THE DOCTOR AND MARTHA’S REVENGE (other emotional responses are available)

I used to draw a lot when I was younger, but nowadays, I don’t draw half as much as I used to do. I think it might have something to do with the fact that when artwork becomes your job it can stop being quite so much fun as it used to be. I still dabble, of course, but seldom with the same enthusiasm as I used to (other pastimes are available).

Occasionally I’ll be asked to draw something for someone as a favour and so it is with the image included here (other favours are available). This is a “leaving card” created for someone I never met called (I think) “Yvonne” (other possibilities are more than likely).

The story goes that “Yvonne” used to run courses, although I don’t know what the courses were for, but she was a popular woman around wherever it was the courses were being run and when it became obvious that she was going to depart for pastures new, some kind of “nice gesture” might be the order of the day (other nice gestures are also acceptable).

Now, the way I understood it, part of her courses used to involve some kind of reference to  “male” and “female” roles in society and, as part of the discussions, people would write suggestions and ideas onto “post-it” notes (other self-adhesive notepapers are available) and these would then be attached to either the “male” or the “female” life size figures that she would set up at the front of the lecture hall or classroom (other venues are available) at the beginning of the day, depending upon which of them you felt your particular note or suggestion was the most appropriate to be attached to.

I don’t know… it obviously made sense in that particular context.

Interestingly the life-size figures that “Yvonne” had chosen to acquire for this purpose were of David Tennant as “Doctor Who” and Freema Agyeman as “Martha Jones” from the 2007 series of the television series (other Doctors and/or travelling companions are available).

After a couple of hours of intense debate the figures would tend to be covered from head to toe in all sorts of ideas and such, scribbled on those sticky yellow notes (other colours are available) for later discussion and referral purposes.

Now, I never personally attended one of these courses (cleverer people were available), and I know not whether there was any trepidation for the first person asked to slap a note onto either of the figures, although I’m pretty sure that there are one or two people out there in the big wide world who would be more than happy to get that up close and personal with Mr Tennant and Miss Agyeman even though I suspect being approached by someone willing to attach a sticky notelet to your nose or wherever (other body parts are available) might slightly disturb even the most personable of people in the public gaze (lives spent in obscurity are also possible).

This illustration was supposed to show what it might be like if the Doctor and Martha took it upon himself to give young “Yvonne” a taste of her own medicine, not of course that they would ever have condoned such a mean-spirited thing (other revenge scenarios are available) and I do hope it was received in the friendly spirit that it was created in (although other reactions were a distinct possibility).

Meanwhile, of course in the life of a professional artist, other scribblers are always available.