Sir Clifford has arrived!!

I am please to announce that Sir Clifford Goes To Paris has arrived! I will be visiting shops around the island signing books and displaying artwork done by "Sir Clifford". I will announce dates as they come.

Sir Clifford Goes to Paris

I am happy to report that my new book, "Sir Clifford goes to Paris" is at the printers and will be arriving in Anguilla next season. It is a fanciful story about a gecko that lives on the island of Anguilla in an artist studio. He takes care of the bug problems for the artist but one day she sell his favorite painting and his home. He decides to hitch a ride with the couple as they make their way to Paris. The story tells of his adventures in the city of light. The book was written and illustrated by me at my studio in Island Harbour, Anguilla. The illustrations were created in Affinity Designer.

Dreams of London

A short short story about an Anguilla dog and his dream of living in London.

By Jo-Anne Mason

Gomez and the rest of his family were born under a big flat rock on the Caribbean

island of Anguilla. 

We were surrounded by bush and short trees and when it rained which was not often,

their home would

get full of water. Mother could never actually get under the rock, so they all had

to come out when she would arrive home after a day of looking for her lunch.

Everyone was so excited to see her, jumping and playing and having their dinner.

It was all good until they noticed it was getting harder and harder to actually

fit under the rock. Mother came less and less. It became apparent that they

would have to go looking for her and abandon their rock home. 

Gomez

One day there was a strange noise

in the bush, we were scared and

startled and all of us barked

in our own puppy way. A funny

bark came in reply.

It was soft and sounded a lot like

mother used to. The human

(as we discovered later) was nice

and came bearing gifts. Snacks

for everyone. 

So suddenly we all had a new friend. 

She picked everyone up and took 

us to another place with a 

big soft bed and no rocks. 

“I am sure you will all be happy here 

while I go fix you some dinner,” she 

called and left us to take a nap. 

Dinner was great and so were all the other meals. We could run around a big area and 

play fight all day long. Our new mother would sit with us looking at a big book with all 

sorts of photos. Don’t ask me how I knew that, reader must suspend disbelief. Anyway, 

she was looking at a book full of pages and photos of a place called London. It was 

beautiful with tall buildings, lots of restaurants and big parks full of trees and grass 

and other dogs. They were all prancing around on leashes with their noses to the sky 

and seemed quite happy to be there. She left the book and day after day I would look 

and dream about living in London. 

One day a very strange family came to visit us. There were two big people like mother 

and two smaller size, like us. A big discussion started, mostly about us and size and 

many things I did not understand. 

“Gomez!” mother called, come here and meet the family. Not afraid of a challenge, 

I bound over in a gentlemanly fashion to see what this was all about. 

“Gomez, how would you like to live in London?” mother asked. I looked up, looked 

at the people and jumped for joy! My dream come true, I was going to London. I think 

they knew I was happy and the smaller ones danced around and the older ones gave 

me a quick cuddle just to show me that they liked me. 

And so it began, the journey of a lifetime. Getting there was the hardest part. I had to 

go in a box which I did not like at all but they all tried to comfort me and explain it 

was only for a little while. They were right, the box was just big enough for me to 

lay down and so I did and soon fell asleep. I was startled when the bright light hit 

my face and lots of activity and people and other boxes moved around the room. 

What a life. 

It was delightful, lots of shops and restaurants with great smells. Across the

street was a big park with grass and trees and yes, even other dogs. I am too

polite to bark so I just waited to see what would happen. We went into the

park and there was a place where all the dogs met to play.

They let me loose from my leash and I bound off for a meet and greet.

Everyone was friendly and we all started to jomp and run, chasing balls and

sticks. I met several dogs who said they come to the park often and always

had a great time. 

Finally it was time to go back to the apartment. High in the sky, I could see

down to the street and across to the park. The sun was setting on my first

lovely day in London. I had a nice dinner and settled in for a good sleep

on my new soft bed. 

And so it went. Daily trips to the park and walks up and down the interesting

streets with all the great sights and smells. During the day while the

family was out doing what people do, I find a comfortable spot on one of the

big couches or sit in my favorite spot gazing out the window to watch the

comings and goings of the people and dogs of London.

My dream of London came true!

Gomez is a real dog that we really found with his 

litter mates under a rock near Best Buy. He is a 

wonderful dog and a natural athlete. Although 

we could never part with him I will tell you 

that when I told him he was going to be famous 

and go to London, he went insane, jumping and 

prancing around the room. I was amazed. 

Anyway, I do these little stories and graphics 

to practice and experiment on how I want things 

to look in the real book. 

Enjoy!