“When I was ten, my aunty Jean entered a picture of mine in the Doncaster Art Fair. To my utter amazement not only did it win first prize - I won £5! I remember the noise and the almost terrifying sight of her bursting through the door brandishing the note triumphantly in the air. At this point I thought there’s got to be something in this and I guess from that day on I never looked back.”


Another wet and gloomy day up in Leeds today. Hope everyone is faring OK with the constant rain we’re experiencing.

Photo opportunities were rare, but I was lucky enough to spot Gill here in Millennium Square. She was waiting for her son to emerge from an interview with the Film School. We chatted about her hat initially, as she is from Barnsley (South Yorkshire), and of course the flat cap is the traditional head attire, for men at least. I’m not sure what the female equivalent is…

Gill was curious about the project, and asked me a series of questions and we chatted for ages before I realised I didn’t know a thing about her. It turns out, Gill is an accomplished children’s book illustrator. I asked her if I would know any of her books, and she reeled some off but unfortunately I didn’t recognise any.

“You can Google me!” she replied excitedly.

And I said I would, and link her work also.

The quote above is actually taken from her bio. I thought it was such a brilliant piece of story telling that I had to include it!

Soon, her son came out looking a little worse for wear, if I’m honest. “It’s been a long day,” Gill explained. We had a laugh afterwards as the only person who popped into my mind after hearing his name was Saul, from the TV series, Breaking Bad.

“Yes, he has a t-shirt that says ‘Better Call Saul!'”

I felt a little awkward as mother and son chatted for a little about the interview, Saul preferring Lincoln to Leeds, so I said my goodbyes and left them to catch-up.


Humans of Leeds