Lost virginity...

Considering I've been a professional cartoonist for nigh on 28 years, to only just have drawn my very first desert island gag is faintly ludicrous. However, that's what happened last week when the theme of 'Desert Island' was chosen by previous week's winner, Roger Kettle, to be the subject for the Caption Competition over on the Cartoonists' Forum.

For those who are not avid gag cartoon fans (how very dare you?!!), I should explain that the desert island gag has become one of the major cartoon clichés over the years, so it was quite a challenge to try to come up with anything remotely original. Thankfully, it was a challenge that the forum appeared to relish, with one of the biggest turnouts in recent months, and a wonderful diversity of gags ensued. Truly impressive for such a restricted setting.

I chose to go down the 'in-joke' route, making the cartoon cliché itself the object of the gag. The sense of release after 28 years is hard to describe...