A break from the old routine.

Front cover: Ann showed me drawings she had done in the second month. I scanned them using my phone and then, over time, was exploring loading them up to the Remarkable and trying out the pen with drawing. There was this combination that helped move the project forward. The ability to just scan in images I’m done, talk about them, help them slowly develop through conversation rather than long crits that I’d had from previous education.

01

Vauhall Caravan Park ,Great Yarmouth

02

booking in

Image of Ann and Margaret booking in and discussing how they could plan their break by themselves, away from sheltered accommodation.

They’re so happy getting permission from family to do this and getting it done.

This was part of a discussion that focused on all the key areas which they enjoyed away from the general routine, and how.

03

The caravan was quite important in this image, breaking it into small drawings of daily tasks, as it was a way of doing breakfast, washing up, then doing hand washing,

and then the afternoon of sitting outside on deck chairs.

Of doing their little things before getting ready for the evening entertainment.

They also enjoyed things like fish and chips or making their own Ovaltine

Daily chores...

04

Cup of tea looking at the promenade of Great Yarmouth

When we discussed the beach, we looked at paddling.

This was not a thing that either Anne or Margaret liked,

which had discussed the view and having cups of tea with the view.

This was quite key to interaction and enjoying.

Being there, but not getting sand and sea on your feet.

05

Running for the bus

One of the key things about the Great Yarmouth campsite was having to get the bus. We discussed this issue.

They had with the reception to the whole line of phones. The sketch didn’t work as it looked like people in the office. This was before mobiles, and the lady asking them to call a taxi when they missed the bus. So we decided to opt for this scene, which involved them running for the bus,

as it created the drama you have on holiday when you are running late.

This one developed from my simple sketch, and I started near the end just writing out the lyrics of the songs. Quite like playing around with the pattern and having them drifting,

as it captured how Marvin would listen to the whole structure of songs within these albums.

01

A jounery thorough gigs and band albums

which plays a positive part in Marvin's life

Ditchburn Place Zines

The Beat Goes On

Marvin's Music.

02

Listening to David Bowie in the lounge

The first focus was music and the relief and imagination it brought.

Marvin talked about listening to Ziggy Stardust and mentioned a couple of songs.

At the start, I tried to include the lyrics, thinking they could become a theme, but I found the result quite messy. I decided to clean it up and focus instead on the act of listening.

03

Driving out to Duxford to listen to Talk Talk live

One of the areas of conversation that emerged was a gig at Duxford.

It took place just before Concorde arrived, and Roger had organised everything by car because Duxford is quite a long way out, near the M1.

For those who do not know it, Duxford has a very distinctive setting.

It felt quite surreal: a large hangar, the kind you sometimes see in UFO films, which made the concert especially memorable.

When I was drawing this, I found Roger difficult to capture, so I looked at lots of 1980s references and chose the kind of haircut that was popular in Neighbours at the time. I was happy with that representation of him.

04

Listening to reggae.

We discussed two albums by Sly and Robbie and Aswad in a later conversation. Marvin mentioned that he had seen Aswad at the Corn Exchange.

I enjoyed making this drawing and initially thought about creating imagery inspired by the songs of these artists.

In the end, I chose to play with fragments of lyrics within the big bass culture surrounding a lot of Jamaican music.

I used repetition in the drawing and felt I did not need to include everything, just enough to evoke the atmosphere.

05

Autumn walking under the trees.

This is a season Marvin enjoys. I thought about changing the colours to red, but purple created a strong mood for the whole piece, so I kept that colour scheme. I placed him walking with giant creatures, inspired by the Massive Attack album Mezzanine.

The image of walking beneath the trees lacked mood of dray dreaming , so I opted for the the tree to also walk

Autumn is one of those times when you cannot take your eyes off the changing light, so I added the Orb's lyric little fluffy clouds to give it a dreamy quality.

Drawn and produced by David Manuell, director of For The Record CIC.

A patient collaboration with the residents of Ditchburn who gave their warmth and their time in conversation over 2025 and 2026.

The process is the process.

Talking remotely talking in the Room

I thought I would try some sketching. I have done quite a lot before, but I am still experimenting with this approach. I did not work it out or overthink it; I wanted to include it in my zine work because remote conversations and volunteering at Ditchburn have had a strong influence on the way I develop cohesive thoughts.

The discussions helped take away the overwhelm and decision-making pressure, allowing me to break down the ideas floating around in my head. I remember having a day when my drawings were not going anywhere, but chatting with the people at Ditchburn made the problems feel less overwhelming. It did not make them disappear, but it made them less of an issue and helped me be more patient with myself .

I looked at the idea of always having three floors. A Dalek came to represent autisitc nature : A postive woudl be the pattern i see it loation drawing and textures . A negative side woud be a robot on wheels hitting the stairs, sometimes repeating hiting the bottom step and never quite moving upwards, because sometimes I have fixed goal but when you dont sstep back it feel like this

I like this concept of characters feel quite positive to take back and look at he good and the frankly very annoying aspects

Another area was dyslexia, which I represented through a sloth sitting on dyslexia looking quite satisfied. In fact, most of the characters feel satisfied, dreamy, and not especially interested in moving fromit tree

For ADHD, I used many strands of hare holding up numbers. The floor full of hares are all very excited by these ideas.

I extended the Art Council bid process by turning it into a castle, because sometimes the work feels like a structure with a character standing outside it, alongside the image of a roulette wheel.

The first floor was about taking a risk, which all troullete is . Exciting but also you now the random act of being unlucky may mean you dont pass into the door

The second floor was about mapping out a plan. I found this difficult because I like to do things and have the right elements in place, but that can sometimes lead to blocks.Because of this, I have always found it tricky to promote that side of the process.

The third floor was about future impact on others is something I find easy dont t know how I get their but always see the endless possibilities .

Calculating things is quite easy if I have experience what i am doing and get my way round the word and the meaning to make sense FAs time as past.

I'm better at stuture time into chunks as doing on one thing day after day might be a luxury, but setting time aside creates space for thinking in good way on not getting too caught up in the process

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Research · in progress

Developing My Creative Practice

For The Record CIC · Company No. 16630605 · 19 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL

When something doesn't work we take time to talk out loud and work through it together.

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