There are many more to come..... its been good fun. The 'Let's Goat Dancing' card has been my most popular and so I thought I'd do a range (maybe the whole alphabet?). I'm still working on the text...

Yesterday I went to the Theatre Royal Stratford East for an inspiring open space session for Fun Palaces 2014. So what is a Fun Palace?

Based on Joan Littlewood (theatre maker) and Cedric Price’s  (architect) 1961 idea. It’s fun.  It’s a ‘university of the streets’ and ‘a laboratory of pleasure’.  A revolutionary venue, temporary and moveable, housing arts and sciences, welcoming children and adults, with courses in mechanics or childcare, encouraging political engagement and debate, making it possible to listen to a symphony or stare at the sky.

Yesterday was for for anyone or any company who was interested in this fantastic venture led by Stella Duffy and Sarah Jane Rawlings which aims to create a series of Fun Palaces across the UK to commemorate Joan Littlewood's centenary in October 2014. It's up to each company, each school, each University, each venue, each individual to do with it what they will, the Fun Palaces will be as varied as the locations, companies and individual artists themselves. 

Both Stella and Sarah Jane were completely wonderfully enthusiastic and inspirational - this has to work!! I really think it will - there were over 300 people there, some of whom had come from far reaches of the country, and they were equally enthusiastic and ideas were flying round the room.

I illustrated a generic Fun Palace for the meeting which was displayed on a huge screen for all to see...

Contact Stella via Twitter @stellduffy if you want to know more....

Last week I completed a commission from my dear friend Tamara of the wondrous children's bookshop, Tales on Moon Lane in Herne Hill. She wanted a special present for a friend of hers who apparently is fantastically particular about things she likes. Two of the things she does actually like are doves and the colour grey. So Tamara had an idea to combine them and ask me to paint a picture for her. I actually felt quite alarmed by this simultaneously vague but rigid brief....However, luckily, Tamara seems to be delighted with it. Unfortunately she is yet to give it to her fussy friend (her Birthday is in a few months) - someone who has been known to return a picture as it didn't quite match the colour of her curtains. So I will have to wait a little longer to see if I have got the shade of grey right.....