Owner of his former home receives hand-drawn card each year
David McKee's card to mark the beginning of 2022
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Every year, Hugh Thompson, the current owner of 54 Festing Road, receives a New Year’s card from former occupant David McKee.
87-year-old David is the illustrator who created Mr Benn, who lived on ‘Festing Road’ and, in each episode would depart from his home to begin a new adventure.
The fiftieth anniversary of Mr Benn was marked last year and Hugh said, “ As Putney has made so much of Mr Benn this year I felt it would be nice to share the last two cards. It just part of the story of what a wonderful man David is that he send me these had drawn cards every year. "
David now lives for most of the time in France but sends the hand drawn cards to his former address every year. He is also famous for helping create the Elmer and Spot the Dog books as well as King Rollo.
When he was asked about the enduring popularity of Mr Benn in an interview with the Radio Times in 2021 he said, “Mr Benn endures, I think, because people like the idea of being able to escape to another life. And at their heart they’re old-fashioned stories which last. The elements that make up the episodes – the voice, the music, the story – are all simple elements that endure.”
David's spookily accurate take on what 2021 had in store
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January 4, 2022
