New Double Vision

Slightly late but better than never check out Charlie Adley's Double Vision.

It's on, it's off... it's on again!

Update to previous post: It appears that the Macnas Parade has been saved. Galway City Council have pledged an emergency fund for the Galway Arts Festival, who had a major sponsor pull out earlier this year. Part of this fund is going into a budget for the Parade, so it looks like the single biggest free gig of the Festival. I think the Council are to be applauded for this, but there is a caveat: this money is a crutch, and if Macnas' funding is not increased by the Arts Council, and supplemented by Dept. of Tourism, regional development bodies and local businesses the parade will lurch towards extinction in the next 2-3 years. This isn't a prediction I'd like to see come about.

As for this year, I can't wait to see the spectacular work of Aine, Peter, the rest of the team and the hundreds of volunteers that give the parade life every year!

Allan Cavanagh- as seen in the Inishowen Independent!

I'm now contributing to Inishowen's favourite local paper, the Inishowen Independent. Above is a cartoon of the local candidates for Donegal North-East, l-r from top: Cecilia Keaveney, Frank Gallagher, Arthur McGuinness, Ian McGarvey, Siobhan McLaughlin, Padraig McLochlainn, Mary Doherty, Niall Blaney, Joe McHugh, Jimmy Harte and Jim McDaid.
And congratulations to Margaret Mulhall from Shrove, who has been named Sportsperson of the Month in today's Inishowen Independent. Each month a panel of local sports experts (sure that could be anyone with a few pints on them!) will choose a local sportsperson who has excelled in their particular field. Look out for future caricatures!

New Double Vision

Read the new Double Vision!

Cutty Sark badly damaged in fire

One of my favourite sites in London, dry-docked in Greenwich, is the Cutty Sark. This morning a fire destroyed a good portion of it, although apparently it had been largely dismantled for restoration and the damage could have been far worse. I really hope it's salvageable, it's a really beautiful sight.

Vardis Scam in today's Daily Mirror

A few readers have been saved from getting burned by Vardis from reading my earlier post. Well, Vardis is back in the news today, in this report from the Daily Mirror:

HERE'S a man who claims to have helped 500,000 vulnerable children who have suffered terrible abuse.

This is how he did it... Andrew Lownsbrough runs Vardis, a publishing company based in Ormskirk, Lancs.

His call centre staff cold-call businesses around the country, asking them if they want to advertise in its charity booklet for the Foresters' Fund For Children.

The Foresters' Fund gets a cut so everybody's happy.

Er, no, not exactly. Rupinder Lotay was asked to pay £347 for an advert for his East London bridal hire firm but was told that he'd have to wait two months to see a copy.

He refused to pay - like Chris Naylor, who runs a catering business in Ilkley, Yorks.

Chris was sent a proof of his advert but it was an exact copy of one he'd already placed in another magazine. "I believe that I'm being asked to pay for an advert in a booklet that doesn't exist," he said.

Vardis claims it distributes 15,000 copies of its booklets but just 12 per cent of the money raised goes to the Fund.

The fundraisers also insist the charity has seen a "significant increase in its turnover" during their six-year collaboration.

Which is strange, because the fund's gross income in 1999/2000 was £85,361 and it has dropped steadily ever since to just £32,000 in 2005/2006.

The charity says that it helped 285,000 distressed and disturbed children last year by awarding grants to chosen projects - which works out at 17p per youngster.

Last year, Vardis teamed up with the Laura Crane Trust, a charity that supports cancer research and teenage cancer victims.

Jacquie Roeder, whose daughter Laura died from the disease, agreed to an 80/20 split on fundraising - in favour of Vardis. But the complaints from advertisers were soon flooding in.

"We are very sad that people who wanted to help our charity have got caught up in something so awful," Jacquie told us.

"We saw some of the wall-planners and there were no contact details for the advertisers. They were effectively useless." Advertisers who refused to pay were chased by something called Crown Debt Recovery, using a consumer credit licence issued to Andrew Lownsbrough.

The Laura Crane Trust broke its contract with Vardis in September, after getting £3,520. The charity has no idea how much Vardis pocketed.

There has also been a previous incarnation of this sham. Vardis GB Ltd went into liquidation in 2003 owing £69,000.

The current version coincidentally operates out of offices that were previously used by the notorious Barrington House Publishing Corporation. That lot was shut down by the courts after raising £3.5million for wall-planners for sick kids. Just 5p in every £1 went to charity.

Lownsbrough, 37, wasn't there when we called, so we waited for him at his home two miles away.

But when he arrived in his new £80,000 BMW M5 he wouldn't answer our questions.

If you want to donate to the Laura Crane Trust, please visit its website lauracranetrust.org or call 0148 451 0013.

If you want to donate to Andrew Lownsbrough, you need your head examined.

Green Party's Political Broadcast

This is simply one of the nicest pieces of PPB I've ever seen:

And I know a few of the stars, so I have to put it up!

New Double Vision

Check out Charlie's latest article over on Double Vision. Art by moi.

Good Luck to John Cunningham!

John Cunningham is retiring as editor of the Connacht Tribune. You'll still be able to read John in the Connacht Tribune in his Corridors of Power political analysis column. All the best in the future John and enjoy the golf!

New Double Vision

I've published Charlie's latest article over on Double Vision. Check it out for a slice of Galway life!

Cartoons from Country Living!

Showband Era

Traditional Funeral

Random Testing and the Rural Pub

Shticks are Great!

Every year the Connacht Tribune runs a supplement called Country Living. It features a range of articles on modern rural living as well as nostalgic pieces on how it used to be. Frank Farragher, the editor always gets me to do a few cartoons to illustrate the articles. The above cartoons come from this year's publication.

Birthday Portrait

Recently finished piece for a birthday present, worked up to A2 size from an old photo of the subjects from when they were children (without revealing ages I believe it was circa 1970s!).
I forget sometimes being so reliant on inks that pencil itself is a beautiful medium, especially when you're working with a good range- I use B, 2B, 5B and 8B, starting with the hardest and working up to the softest, which corresponds with the darkest areas of the portrait. You need to be very careful when working with soft pencils as they smudge so easily.

Ryanair Cutbacks

Charlie's last article is now live on Double Vision. Check it out!