More capers from Cornwall. Karen pointed out that she helped.

See also this comic.

As it says, we were in Cornwall last week. Picturesque, but food either uninspiring or over-priced.

c.f. this diary entry.

.

At last, here’s the output from Adam Murphy’s comic drawing weekend at the Ashmolean. Took a bit of finishing and, though the festooned bass viol appears to be of wildly variable size, I’m fairly pleased with the result.

Story continues below…

2

3

4

5

Transcript: Page 1

Ladies — this has gone too far!
I need another bass viol — if we’re to play the five part Byrd fantasia!
Hower are you going to do that on /your/ pension, Susie dear?
Well spotted, Emma. If you’re all ready, I’ll propose a way we can get one…
OLD LADIES in HEIST at the ASHMOLEAN
The “Somerset” bass — the only one of its kind
Unfortunately, it’s kept in the most secure museum in the world…

Transcript: Page 2

crazy, maybe — but I didn’t do that seismology OU course for nothing!
ZERO HOUR is in three months — Emma, you’re on Chemistry; Laura: Robotics; Eileen — social networks
and Alison… you’ve got a special job — knitting!
3 MONTHS LATER
[under the Ashmolean] Mole Ian – whir dig whir
~STOP~ tick tick
meanwhile in the security control room…
{pretty quiet today. Just how I like it}
[suddenly...] RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
strange – the whole building is shaking! must be an earthquake!
[and in the ladies' loo...] quake’s /exactly/ on my prediction
Now, come on Laura!

Transcript: Page 3

[Under cover of the quake ... breakthrough!] CRASH! CRACK!
{why do they make the cubicles so small?}
{at last — quake’s stopped}
[Eileen's been busy too...] FLASH MOB! ASHMOLEAN 3pm BRING INSTRUMENTS
[and soon the museum begins to fill up]
[at 3pm all over the museum]
[security are on high alert!]
LADIES
{one more musician isn’t going to be noticed…}
{and here it is}
PRESS
ZZAP {cameras down!}

Transcript: Page 4

Now Emma’s chemistry on the glass…

this knitted viol on a balloon will cover my tracks for a few minutes [clingfilm]
{now, nonchalantly!}
hey — you!
{made it!}
one short bus ride later…
Ladies! I’m home!

Transcript: Page 5

now for some music!
scrunge! screech! scrape!
No! No! No!
hey! this “viol” is made of papier mache!
~~ flutter ~~
Beat you to it, ladies! signed Old Men’s Viol Consort XXX P.S. come round and play Byrd some time!

Not actually a comc…

I found out recently about the increased poaching of white rhinoceros — due to the ill-conceived belief that its horn cures cancer. While the recipients find out that they’ve paid $50,000 per kilo of horn for something that doesn’t work, the rhino dies anyway from the overly aggressive wound. So my band Skeleton Crew will be doing a rhinoceros benefit concert in July. If you know any rhinoceros lutenists, can you ask them to get in touch?

This weekend we’re planning a heist of the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. They’ve got nice stuff, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to get away with some great artwork.

UPDATE: the heist was a fantastic experience — reccying the Ashmolean Museum with the security chief and operatives themselves (ex casino and police types) pointing out the various countermeasures and answering (most) of our questions about what you’d have to do to steal their artwork! Heist comics of may well appear on adam’s site eventually… (I for one haven’t finished mine, and it’s rapidly getting more complicated… aiiieee)

Well, Wednesday comic class has been cancelled for the foreseeable future.

It’s just too sad.

The picture is “No Walk Today” (ca. 1850) by Sophie Anderson.

Caption competition: provide a better caption for this drawing!
Drawing competition: provide a better drawing for this caption!

Happy Friday 13th.

For those mystified by the appointment at 3pm, see this incredible animated short.