Town mouse on cartoonists

Jessica enjoys an evening of humour with cartoonists including Matt, Pugh, Steve Bell and Ralph Steadman.

Town mouse; country life
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(Image credit: Country Life)

Hip, hip, hurrah this week to our very own cartoonist, Jonathan Pugh, who won the Cartoon Art Trust Award for Pocket Cartooning at the Cartoon Art Trust Awards, held in the charming Mall Galleries. Champagne and fish pie, followed by toffee ice cream, set the tone for a night of occasionally childish humour and anarchic behaviour. Graeme Garden, of Radio 4?s I?m Sorry I Haven?t A Clue, presented an award with the wit and warmth you?d expect.

The legendary Mac (looking, forgive me, surprisingly young) had flown back that afternoon from a sabbatical in Australia to collect his prize for Political Cartoonist of the Year. The spry octogenarian Jerry Robinson, who created Robin and the Joker of Batman and Robin, presented an award to Steve Bell. But the night was underlined by Ralph Steadman, who, collecting his Lifetime Achievement Award, said: ?I?ve got a speech but f*** the speech. I?m going to sing a song instead.? He promptly launched into a rallying tune that threatened at any moment to spill into madness, but held on by a thread. His fellow cartoonists stamped their feet and shook with laughter

Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.