Lumiere projection on the church outside our hotel, Kings Lynn
In July 2021 I have more than made up for all the driving I didn’t do in 2020. Nostalgic for 2020, and all that blissful staying at home drawing graphic novels!
My travels in July have been too far and too detailed to bore you with. If you’ve read my comic class posts, the nice ones with photos of the kids work in, you’ll see I’ve been up to North Yorkshire twice. And that’s just for starters. Check out this timetable of travels:
June 27/8/9 - Drive up to Grassington Festival (in fact a hotel in Burnsall). Do a school on Monday morning, then The Socks do The Frog & Bucket in Manchester that night, and I stay over halfway at a Holiday Inn in Burnley, then do a day at school in Beamsley North Yorks Tuesday then drive home to Clevedon.
July 2 - Lichfield, The Socks play the Garrick Theatre
July 3 - The Socks play Clevedon, a blissfully short drive
July 5 - Ysgol Y Lawny in South Wales have their classes on Zoom. Luxury.
Jul 8 - Overstone Primary Northampton, and back.
July 11/12/13 - Bristol Comic Con for the day, then drive back up to Grassington Festival, staying in hotels in Burnsall and Kettlewell, doing classes in 4 schools (the last one on Zoom from the school down the road, because they had to self-isolate) then home to Clevedon.
July 14 - Blowers Green primary in Dudley, and home.
July 15/16 - To Somerville Primary in Birmingham, and home each night.
July 17 - To Baldock Arts Centre in Herts, and back. Return journeys on Friday and Saturday afternoons take at least an hour longer than normal, of course, it being the summer.
At this point the summer heatwave kicks in and, though I have mocked people for moaning about the heat online, it is worth noting that my air conditioning is broken in my car (it needs “re-gassing” apparently, which costs £250 and which I decided against when it was serviced back in the cold, wet, wastes of April or May) so I’ve been doing these very long journeys in a very hot car with the windows rolled down. I’m just saying (that I’m an idiot who should have got as air con fixed when he could, and not leave it till the week after next which will be, inevitably, way too late!)
July 18 - Hev & I travel up to Bodelwyddan to see Hev’s parents. Hev’s Auntie Kathie has just died, so the funeral is about to happen. So we go up for this first visit, and will be back again a few days later. Drive back July 19.
July 20 - I have to go up to Kings Lynn to do a school and I convince Hev to join me. Am glad I did as she has a great time, staying in her first hotel in over 18 months and having her first time alone in a strange town in all that time too. I think that’s good for her, though to be fair it is balanced up by her having to share the hell of my air-condition-free car on the hottest days of the year. (They are very hot, though I’m not ungrateful and will never complain about the few days of good weather this country sees in a year!)
July 21 - I do Howard Junior school in Kings Lynn, then Hev & I drive to Bodelwyddan. It is a very long and very hot drive indeed.
July 22 - Kathie’s funeral. We watch it from outside the chapel on Zoom, because of limited numbers inside, then take Audrey out for tea and cake, with Annette and John. It is Aud’s first time out of the house, virtually, in a year and a half, and is a good time, given the circumstances. Hev and I drive home that night.
July 23 - I have to drive up to Shrewsbury for the Comic Con and persuade Hev to come with me. Glad she did, as this is another very welcome break for her, plus we get a four poster bed which would have been wasted on me alone.
July 24 - I do a class in the morning in Shrewsbury, then Hev and I drive to Bedford where the Socks do a cracking show at 6 o’clock at night, then we drive all the way home to Clevedon.
I haven’t counted up to the miles yet. But July goes Clevedon - North Yorks - Manchester - North Yorks - Clevedon - Lichfield - Clevedon - Northants - Clevedon - Bristol - North Yorks - Clevedon - Dudley - Clevedon - Birmingham - Clevedon - Birmingham again - Clevedon - Baldock - Clevedon - Bodelwyddan - Clevedon - Kings Lynn - Bodelwyddan - Clevedon - Shrewsbury - Bedford - Clevedon.
Next week is a bit quieter. But you wait for August…
Friday evening meal at Shrewsbury Comic Con with Mike Perkins, Charlie Adlard + wife, Shane Chebsey, Sam Morgan, Sara Prince + partner Lee.
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