James Garner's Blog

Rosalind the Butterfly can be found fluttering about within the Summer pages, she is named after my Mum who was instrumental in supplying me with plant facts for the book. Like a butterfly, she loves being around plants and is less likely to be spotted during the colder months. When my Sister and I were young, she wrote and illustrated a book for us where we took the starring roles, depicted in various types of weather - this was another strong link in the chain on the journey towards Bob and the River of Time.

My Mum's ancestry is descended from the name Turner originating from South Molton, Devon (my Grandmother being a Turner before marriage) my Great Aunt Phyllis supplied my Mum with a family tree that links back to the artist 'Joseph Mallord William Turner' I've done my own research on this and though there are a few date discrepancies from what I've found online, the names tie up. If correct, my 5th great Grandparents would have been Joseph Turner's Grandparents - I still need to verify this properly at some point!

The illustration is of my Mum when she was in her early 20's which I drew for her 60th birthday and the painting is a reproduction of JMW Turner's "The Fighting Temeraire" which I did when I was about 20

Dave the Mole is one of the more hidden creatures in the book , he can be found within the Summer pages. I named him after my Dad who has been known to exhibit mole like tendencies from time to time, especially digging holes - more physically than metaphorically (although the latter has been known) as, though now largely retired, he is a builder whose work has 'garnered' much respect. Not least, his crowning achievement - Thurnham Mill which we moved into when I was seven years old,

Over the course of time he converted what was a derelict shell into a beautiful home - I was lucky to spend most of my early years there and being nestled right next to the River Len, almost certainly provided most of the inspiration for Bob and the River of Time.

For anyone who is interested, a time-lapse video of the creation of ' Dave the Mole' can be seen here: https://youtu.be/fXks_dEizI4

Bob is the protagonist, a bit of a Zen like chap. I named him after my Grandad who was a Captain in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, his real name was Gerald but everyone called him Bob because when he was young, he shared a likeness with the little guy in Sir John Everett Millais' painting 'Bubbles' which was used in the Pears Soap poster, so as an infant he was referred to as 'Bubbles' which down the line became 'Bob' which in time became my protagonists' name - as is the course of the River of Time!