Punch Cartoon No. 1

The Flooring of Henry

“I’d never bet on something like that,” said Fast Johnny adamantly. “You did.” “I didn’t.” “You did.” “This is getting childish. Anyway, I don’t remember it.” “Be that as it may, I bet you can’t reach the boundary edge before that limping, three-legged Yorkshire terrier. It’s your ball.” “Are you casting aspersions on my fitness?” …

Read more…

Punch Cartoon No. 5

The Boonie

Revenge, they say, is a dish best served chilled. If that is the case, our Antipodean Cousins have a peculiar way of serving it up, especially where cricket and a picnic is concerned. Mark Hughes, known to friends and colleagues alike as Markie, had not played cricket since the under fifteens when he decided to …

Read more…

Punch Cartoon No. 9

The Tailender’s Scorecard

It was two o’clock in the morning; everything was going swimmingly when Henry turned around and saw Ed Valour swaying on the barstool beside him. “Could kill one of those gin slims you’re drinking only I appear to be short of a bob or two.” Henry giggled and felt in his pocket: “Ed, never you …

Read more…

Horton Tarot Card

Foreign Objects

“I have the body of an eighteen-year old. I keep it in the fridge.” Spike Milligan From my point of view this Milligan is pretty dark. You don’t expect a comic to think like a mass murderer. In Italy we have many comics. Unfortunately, they are all in politics. My friend Patti says they are …

Read more…

Horton Tarot Card

Ties and Bonds

“I don’t conquer; I submit.” Casanova he old lothario certainly has the bragging rights. Though if you ask me it’s pretty fucked up when a man believes his prowess is solely linked to his libido. I didn’t know the ladies suffered from the same affliction until Instagram came along and persuaded them otherwise. Giorgio tells …

Read more…

Horton Tarot Card

Waterloo Sunset

“When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.” Milan Kundera Italians always say London is grey. It is the common place, as we say, you English the cliché. And I thought the same till a certain lady friend took me for a little walk along the Embankment, just before the sun is …

Read more…

Horton Tarot Card

Risky Business

“You only live twice. Once when you are born, and once when you look death in the face.” Ian Fleming “There is a third, but you won’t know it until you get there.” George Giorgio asks me if I ever look death in the face. My natural inclination is to avoid the question, which just …

Read more…

Horton Tarot Card

Predators

“A gentleman is simply a patient wolf.” Lana Turner “A wolf is simply an impatient gentleman.” Giorgio A friend of mine, Patti, is a very important psychiatrist in southern Italy, I joke with her, she cannot become my shrink. We know far too much about each other. Anyway, besides being a shrink, Patti is also …

Read more…

Horton Tarot Card

Corporate Reality

“When I gain a pound, it’s in the headlines.” Kim Kardashian Giorgio shrugs. I don’t understand all the fuss about the Kardashians, he says. Weight gain is like corporate reality. It’s an Anglo- Saxon construct. But I beg to differ. Actually, I think you’ll find, old chap, it goes back to Ancient Rome. I have …

Read more…

Horton Tarot Card

Frissonance

“I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.” Gore Vidal Now the above quote is very clever or as we say spiritoso, but it is not the case when it comes to Frissonance, which Astrid who is into these things says is a kind of echo with a shudder. I like …

Read more…