The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Several years ago I was lucky enough to be invited to a combined book and exhibition launch for the Fizzers book from Mercat, a collection of caricatures of famous Scots by the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio’s members, complete with a full scale exhibition in the prestigious environs of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. One of the faces caricatured wasn’t an actor, writer, sports star or TV celeb, he was Thomas McKay, better known as Tam the Gun, the Staff Sergeant who every day at the stroke of one o’clock would load and fire the cannon from the impressive battlements of Edinburgh Castle, the explosion echoing across the city, much to the delight of tourists and locals often pause and check their watch against the gun’s firing (it was originally a time signal to ships in the harbour in Leith). Tam was the longest serving gunner in the post until he passed away in 2005 and he must be in photographs of Edinburgh taken by visitors from all around the world. The Chanter pub in the city’s Bread Street is hosting a permanent exhibition of some of the caricatures now and the Studio is taking advantage of this to meet Tam’s family so they can present them with the cartoon of the famous son of the city, a rather nice little memento, I think. (via the Edinburgh Evening News)

(Tam the Gun by Brian Flynn, Scottish Cartoon Art Studio)