This morning I caught an excellent documentary on Radio 4 celebrating the 80th birthday of British cartoonist Frank Dickens whose 'Bristow' comic strip is the longest-running cartoon strip in the world published all over everywhere. As it was originally published in the London Evening Standard of which I am a long-standing reader I guess Frank Dickens must count as another of my formative influences since I have regularly read the adventures of Bristow for years and having been stuck from time to time in various dead end jobs in the equivalent of the Chester-Perry building empathised accordingly. The documentary 'Holy Mackerel - it's my life!' was comprised of a 'sort of' autobiography engagingly read by Bernard Cribbens interspersed with interviews with various cartoonists who worked with Frank Dickens during his long career in Fleet Street. He came across as a rather sweet-natured and quirky eccentric not unlike his creation. Ralph Steadman I think it was mentioned the pigeon that sat on the window sill engaging in conversation with Bristow. I too always liked the pigeon. It probably helped if you were familiar with the Bristow strip but considering it was a programme about a visual artist the documentary was surprisingly effective on radio - not the obvious choice of medium. I liked it. More of BBC and Happy Birthday Mr Dickens.
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