Rubies and Lemons

    British cartoonist, Michael Heath, now in his eighth decade, has been a visual fixture in my life from adolescence, when I first encountered his work. In particular, his cartoons for 'Private Eye', and 'Punch' filled me with joy. Along the way, his many wry references to the gay world were fascinating to this young gay boy. His satire was both sharp and hilarious; cosy and caustic. Michael went on to submit work for The Evening Standard ; The Evening News ; The Guardian ; The Independent ; The Sunday Times ; The Mail on Sunday ; The Evening Standard; The Evening News: The Guardian; The Spectator; The Independent; The Sunday Times; The Mail on Sunday; and Private Eye. He is currently the Cartoon Editor for The Spectator, a position he has held since 1991. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Michael, thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. I have been a b...

  Can you speak about the child Collings? Were you always interested in Art? Were your parents supportive of your interests? I only had one parent, my mother. My father committed suicide before I was born. My mother, who died in 2007, was an artist, she went to several London art schools, including the one I went to – the Byam Shaw.   Unfortunately, she suffered from mental illness and was frequently hospitalised for long periods, receiving ECT.   That meant from the age of six I didn’t live with her but was in care in a children’s home in a nightmare suburb of London called St Mary Cray, whose other famous son is Jeremy Beadle. I was there for seven years, then, soon after I came out, I went to live in a therapeutic community in the Kent countryside, near Tentenden.   That’s where I was a teenager.   So, I didn’t really have any parenting.      My mother’s scene in Chelsea was very ragged and bohemian and I was there sometimes, living a ...