Age is no barrier

On Tuesday evening I attended the Searle opening at the Chris Beetles Gallery on Ryder Street. The problem was that it was so crowded I couldn't see the pictures, so I intend to return and have a more careful look. Ronald Searle CBE was 90 yesterday, and is considered by many critics and aficionados, to be the leading illustrator and cartoonist in the world today. Perhaps the time has come for the great man to receive his knighthood. From the days when he was a prisoner of war in Japan, right up to the present time, he has been delivering the most remarkable work, and age doesn't seem to matter. I can recommend that you pay a visit to this exhibition, and don't wait for his hundredth before we see the like of it again.

Last night I was at the John Martin Gallery at Albermarle Street to see the paintings of David Martin. Lively, fun and much in the style of Mary Fadden RA. I assumed, looking at the pictures, that they were the work of a young man, but in fact Mr Martin was present, and I learned that he was 85 years old. Mr Searle and Mr Martin are an inspiration to me as I approach my 70th birthday.

I left the exhibition to attend dinner at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant at Claridges, with a group of Canadian film makers who have just purchased the rights to False Impression. I cannot remember how many times I've written on my blog that I have sold the option for one of my books to be made into a motion picture. Currently there are six in what is laughingly known as pre-production, the most hopeful being Columbia's determination to make Paths of Glory. My son William often reminds me, "Don't believe it dad, until you're eating the popcorn."