Cee

Revisiting Department C S 

Cee/C (full name withheld - available on request) is a very talented illustrator and blogs under the moniker Sun Dried Sparrows. She was was born in the 60s and grew up in the 70s; that's pretty much all you need to know. That and the fact that she's my go to person when it comes to crinkle crinkle walls. C has attended all three previous BlogCons and I'm really looking forward to seeing her again in Bristol. Ahead of BC she's also agreed to a spot of mild interrogation.

* What was the first record you bought with your own money? 

My first single was Abba's 'Dancing Queen' in the long hot Summer of blue eyeshadow and double denim. But everything had changed by the time I was ready for the thrill of proper, grown-up record ownership some months later and my first album purchase was the Clash debut . I'll never forget my excitement at hearing 'Janie Jones' through the headphones in the record shop just before I handed over my long-saved pocket money. It's retained a special place in my heart ever since. 

* What got you into blogging? 

I was feeling a bit isolated freelancing from home, and also working in children's books it felt like a large portion of my life revolved around cute and gentle fluffiness. Too much. I needed an outlet which was more adult! I wanted to talk about sweaty gigs, first kisses, art school characters, life and death, weird people on trains and spiders, alongside more niche tastes in music, art, etc... so I thought, why not start a blog and see what happens? I could never have anticipated that it would connect me to such warm and interesting people.  

* Do you find writing cathartic? As cathartic as painting? 

Oh this is hard as; until quite recently, I absolutely adored writing and yes, it was cathartic, but I'm finding it really difficult to do at the moment. Painting therefore wins right now, and I'm sorry to have been such a crap blogger of late. Maybe that will change.

* Do you have a favourite record store and or bookshop?

 No - but I have worked in both.  

* Do you sing in the shower? 

I don't, but I often write blog posts in my head there. And then promptly lose the thoughts by the time I'm out. 

* Indian or Chinese? 

Indian. 

* You're known over at Sun Dried Sparrows as being something of an expert walking guide. Do countryside rambles 'do it for you' more than navigating urban landscapes or can you find equal pleasure in both? 

Well thank you. I'm a country girl really; aged 12/13 my friends and I used to go on long walks along bridleways, across fields and through woodland, for hours. We mapped everything out mentally: turn left at this tree, turn right at that gate, etc. I still have frequent dreams where I'm finding my way through rural landscapes with those kind of landmarks, it's embedded. The last time I navigated a completely new urban landscape was during a solo trip to Bristol ten years ago, and I got lost! 

* Pistols or the Clash? 

 The Clash. See Q1. 

* Travelling on buses - top deck or bottom?

Definitely top deck, front. The things you get to see - a rusty old coach in someone's back garden, a pair of shoes stranded on a rooftop, the intimate details of a gargoyle's nostrils. 

* You've just taken delivery of a time machine. Where and when are you going to?

London, 1967, to hang out at the UFO Club and attend the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream event at Alexandra Palace. I'd also like to pop into the early 1920s on the way and have a coffee at La Rotonde in Paris. 

* There's a Triumph Herald blocking access to your house. It's a rather tasty specimen but it's blocking the access all the same. Do you, a: harrumph and go marching over to it and leave a strongly worded note under the windscreen wipers. Or, b: - photograph it, paint it and write a blog about it?

Definitely b. And I'd wait around to meet the owner to enthuse about turning circles and wooden dashboards.

  ★

Thank you, C. Splendid answers! C tells me she's currently getting her kicks via Department S reruns on Rewind TV (a brilliant SMcSF above). And when I told her the esteemed company she was now in, having filed a JM Q&A (previous subjects have included The Swede, David Hepworth, Alan Hudson, Helen Zaltzmann, Mark Ellen and Phil Wilding, to mention but a few), she responded: "An incredible honour, thank you! This is the most I've written in six months, C. x" See you in Bristol, C!