The West Dorset Magazine’s cartoonist Lyndon Wall has won a national award – beating the likes of The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Spectator and Private Eye.
This magazine– which was only launched in February this year – was the only regional/non-London publication to be shortlisted for the Political Cartoon of the Year Awards, presented in London by Jacob Rees Mogg and Angela Rayner on behalf of organisers Ellwood Atfield.
Rees Mogg handed Lyndon the runner-up award at a ceremony packed with journalists, politicians and the cream of the nation’s cartoonists.
The winner was a cartoon from The Sun, in which the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen are sitting in heaven, with the Duke exclaiming: “You asked WHO to form a government?…”
Lyndon’s cartoon, featuring Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng playing Monopoly, laughing, with Sir Keir Starmer as a ‘Borrower’ under the floorboards, pictured right, really stood out in the competition, with its bright colours and excellent rendering of many well-known faces.
He said: “I rarely visit London these days, preferring the peace of Dorset. In Westminster, my wife Cathy and I found ourselves among 500 journalists, politicians and celebrity cartoonists, all networking busily.
“A Tory MP came up and asked if I was preparing my speech. With all the top national newspapers represented I hadn’t dreamt I would need to – I was enjoying seeing the WDM (and our cartoon) coming up on the enormous screens every few minutes.
“When my name was called out I was ushered on stage, wrung Jacob Rees-Mogg’s hand, accepted the silver tankard and a bottle of fizz, and stood staring into a microphone.
“During the following minute the WDM got a great deal of praise and exposure – the day we went national!”
We have a BIG ask
While we feel so proud to have won a national award, and thrilled that we have had a few donations in following our plea in the last edition, we are still some way short of paying our costs. All but about 200 of the 18-20,000 copies we print and distribute are snapped up, and we get such lovely feedback we know we are doing something right.
So this is just a second appeal to support us in any way you can, so we can continue to entertain you with our unique fortnightly dose of fun, informative content.
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