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.

Feeling blue

This week at the cutting edge of the cartoon news front, a bewildering array of stories presented themselves.

Firstly, the Kendal Torchlight Procession, a much-loved tradition which has taken place for thousands of years, has been cancelled for 2012. No one know why. Even Woodward and Bernstein, the Gazette's farming correspondents, can't get to the bottom of it.

Secondly, there has been more rain. In fact, more rain than you can shake an umbrella at. So much that a local caravan park has offered a day's free holiday for anyone on holiday who suffers an above-average day of rain.

Finally, in the brave-new Camoron-ruled Britain, Cumbria Constabulary are forced to sell off one of their police stations. (It comes complete with matching pairs of handcuffs, for all you 50 Shades of Grey readers.) The local community were hoping to buy it for affordable housing. However the police decided to sell it at auction and got less than Ambleside community were offering.

Here are the sketches presented to my steamed editor. To find out which one graces the front page, you will have to visit my website.