Wy Doodles

And because I'm spoiling you tonight, it's a Tiny Chumps double bill.

Last weekend they held a belated Bonfire Night display down on the Tiny Chumps Farm. Whilst James did all the pre-ignition checks and tried to ensure the event was safe and entertaining for all, Jeremy in particular decided to make things go with a bang.

(Although this was drawn last weekend, I didn't want to post something silly on Remembrance weekend because it didn't feel like the right thing to do, so it's now a bit late but I think that's OK)

Tonight was the BBC's annual charity fundraiser Children In Need, and having a bit more time on their hands now, the Tiny Chumps decided to undertake some sponsored events and raise some money for a good cause. Richard went on a sponsored walk, Jeremy was... encouraged... to do a sponsored silence.

As for James, he decided to spend the day in a bathtub full of Spam and beans. It's not clear whether this was a sponsored event or just a typical Friday for him.

The Tiny Chumps are celebrating Halloween with another trip to the movies. This year they're dressing up as the Sanderson Sisters, though being the Tiny Chumps, they had to put their own spin on it... so their version is not so much Disney's Hocus Pocus as Ford Focus Pocus!

I've actually been toying with the idea of this for quite some time and I never quite had a punchline for it until a couple of days ago. And, as usual, when it hit me, I couldn't believe it took me so long. So I hope you like this seasonal slice of silliness. Happy Halloween!

Now the dust has settled, the Tiny Chumps were at a bit of a loose end, but Mr Wilman had a suggestion for them - at this time of year, celebrities with nothing better do get the Strictly treatment, so they should swap their driving shoes for dancing shoes. They still managed to get the wrong end of the stick though; in their world, "Strictly" means "Strictly No Parking".

Here, they're really getting into the swing of things, with Richard giving it the full Fred Astaire, Jeremy as a maraca-toting salsa king, and James... well, nobody's completely certain whether he's ready to rumba or he's just turned up wearing his pyjamas.

After 22 years of adventures, chaos, cars, and ups and downs, the Big Chumps brought their career together to a close with One for the Road. It was a perfect finale, and a moment to look back at where it all began.

And in true Tiny Chumps style, I've done a little doodle to mark the moment (and good grief, Richard's shirt from his first episode of Top Gear was... um... a strong fashion choice).

But fear not - the Tiny Chump Adventures will not be disappearing into the sunset any time soon. They've only been going since 2016, so they've got a long way to go before they catch up!

It's Election Day in the UK, with polling stations open until 10pm tonight. The Tiny Chumps would like to remind you to use your vote, and remember that you need to bring photo ID with you to the polling station. Don't worry if you can't find your polling card though - you don't need that to vote. Just remember - if you don't bother voting, you can't really complain if you don't like the result!

The Tiniest Chump had a very big responsibility at the D Day 80th anniversary commemorations last week - driving Field Marshal Montgomery's Rolls-Royce Wraith back to Normandy, where the very same car had once carried him across the sands of Juno Beach as he took charge of Allied troops. Driving an 85 year old Rolls-Royce across a beach sounds like a very Chumpish thing to do, but Monty did it about sixty years before that kind of malarkey happened on the telly.

And in the real world, the original Tiniest Chump actually did drive "Monty's Rolls" back to Normandy last week, following a major restoration of the car that was carried out by the team at his workshop (The Smallest Cog) in Hereford. I couldn't resist having a doodle to mark the occasion.

I wasn't going to let May go by without a doodle of James, was I?

I'm not sure what to say about this one, apart from to apologise profusely to the Renaissance master painter Sandro Botticelli for taking inspiration from his Birth of Venus. I'd not been sure what to draw, but I stumbled on some quick thumbnails I'd doodled, and one of them was this - James, Venus-like, emerging not from a shell, but from a pie (well, James does like a pie). I'd put it aside as a bit *too* silly, but when I looked at it again, I thought "why not?"

So here it is. James riding the waves in a giant pie, washing up on a sea of gravy to land on shores of mashed potato and mushy peas, as a garnish of parsley falls from the sky like frizzled green confetti.

I've no idea why I didn't do it sooner.

Oh dear. Down on the farm, the bucolic peace has been shattered by the sounds of battle. There's an invasion in the barley field threatening the brewing operation, and Farmer Jeremy has taken his usual subtle approach to solving the problems (the supply of lager has to be protected at all costs, apparently). I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to let him loose with a self-propelled gun, but he meant it when he said he'd declared a "war on slugs"...

Well, my plan to be more regular with my drawing this year was made with the best of intentions, but it didn't take into account an absolutely savage respiratory virus that flattened me on Easter weekend and is only now going away. Bah.

Anyway...

Down on the Tiny Chumps Farm, spring has finally sprung! Jeremy can hardly move for lambs, piglets and calves. Meanwhile, Richard's farm work has been interrupted by a goat butting in, and James has well and truly put his foot in it - and his customary exclamation seems to have attracted the attention of a cheeky cockerel. Still, at least he found a smock in his favourite colours!

Earlier, I saw a photo taken on location in Mauritania where the three Big Chumps were posing with their various senses blocked. It wasn't a very big photo and I can't find it again, so I decided I'd create my own version - the Three Wise(ish) Chumpys - and I honestly have no idea why I've never thought of this before!

The Tiny Chumps have managed to get hold of a dragon for the Lunar New Year celebrations! They've carefully made their plans so that Jeremy and James are at either end and Richard doesn't have to hold the head or tail up high, and they've practiced making the dragon dance and twirl. It went fine in rehearsal, but unfortunately, when they took their dragon to London's Chinatown to join the Year of the Dragon celebrations, James got distracted and is about to head off in entirely the wrong direction, creating some kind of serpentine PushMe-PullYou...

I did want to have this completely in time for Lunar New Year's Day, but unfortunately, my ongoing battle with hypermobility and fibro meant my hands absolutely refused to cooperate, so it sat around as a line drawing for about a week. On the bright side, Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations go on for fifteen days (I am not sure how long the celebrations go on in other cultures that use the lunar calendar), so I'm still within the window for posting this! Today (16th February) is the 7th day of the first lunar month, and it's traditionally the day humans were created - so happy birthday, humans, and a very happy Year of the Dragon!

Remember I said I'd doodled something in January that I couldn't share yet? The day has come when I can. It's a bit of a departure for me, but to celebrate a friend's birthday, I decided to doodle one of her favourite bands - Hey, hey, it's The Monkees!

I am not big on resolutions, but one of my hopes has been to draw at least one new doodle every month this year (this is technically my second, but the first one is a surprise for someone so I can't post it yet). I'm a bit behind on actually posting this, but I successfully drew in January, so that's one down, eleven to go...

The Tiny Chumps' resolution was to be more active, and work on their fitness... but then they decided they'd just look the part and wing it, and see if they could sneak into the lineup of the BBC's new Gladiators reboot. They've got the outfits, they've got the pugil sticks, and they've got the names: Hamster, Power, and Largo. Gladiators... READY!

We made it through another year, everyone! Thank you so much for bearing with me through my art block and less than brilliant health in 2023. The Tiny Chumps are looking forward to new adventures, mischief and chaos in 2024.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I know I posted the picture I'd been sitting on since last year yesterday, but it turns out my Christmas evening habit of doodling in front of the telly continues unabated. This time I was watching Home Alone, and before I knew it, this happened.

A very merry Christmas one and all, from the TIny Chumps and me!

I've been waiting almost a year to share this one, because I finished it just before New Year, by which point Jeremy delivering the results of him mishearing James and Richard's request to bring some mistletoe for decorating the farm was a bit out of date. But here we are, a year later, and Jeremy still can't understand what's wrong with a nice festive missile toad, all tied up with a shiny bow. And James and Richard still despair.

Merry Christmas Eve, everybody!