Tissue box

One of Smudge's favourite games was to find an open box of tissues, stick her paws inside and then scoot around the house pusing herself around with her back paws. I thought it was just something Smudge did, but now Bella has started doing it well. Bella's not as deft at steering her tissue box yet - she tends to keep going in one direction until she hits a wall or a bit furniture.

MTM

Probably inspired by memories of this...

What was this one about?

I always write my strips a few months before I draw them - I like to have a plentiful supply of things to draw ready for those times when I'm not feeling very inspired. (I'm currently writing gags for mid June.) However, as I just draw the frames, write the dialogue and then leave the frames blank, that can mean that sometimes I'm left scratching my head trying to work out what I meant when I return to draw the scripts after a three or four month gap.

This script looked like this:

Frame 1: Toaster.

Frame 2: Pching.

Frame 3: Blank.

I don't know what I was originally thinking of, but this is what I ended up with.

Schlump

Verandas are useful things. There are several Victorian villas in the vicinity which have them. I thought I'd borrow one for the day.

The view from above

This one's a bit odd, as it's one of the few times I chose to draw Smith from an angle other than straight on. Here, to give the illusion of Smith travelling downhill on a snowboard, rather than mucking about with a frozen solid skateboard on level ground, I've chosen a God's eye view. For a collection of bizarre viewpoints, frequently used in the same strip to great effect, check out Rose is Rose, which is what happens when the Family Circle enters the cubist zone.

Curling synchronicity

It's funny how some ideas hit different people simultaneously. I was on Facebook just before going to bed on Sunday Night/Monday Morning when Cynthia Sonier, the creator of Sooky Rottweiller messaged me to say she'd come up with this idea of using cats as curling stones. Alas, I'd already penicilled the art for the same idea that very afternoon, and I showed her the proof.

We're both Winter Olympics fans. Cynthia invited me to a wager where the characters would one strip would appear in the other depending on which country was furthest up the medal table at the end of the games. I conceded immediately - we may pick up a few medals at curling and assorted versions of sliding down an icy drainpipe on a tea tray, but we're at Eddie the Eagle levels in most of the other disciplines. In fact, when Jenny Jones won a Bronze in the Ladies' Slopestyle snowboarding, that was the first medal Great Britain has ever won on snow ever ever ever! So take a look at today's Sooky, there are a few guest stars playing curling in it.

Curling is a fun game - I'm lucky enough to have a curling rink in between where I work and where I live - the only one in England in fact. It's built in a shed on a farm at the bottom of the same twisty country road that has the cattery Billy and Bella visit when I'm in the States. Novices are equipped with 'kippers' to wear on their feet so they won't slip over on the ice, so it's not as intimidating as you would think. The special grainy ice they use on the rink is fascinating as well. The stones weigh a ton, but they're easy to push about on the ice, and the greatest exertion to be had is sweeping ahead of a slow moving stone.

Love is in the air

This is the song Jones is singing, Love is in the Air by John Paul Young.

Hotdoggin?

It seems doubtful that we're going to see any snow this year. At least, not in the winter. Maybe April or May will see a significant snowafall, just in time for the cricket season to start.

At the moment we seem to be having an extended autumn - the leaves didn't drop from the trees until December, when they were blown off by a storm that seems to have been blowing since Christmas. Swathes of the country are underwater, a series of landslips have cut off Hastings from London by rail, and the sodden ground, constant wind and massive waves have caused the following to happen...

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/story/2014-02-01/rock-fall-traps-man-in-hastings-shop/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-25594640

http://combehavendefenders.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/damaged_cycle_track_2.jpg

Thank heavens Jones lives in a fictional Hastings where the weather always does what its told.

Winter Olympics are go!

As is traditional with many features on GoComics, I feel honour bound to pay attention to the Winter Olympics. This strip, originally written in the autumn last year, makes an observation which is no longer original.

I make no comment on the sexuality of the Russian premier, or whether this may or may not be a good thing. All I do know is that I oppose his oppression of homosexuals and that every time he does a photo session he appears to be auditioning for the Village People.

Victory!

But of course, the Norwegians have got there first...

PS. This is strip No. 600!

Woolens

When Billy and Bella first arrived this was their refuge. If we couldn't find them we'd check the wardrobes in the bedroom and find them curled up in a reassuring nest of sweaters. They now only use it when the vaccuum cleaner comes out.

Sweepstake

OK, folks, it's time to place your bets. Will Smith* reach the top of the wardrobe or not? The answer is revealed on Friday.

*(I wonder how many extra hits I'll recieve for accidentally mentioning Will Smith? Ooopie! I've done it again.