A Damp New Year

Happy New Year to all my readers. I hope you have your wellington boots handy - it’s going to be a wet start.

2012 has gone down as the wettest year in Cumbria since records began in 1910. Given that the Lakes already has a reputation for rain (it’s how we keep the lakes topped up, you know), visitors decided they’d had enough and stayed away in droves over the Christmas period. The tourism industry wasn’t too happy about that.

This became the main story in this week’s Westmorland Gazette and, as it is becoming a novelty to tackle a page one story, this is the one I concentrated on for the cartoon.

Below are the four ideasI pitched to my editor. The final one of the four is my favourite. Sadly, this also proved to be controversial; the Gazette’s editorial team felt that flooded hotels were too recent a memory to be popular with our readers.

Now you know which one didn’t get in … so which would you have chosen for the front page?

Cast your vote in the comments box below, then paddle across to my website to see if you were right.

Leveson - the local view

Today sees the publication of the Leveson report into press misbehaviour. 

Fortunately, the Inquiry’s attention is directed at the national papers. In the regional press, naughty activities are much less prevalent. 

At the Westmorland Gazette, our idea of a successful hacking operation is getting the editorial photocopier to work. Our biggest local celebrity is historian Roger Bingham and no one’s sure if he even has a mobile phone. And the only ones likely to be papped by our photographers are the sheep.

Stories here can be just as exciting but our methods for getting them are less questionable.

So what are the headlines this week which drew the attention of the Gazette’s cartoonist?

Anti-nuclear campaigners are encouraged/discouraged/livid/deranged (delete whichever apply) by a local council leader claiming that using Cumbria as a nuclear waste dump will damage it's brand image.

Floods have swept the area after a bit of rain.

And the council have given in to people who find it too difficult to type their car registration into the new parking machines.

Below are the ideas I submitted to my steamed editor. Which would you have chosen? 

Vote in the comment box and then paddle over to my website to see if you were correct.

Flood warning

The north of England and Scotland had a spot of weather this week. 

In the Lake District, 29mm of rain fell in one hour. As a result, Kendal high street was flooded and the drains backed up. The situation was made worse by cars driving through the flood and sending miniature tsunamis into adjacent shops.

Unsurprisingly, the topic dominates the front of this week's Westmorland Gazette and is the target for my editorial cartoon. Below are the five ideas I submitted to my steamed editor.

This week, I've also included the cartoon which made it to the front page - at least, in its first artwork form. It was one of those weeks when the drawing fought back and refused to go as planned. All illustrators have these (I hope). The final art changed somewhat from the original sketch. I'm not sure if it was for the better or not and I've included a couple of intermediate sketches.

Click here to see the finished, Photoshopped cartoon on my website. 

Do you prefer the final version or the rough sketch? Let me know in the comments box.