Laugh, don't cry into your beer
By Kate Simon
These are dark times, and not just because the clocks go back this weekend. While Phil embraced autumn by enjoying an internal cuddle with a pint of dark beer last week, I jumped on the number 38 to Dalston to escape the gloom of another Tory leadership contest and see Blue Notes & Red Hot Scribble, an exhibition of work by my old friend and colleague, Tim Sanders.
Tim’s exhibition at The Vortex Jazz Club on Gillett Square (catch it quick, closes October 30) features joyful observations of jazz musicians and singers in performance, and imagined scenes of the jazz age, many of which are illustrations from his Spanish children’s books, Las Maravillosas Aventuras del Señor Soul.
If you didn’t already know that cartooning is Tim’s day job – he was the pocket cartoonist for The Independent for 15 years – you’d probably guess it from his style. And, if you ask me, a look at life through the eyes of the cartoonist is just the tonic for our current collective blues.
The Cartoon Museum in central London is the obvious place to head. Here you can laugh rather than cry about the topic of the day, because the main show is ‘This Exhibition Is A Work Event: The Tale of Boris Johnson’.
The modern-day Cincinnatus is celebrated/vilified in a collection of cartoons by familiar and less well-known creatives. Apparently, Johnson is the most cartooned British politician ever, no surprise there. The exhibition runs until 16 April 2023 – on the last day they’re throwing an after-hours party.
The museum is also exhibiting an interesting collection of 10 new works by Sarah Akinterinwa, the first black British woman to become a New Yorker cartoonist. She has been commissioned to respond to works from its collection by Mary Darly (1736-1791), who is regarded as the first professional female cartoonist.
You could make cartoons the theme for a short break because Britain has two annual Cartoon Festivals – in Shrewsbury, usually in spring, and Herne Bay, usually in summer. They provide a rare chance to see cartoonists at work, browse exhibitions, buy original creations, and even sit for caricatures.
Close to Herne Bay, The Templeman Gallery at the University of Kent in Canterbury displays some of the treasures kept here in the British Cartoon Archive, which holds more than 200,000 works from the past 200 years.
Its current exhibition, ‘Exploring Philanthropy’ (ends this month), includes the first ‘cartoon’ that appeared in Punch Magazine, in 1843, titled ‘Substance and Shadow’. Doesn’t sound like a rib-tickler. Perhaps watch this space for the 2023 exhibition celebrating the archive’s 50th anniversary. Something tells me we’ll still be in need of a laugh this time next year.
Phil’s beer notes
While you’re in Dalston for the Tim Sanders exhibition, make sure you pop into the 40ft Brewery tap room, which was named Best Independent Craft Beer Taproom in the 2021 SIBA Awards.
In Shrewsbury, you’ll find the Three Fishes Inn, which not only offers a good varying range of local ales in historic surroundings but lays claim to be the first pub in the country to go smoke-free – well ahead of the legislation. Herne Bay is, of course, in the land of the micropub – try the Bouncing Barrel or Parkverville.
London’s Rosewood Hotel has a permanent exhibition of works by one of the country’s most famous cartoonists, Gerald Scarfe, and fortunately Scarfe’s Bar has a decent beer list (for a hotel) including brews from Partizan and Toast.
Or just go for one enormous cartoon at Portsmouth’s Bridge Tavern, which has a mural of dockside scenes covering its outside wall. Beers on tap include Dark Star Hophead, Gales HSB and the Fuller’s range.
Cartoon © Tim Sanders