cunning Plan to scare them off. And lo, the wife appeared at the teenagers’ car, covered in tomato ketchup, hotly pursued by her husband wielding an axe.

The kids drove off terrified and the police took an immediate interest. The court case is later this month. (I am not making this up.)

The second story is of a gentleman who possesses a fully working, 55-year old fridge. Possibly the oldest working fridge in Britain. So the hunt is on for any electrical appliances which can out-do it for longevity.

You can see my take on both these stories in the sketches below. Their spindly, quickly-drawn nature reflects the usual, tight deadline. Once the editor has chosen his favourite, the sketch is redrawn and submitted as final artwork. You can see which made it into the paper but visiting my website. But here’s a clue: It wasn’t number six.