✻ Oldie Towers is in deep mourning after the death of Elizabeth II.
Readers will find tributes to Her Majesty throughout this issue of the magazine.
We mourn, too, writer and illustrator (and Oldie columnist) Raymond Briggs, who died in August at 88.
The Old Un is delighted to learn that his wonderful, life-enhancing work is in no danger of being forgotten.
The first major retrospective of Briggs’s artwork is currently at Kirkcudbright Galleries, Dumfries & Galloway (until 30th October), transferring to the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham (from 12th November until 26th February).
This touring show features pictures from Briggs’s finest books, including The Snowman, Father Christmas, Fungus the Bogeyman and, Ethel & Ernest, a portrait of his parents.
Often erroneously described as children’s books, Briggs’s graphic novels (as the Old Un’s grandchildren are wont to call them) are actually suitable for readers of all ages.
And, like any great artist, in any genre, he took immense
