Guest Blog - David Mackintosh

About fifteen years ago I went to Dublin for the first time, then caught the train to Belfast, watching the Irish Sea through the window. It was one of the most satisfying journeys I've ever made, mostly because it somehow felt like a homecoming – I moved to Australia from Belfast before I was one year old. The trip cost my family £10 – but largely because I didn't buy a ticket. On the train, I concluded that travel from and to Belfast must be this cheap for a reason.

I got to Dublin via the Holyhead ferry, probably not noticing at the time that it docked at Dun Laoghaire. But perhaps I did notice this port and recorded so in my notebook, because everything would go into the notebook I was travelling with. I have plenty of these notebooks now, from small cigarette-box-sized ones to hefty A4 journals, and more recently slim Moleskine diaries with plenty of blank pages for drawing. These are favoured for their pockets and the elastic that holds in the litter of tickets, photos, cards, papers and ephemera one gathers when moving around. It seems I had a tendency to soak elaborate labels off mineral water bottles in Meditteranean countries.

This habit of carrying notebooks around, recording memories and observations, names and numbers, dates and places has proved a valuable source of ideas for me. A simple drawing of a person, a thought, some lettering, an event, a view can be the start of a bigger story, irrespective of the location it took place. Visiting any of these little vaults can be a trip down memory lane, but also revealing because there is always something I hadn’t noticed before, and sometimes worth reviving. I can also recommend it for anyone with a head like a sieve.

© David Mackintosh 2012

Thanks to David Mackintosh for taking the time to write this post. This will be his first visit to Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival and his latest ( & fantastic!) picture book is The Frank Show. David will be taking part in The Big Picture Panel Discussion in association with Inis Magazine, alongside fellow picturebook makers Chris Judge, Sarah McIntyre and Steve Simpson.
Venue: Assembly Hall, County Hall. Date: Sunday September 9th @ 1-2pm.
Price €8/ €5 Students. Age: Adult & Teens.

Click here to buy your ticket online