Benton! Scottish Falsetto Socks

Brand new from the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, live from Richmond Park, it's Benton!



If you have no idea what this is about, you've missed this. Enjoy.

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Doctor Who birthday with the Scottish Falsetto Socks

It's Nov 23rd, the 48th anniversary of the start of Doctor Who, and the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre are playing their last London show of the year tonight, so what better excuse to look back at David Tennant's finest hour:



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Jellyfish In A Jar - More comics by kids

I've been travelling far and wide bringing my Comic Art Masterclasses to kids, and here are some of the results. These are the front covers of the comics that each class produces, in a morning or an afternoon, and takes away. Each comic contains a strip by every single one of them and a caricature by me, showing how well they've learnt to tell stories with pictures so they can grow up, leave school and steal my job. Click to enlarge, and see more in the gallery.



These comics were produced by pupils in Waterford, Wexford and Enniscorthy in Ireland, at Hull Truck Theatre, and at schools in Somerset, Oxfordshire, and Welwyn Garden City.

Any school, library, art centre or organisation who'd like to teach students from age 7 to adult how to draw comics, at the hands of a writer and artist who's worked for The Beano, Marvel comics and most points in between, please get in touch at kevf.sutherland@virgin.net.

And I hope to make a brief appearance at the Thought Bubble comic convention in Leeds this weekend, if you want to say hello there.

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RECOMMENDED COMIC BOOKS & GRAPHIC NOVELS for Comic Art Masterclass students, teachers and librarians

Why do I not wear a poppy?

Why do I not wear a poppy? Well, what is it supposed to represent?

When I was a child the poppy was the emblem of Armistice Day, marking the end of the first world war, "the war to end all wars", and by extension remembering the dead of the second world war, "the war the war to end all wars didn't prevent after all".

This was fair enough and, to my young mind, A Good Thing. It served, so we thought, as a reminder that such things should never be allowed to happen again. I was all for this, as I was by then, and remain, a pacifist. A poppy that declares that wars are a bad thing which people did in the olden days, was something I could wear with pride.

Added to which we had a fun competition at school to see who could squeeze the most layers of paper petal under the black plastic stud on your green plastic stem without the whole thing falling apart. This, combined with the trend for the widest-possible knot in your school tie, and various badges on the turned-up lapels of your school blazer meant we were at best wearing just an anagram of a proper school uniform. Poppy day in the 1970s was simple, morally clear, and fun.

Then came the early 80s and with it The Falklands War, plus the Cold War brought closer home in the form of Greenham Common, and my becoming a student. All this led to war suddenly seeming a very different thing, ie a thing that was actually happening and of which I strongly disapproved. I marched with CND (though for some reason don't recall getting the opportunity to march against the Falklands War) and when it came to Poppy Day wore a white poppy... in theory. In practice they were nowhere to be found in the provincial town that housed my art college, so we went sans poppy.



And poppyless I have remained, though by the turn of the century I could have been tempted back had anyone pressured me to. Remembering the two world wars and their cautionary message was still valid, even if the memory of The Falklands would now be occasionally roped in as the regrettable and avoidable bastard step-war which needn't have happened in the first place and certainly shouldn't have ended up with dead Britons (or dead anyones come to think of it). But as long as we were remembering that stuff like this should Never Happen Again, I could second that emotion.

Then came Afghanistan and then came Iraq. And year by year we started accumulating war dead at such a rate that a small town in Wiltshire has found itself bemoaning the fact that they have been deprived of the ritual of lining the streets to watch a regular convoy of flag-draped coffins going by.

And this year, on the big 93rd anniversary of the end of the war to end all wars, there is a positive epidemic of Remembrance Day programmes and events. There's even a special edition of Antiques Roadshow for gods sake. And we are made to feel we are in some way not supporting our brave boys, even being disrespectful to their memory, if we don't wear a poppy.

Well I voted against our brave boys - and I am not for a second denying their bravery or suggesting their loss is another other than tragic - being sent to their deaths in the first place. If that's not worth more than wearing a poppy, just because no-one listened to our objections, then I don't know what is.

I don't remember being told in the 70s and 80s that my poppy represented those "brave boys" who were being sent to kill and die in Northern Ireland. Or did I just not get the memo?

If I am supposed to wear a poppy to honour all war dead, regardless of the validity of the war, I refuse. That would be tantamount to declaring my support for wars which I oppose.

If wearing a poppy becomes once more a symbol that says I believe war is a bad thing which we should avoid at all costs, and we go back to really trying our best to avoid wars at all costs, I may be back in.

Kev F

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Snap! Airtricity vs Krusty

I'm in Ireland, in Waterford to be precise, ahead of three days preaching comics in schools here, and an ad just came up above my mailbox for Airtricity (as the name suggests, they're in Eire, they do electricity), with the oddest advertising character. Is it just me or is there a similarity...?

Krusty The Clown

Airtricity guy

Little things please little minds. As you were.

Eurozone - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

Brand new from the Socks, a look at the Eurozone crisis.



And if you're looking for the ideal Christmas present, there's always the 2012 calendar.




PS: Come to The Scottish Falsetto Socks London Showcase on Nov 23rd

It's at The Phoenix Artist Club off Charing Cross Road and tickets are on sale now. Space is limited, so get booking quick to avoid disappointment.

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History of Dance - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

Brand new from the Socks, a brief look at a classic dance.



And, while we're on, the brand new 2012 Socks Calendar is now available. Check it out, only £10.25, perfect for Christmas.

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