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'BEHIND
THE APRON'
This section will feature special interest articles
about members' unknown fascinating backgrounds
- perhaps a hobby or interest that people may
be unaware of. If you know of a Southport Mason
who we might feature, let the webmaster know.
Thanks.
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Bro.
P Hardman
Behind the Skilful Artist's Apron
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ro.
Paul Hardman, was initiated into Tudor Lodge
No. 6477 in 2005, is a member of County Palatine
Lodge No. 2505 and North Meols Chapter No. 5828
who, after entering the brotherhood late in life,
has packed an enormous amount of masonry into
a very short time. "I wished I had found freemasonry
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earlier
in my life," he once announced - in five short years
he has ensured the grass hasn't grown under his
busy feet!
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Paul
providing a Cartoon Workshop recently
as
part of a local primary school's Arts'
Festival.
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He
continues, "I'm kept off the streets as Assistant
Secretary of County Palatine, Social Secretary
of Tudor Lodge, the Group Publicity Officer;
a member of working parties re-designing the
Group and Provincial websites ..... a committee
member of the Three Degrees Club ...... not
forgetting, an assistant editor of 'The Sandgrounder'.
He fails to mention his active involvement
with his Church, assisting his hard working
teacher wife, Mary, with her 'homework' and
on occasions, finding time to pursue his working
life in the media. I believe he does more
than his fair whack as a 'house-husband' too
...... the old adage? "Want a job doing?"
Ask a busy man!
Paul was educated at De La Salle Grammar,
Liverpool (1958-1964); moving on to St. Mary's
University College, Strawberry Hill (1965-1967);
completing his learning journey at the London
University Institute of Education. On leaving
Strawberry Hill he decided not to secure a
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permanent
teaching position signing up for Voluntary Service
Overseas, as a radio broadcaster and teacher, for
just under two years in Fiji with the FBC.
During this time he wrote, directed and acted in
many English language drama presentations also being
the regular daily presenter of a three hour programme.
In Fiji, Paul managed to make the entire opposition
party walk out of parliament in protest against
his attempts at 'corruption of the minds of the
youth of Fiji.' Neither he nor the Education Minister,
to this day, determined how he was doing that. He
was then drafted on to a Queen's Commission to pioneer
the first educational syllabus based on indigenous
history, flora and fauna for the Islands; he was,
of course, selected as the artist. His first job,
he recalls clearly, was to research and record the
most common fish for eating. After collecting 53
assorted names he concluded the task too daunting.
However, a Fijian lecturer friend pointed out to
him that he had only managed to document two unique
fish ..... the remaining 51 names were local slang
for the same pair!
Returning to teach in London, he shared a flat with
a few college friends. One was a northerner, like
himself, who had already wearied of teaching. His
pal was waiting to commence at the Young Vic School
of Drama where he had been fortunate to secure a
place. He attempted, on numerous occasions, to convince
Paul to go for an audition because of his South
Pacific associations - anarchy and ichthyology!
Paul recounts that he almost weakened on one occasion
but considered teaching the safer option. One night,
Paul chronicles, theself same actor borrowed his
prize Cuban heel boots to meet a girlfriend off
the train. When the treasured
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footwear was returned the next day the uppers
and soles were completely disengaged due to
the combination of heavy rain and putrefaction
caused by the borrower's acid sweat! The two
friends parted to pursue their separate destinies
after eighteen merry months. Shaking hands,
[outside the local cobbler's, no doubt], Paul
told him he would buy him a drink next time
they met, hoping he might have made the grade
as a famous actor. This promise Paul upheld.
His contemporary's name? Peter Postlethwaite.
An odd-looking but quite a fascinating bloke
with dreadfully smelly feet!
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Paul moved back 'Up North' to assume the post as
Head of Art at a Bootle secondary school. Whilst
there, he responded to an ad. in a local education
circular seeking suitable applicants for a month's
secondment to BBC Radio Merseyside's educational
team. Due to his credentials and aptitude, he secured
the position and continued to work with the team,
on a free-lance basis, for several years.
By now Paul had met his future wife, the 'beautiful
Mary' [his words] and they were both drawn south
to the 'Big Smoke' again. He secured a post as Head
of Year in a Chelsea secondary school and whilst
there contrived to engineer himself into the educational
department at BBC Radio London. It was here that
he formed a writing and acting partnership with
another children's presenter, Nick Hughes,
which was to last many successful years. Nick produced,
Paul directed and they co-presented a Saturday morning
children's programme that claimed a regular audience
of 2 million plus!
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Paul
hiding behind Jon Pertwee with (extreme
right) co-presenter Malcolm Laycock,
who went on to be the Big Band presenter
on Radio 2 for over 14 years and who
sadly died recently.
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When
not reporting he always appeared in the persona
of Lurch, the aged retainer and butler
to Nick Hughes. Because they wrote and produced
the material, they were able to perform with
some of the genuine greats in British Comedy
of the seventies without falling foul of union
restrictions. Lurch managed to meet
and sing with many household names : he's
'picked a pocket or two' with Ron Moody;
'camped-up' the dithery dodderer with Kenneth
Williams; sat down to throw out some ideas
for the last Christmas Special of 'Steptoe
& Son' with Galton and Simpson; learned
how to navigate the Tardis down Oxford Road
in rush hour with the then Dr. Who, Jon
(left hand down a bit) Pertwee; said 'Hallo
my darlin' to Charlie Drake on more
than one occasion; 'butled' with Gordon
Jackson and has been locked up by Stratford
Johns ... to name but a few! During this
time, Paul and Nick introduced a young lad
who collected weird and wonderful facts thus
giving him his first regular spot on radio.
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His
name was Jeremy Beadle - this was something
they kept quiet for years afterwards as they
didn't want to take the blame! From that time
on Paul was known as 'Lurch' and JB was always
referred to as Beadlebum. Also, regular guests
were Pan's People. After the shows
everyone would gather for a drink in the bar
round the corner in Hanover Square. On getting
to the door, the girls would all link arms
with Paul and Nick and burst through the doors
just to see the reaction on the faces of the
locals in the bar - priceless! The girls would
then invite them back to the Top of the
Pops recording studios. One week, Paul
remembers being introduced to a new group
called ABBA from Sweden who had just
won the Eurovision Song Contest. "I kept thinking
how diddy they all seemed!" he recounts; Paul
thinks it was Nick who said they were probably
all Smurfs! Imagine what a photo of Paul and
ABBA would be worth today?
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Nick
Hughes and Paul with Galton and Simpson
and the 'puckish' Kenny Williams.
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Local Radio changed drastically in format after
the launch of commercial radio and local stations
were gradually driven out. By this time Paul was
experimenting more and more with cartooning and
having some success. In 1985 he finally also wearied
of education and 'grasping the nettle' went full-time
as a cartoonist. The '80's proved very successful
with a studio in Soho; he was managing to corner
a fair chunk of advertising work but this ended
dramatically with the inevitable decline of the
'90's. His studio had to go necessitating him working
from home. Fairly desperate for work, one day he
visited some old friends in the animation business.
They had all recently worked on Roger Rabbit
and were looking rather tense having just emerged
from a meeting. They wanted to know if, as a cartoonist,
he had ever done 'storyboards'. Paul assured them
that he had, producing them on a regular basis for
TV commercials. Without scrutinising his work the
company took a chance and asked him to jump a plane
to Los Angeles the next morning! Being assured it
was just for four days, he waved goodbye to Mary
and told her he'd see her at the end of the week.
On arriving, the project director announced, "Hell
no, not four days - you're here for four
months!!" This was the start of a very fruitful
and exciting time working in Hollywood on the film
'Space Jam' for Warner Bros. It starred Bugs
Bunny and Michael Jordan. On returning
from Hollywood, Paul found work for another eighteen
months on the film in a studio right opposite U.G.L.E.
on Long Acre. Can you imagine how Paul must feel
knowing that some of his gags, ideas, background
designs and innovation were to survive the cutting
room floor and be included in the final version
of such a blockbuster movie?
Paul and Mary's eldest son was coming to the end
of his secondary education and didn't want to join
the sixth form. He was mad keen on film making [wonder
why?] and had the chance to join the first intake
of students to the new BRIT School for Performing
Arts. This was a very exciting time as there had
never been anything like this in British education
before. Caught up in the maelstrom of excitement
and expectation, Paul soon found himself 'back at
school' as a pioneering Parent Governor. As in freemasonry
of late, evidential of how Paul immerses himself
wholeheartedly into all enterprises.
Paul's jaw-dropping reaction on entering the first
board meeting was fully justified when several of
the members were instantly recognisable. The
'fifth' Beatle, George Martin, had always been
one of his idols and there he was .... sitting before
him! To his great embarrassment, he recalls, their
first dialogue was a very heated exchange when he
complained, on behalf of the parents, that the recording
studios (alas, his lifelong idol's responsibility)
had not been completed for the beginning of term.
Assured that no serious damage to egos had been
inflicted, they proceeded to bond well; afterwards
Mr. Martin promising that when he heard Paul was
returning to Merseyside, requested his details,
proposing that he would put Paul's name forward
for the new LIPPA Governing Body. Sadly, that was
the last Paul heard of it! Perhaps, had this come
to fruition, he may have been lost to freemasonry?
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Whilst
working as a free-lance cartoonist in London,
'Hartoons' contributed to many national
newspapers and scores of magazines with
a regular spot as the Sunday and
Daily Mirror sports feature cartoonist
for several years. He also spent over fourteen
years contributing the weekly Picture
Puzzle on the Channel 4 Racing
programme 'The Morning Line' on which,totally
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With
Terry Waite in the Cartoonist Pub,
Fleet Street, the night before he
left for Beirut only to be taken hostage
and disappear without trace for five
years.
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by fluke and to the total chagrin of the producers,
his weekly selections proving more successful
than those of the pundits on the panel with a
result that many punters would automatically back
his choice for the week rather than those of the
so called experts.
Extremely proud of their boys, now happily living
and working away from the family home, Paul and
Mary decided to 'up-sticks' again and return to
the North West to look after his parents. He has
slowly developed a new clientele as a children's
book illustrator working for such eminent publishers
as Penguin, Macmillan, Heinemann and
National Geographic whilst Mary is a conscientious
and dedicated Deputy Headteacher at a local Primary
School.
Paul is a member of the Federation of Cartoonist's
Organisations, the Cartoonist's Club of Great
Britain, the Professional Cartoonists'' Organisation
and the British Cartoonist's Association. To see
some of his professional work, visiting www.hartoons.co.uk
is a must; his Jack Charlton caricature is just
sensational!! I wish some of his handiwork could
be published on this website but we cannot guarantee
security from plagiarism.
Bro. Paul Hardman, aka 'Hartoons', whose
personal storyboard portrays the life of an exceptionally
gifted itinerant artisan, musician and thespian;
the skilful artist who, with the pencil, can delineate
in draft or plan, a hilarious gallery that parodies
and amuses, exemplifying a freemason's pursuit
to be respectable in life, useful to mankind and
an ornament to society.
I wish to place on record my sincere thanks to
Paul for his willingness to share in detail and
vital humour his entertaining life to date.
Rover
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©
The Southport Group 2004 - 2010
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