Harry Clarke and a small gift from the Universe...

A couple of years ago I bought a Harry Clarke pencil sketch, a very loose one, of a boy on a broomstick. I love Harry Clarke's art, and loved the finished drawing (it's from a book called The Year in the Spring) and even if the sketch didn't look like much, it made me happy.

And then today I had a bright idea. I'd have the Clarke sketch put into a new frame, along with a small image of the finished piece of art, so people would at least know what the sketch was a study for. So I took carefully lifted up the rusting nails on the old frame the Clarke drawing was in, took off the back and lifted out the sketch...

...and realised that there were little drawings all over the back of the piece of paper.

In addition, the drawing seemed to have been done on a much larger piece of paper folded in half. And when I opened it I discovered two more full-sized pencil studies on the other side of the paper -- one of a cottage, the other of a dancing woman, with a bearded man, and a clown playing the concertina.

On a day of mostly staring gloomily at a blank screen, it was a nice odd gift from the universe. Now I just have to figure out how to frame it (and to identify the finished drawings the two on the back are studies for.)

Hi I just want to no if Mirrormask is going to be a nationwide release on September 30, 2005 or a limted release. Becauses when I go to yahoo movies it seys its going to limted release? So is this right what there saying or you guys don't no if its getting a wide release? Pleases make make it a wide release. It looks like a cool flim.

As far as I know it's still only going to be a limited release, initially into 13 major markets.

Mr. Neil, I have an odd sort of question for you. In the horror and suspense anthology 999, you contributed a story called Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story. Then, there is your what-happened-to-Shadow-after story, The Monarch of the Glen, in Legends II. Both stories contain a seemingly rich and powerful character named Mr. Alice. Is there any correlation between the two, or am I just reading into things too deeply?

Not at all. It's the same Mr Alice in each case (and the unnamed narrator of "Keepsakes and Treasures" is Mr Alice's aide in "Monarch of the Glen").

...

And here, from the Guardian, is the ultimate human interest story: Human Cannonball Fired for Being Afraid of Flying.