Always fun to do a new venue. I had visited HMS Belfast when I was a kid and nothing has changed much I remember the claustrophobic atmosphere and feeling of gratitude that I had never had to 'go to war' at all let alone in such an unforgiving oppressive craft. How lucky am I that my only time onboard has been to enjoy someone's hospitality and the only German bombs I've needed to dodge are the one's from Jagermeister? It's well worth a visit because it's does remove any romantic notions you might have had about serving in the Senior Service during the war.
Access was simpler than I thought, via English Grounds, although there's a rather long gangplank to be negotiated and it's not for tall people with a very low ceiling height and plenty to whack your head on - I guess H&S didn't exist when this was built. Luckily my 40inch screen and easel is height adjustable and I managed to tuck in under the bulk head. Once they realised that my iPad work was appearing in real time on the screen a crowd gathered to watch proceedings. A major plus to working with the screen is that those unfortunate one's who don't manage to get their picture drawn are less agitated about it because they've at least been entertained by watching me draw the colour caricatures live on screen and for many that's entertainment enough.
One thing that did surprise me was how well the on board WiFi worked. I just assumed it would be affected by the thick steel construction but it was very efficient which meant that my subject's caricatures were received instantly on their phones which helps greatly with the entertainment and spreading the word among the guests.
