The Land of Rusty Gold

I used to tell bedtime stories to my daughter Willow when she was little and I would hold her hand. She would never let go of my hand until she was really, really, asleep, asleep.

So I made up stories, with Willow as the hero, that were very, very, very long and crammed full of interesting facts. Some of these facts were true, and some of them I made up.

We invented the Land of Rusty Gold based on Haggerston Park which was just behind our house in Shoreditch. We used to take our dog Star for a walk there at least twice every day, rain or shine. It wasn’t a very nice park then, it was full of rubbish, junkies, drunks and burnt out cars and mopeds, but we made it magic.

In March 2020 Willow was all grown up and planning to get married in Hackney Town Hall but then lockdown happened and everything was cancelled. Instead, she and Jim moved to Folkestone and had a baby, Sadie

So I moved The Land of Rusty Gold down to Folkestone which I felt had a similar vibe to Shoreditch in the 1990’s.

This time Sadie would be the hero of the stories.

Books

I always loved little square books in sets so I set about creating a library of coloured shapes. Each book measures 148x148mm and is 30 pages long including the covers.

Each shape represents an idea but also stands for an individual member of the family. To see who is who click here.

If you want to buy any books, they cost £4.99 each. If I printed thousands they would be much cheaper, but then I would have to store thousands under the bed. Get in touch via the contact page.

The Spiral Suitcase is about imaginary picnics and climbing on top of the clouds

The Spiral Suitcase is about imaginary picnics and climbing on top of the clouds

Lucky Chip is about the transformation of a greedy seagull into force for good.

Lucky Chip is about the transformation of a greedy seagull into force for good.

The Talking Dog is about a rescue dog, Harry, who can speak, but he's a Romanian Migrant so he doesn't speak English.

The Talking Dog is about a rescue dog, Harry, who can speak, but he's a Romanian Migrant so he doesn't speak English.

Heavy Cat is based on a bean bag door stop who Sadie fell in love with in Northampton. He was actually quite heavy, so I made him a musician.

Heavy Cat is based on a bean bag door stop who Sadie fell in love with in Northampton. He was actually quite heavy, so I made him a musician.

Rusty Gold Christmas takes the story back to Shoreditch and sees Willow making sure everyone gets what they hope for under the tree.

Rusty Gold Christmas takes the story back to Shoreditch and sees Willow making sure everyone gets what they hope for under the tree.

The Magical Mystery Motel combines history and myth to explain away the unmissable eyesore of The Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone.

The Magical Mystery Motel combines history and myth to explain away the unmissable eyesore of The Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone.

Puddle Jumping tells how Sadie uses secret passages to spread love all around Folkestone.

Puddle Jumping tells how Sadie uses secret passages to spread love all around Folkestone.