Not shaken but stirred

And so to the Reebok Stadium in Bolton and the very swish De Veres White Hotel for the Boot Out Breast Cancer charity event. As I mentioned in my previous blog, this is a James Bond themed night and I'm on hand as the live cartoonist.

The event has booked two rooms - one with sponsors selling their services, the other for the ticket-paying attendees. This is the one with the bar, dance floor, roulette wheel and blackjack table. All very Bond.

The first customers start to arrive, some of the men in tux and bow tie, not so many of the women.

I cruise the room and develop a patter: "Pay attention, Bond, I'm not so much Q - more HB. My mission is to draw a cartoon of you and yours is to liquidate some funds for the charity …"

My first cartoon is of a tall guy who seems to be the centre of attention. That's because he's one of the sponsors - footballer and Sky Sport pundit, Ian Dowie. (I knew that, of course.)

I make an effort to spot the famous footballers. This is easier if you concentrate on the wives.

At this sort of gig, people want to be flattered, which is always a considerable strain for a cartoonist. I appear to be managing okay:

I tell these two guys to make it more Bond, less Brokeback Mountain. Their girlfriends find this funnier than they do.

As always, it's more fun cartooning people who don't know I'm drawing them …

Result of the evening? Money raised for charity. No one throws their drink over me. I get out alive.

Many thanks to Banu Adam and Dr Ahmed of DermaClinix for inviting me to take part.