LONDON CALLING... (Updated)

There are certain things I miss doing as I get older, even though I know I probably couldn't do them any more even if I wanted to.  One of the things I miss most is visiting London once (sometimes twice) a week - as I did in the mid-'80s for a couple of years - to collect and deliver artwork from and to KING'S REACH TOWER, the (former) high-rise headquarters of IPC MAGAZINES Ltd.  I usually made the journey by coach, which was around eight and a half to nine hours each way and pretty fatiguing, as it was almost impossible to sleep for the duration of the trip.

Normally I was working from the moment I got in to the moment I left for the return journey home, but, occasionally, I found myself with a bit of time on my hands and could go off and explore parts of London during my lunch hour (when I wasn't too busy to take one) or after working hours.  I was usually accompanied on these little excursions by KEVIN BRIGHTON*, an IPC art assistant (for 2000 A.D. and other titles) and/or MARC JUNG, the sub-editor of BUSTER comic.  (*Sadly, Kevin passed away on September 8th 2021.  'Twas Marc who informed me in a comment to the blog.)

I remember going to The IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM in Lambeth Road, not far from the ELEPHANT And CASTLE tube station, and (on another day) COVENT GARDEN, although, if I recall correctly, that may've been early evening on that occasion.  I also visited St. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL (designed, as we all know, by Sir CHRISTOPHER WREN) and took quite a few photos inside.  The one above of me outside its steps was taken by either Kevin or Marc.  The NATIONAL THEATRE on the SOUTHBANK was another place I enjoyed having a look 'round in one lunch hour.

I was in my mid-20s at the time, and it was only my youthful energy and enthusiasm which kept me going after a near-sleepless trip down to London.  Nowadays, I severely doubt I'd be up to the rigours of a nine hour journey without taking a long kip on arrival, but the mere thought of having to sit on a coach for that length of time leaves me exhausted and reluctant to repeat the experience - even though I'd like to see the city again and just how it's changed in the intervening years.

So, why'd I stop going to "The Big Smoke" (after December of 1987) if I enjoyed it quite so much?  After all, I was surely still young enough to have endured the ordeal of travelling there for another few years.  Well, truth to tell, I was a bit of an anomaly in the world of comics.  At that time, editors preferred to have their freelance letterers close to hand, which was why I made the journey at least once a week.  (I lived in Southsea for the first few months, so the trip wasn't as long or as arduous.)

However, once I proved reliable, editors didn't mind entrusting the POST OFFICE to deliver strips to my door in Scotland, and for me to return them the same way.  (Occasionally I would use RED STAR when a deadline was looming.)  I think I may've been the first letterer (certainly outside of London) to be allowed to operate this way, but no artwork was ever lost in the post so there was never a problem.  That meant I simply had no need to go to London after a while - it came to me.  In fact, I could probably have ceased my excursions earlier than I did, but I could always pick up some extra work from simply being on the premises, hence my continued sojourns over a two year period.

One day I'll post photos of some of the IPC staff I snapped on my trips to 'the office', but in the meantime you'll have to be content with the one of myself which adorns the top of this rambling reminiscence.  Ah, those were the days!