07/05/2006 - Cartoon Reality - Andrew O'Hagan, writing in SHORT CUTS

CARTOON REALITY - Andrew O'Hagan, writing in SHORT CUTS -London Review of Books 11 May 2006

"Billy Connolly once said that the Queen must think the world smells of fresh paint, and so she must if her visit to Irvine New Town is anything to go by.  I remember there were derelict houses down by the harbour, and the Council bricked in the holes where the windows used to be.  They then plastered them over and painted curtains and potted plants there, as if windows had no purpose but to look pretty from outside.  It was faintly surreal, especially when one of the windows showed a contented cat curled next to an alarm clock.  For years I imagined the Queen driving past and feeling comforted by the town's cartoon reality."