Charlie Mackesy

Bryony Gordon's Mad World

The Telegraph

Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In a sea of beauty hacks, home inspo and brunch snaps, Bryony Gordon's first guest of this new series of Mad World might seem an unlikely Instagram star. But artist Charlie Mackesy’s poignant and heartfelt illustrations have taken the platform by storm - and have earned him over a million followers.

His debut book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, is billed as a vehicle for ‘hope in uncertain times’, and after a year of true uncertainty, he tells The Telegraph's Bryony Gordon that giving that glimmer of hope to his readers is worth more than any plaudits.

Plus Charlie talks about how he’s struggling to feel connected to others, why he sees drawing as a form of therapy, and how grief for a lost friend reared its head in an unusual form as a teenager. And if the conversation doesn't leave you feeling just that little bit calmer, the soothing sounds of nature outside Charlie's barn certainly will.

Read Bryony's columns: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/bryony-gordon/ |

For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld |

Follow Bryony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryonygordon/ |

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, by Charlie Mackesy: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1117718/the-boy--the-horse--the-fox-and-the-mole/9781529105100.html |

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The Telugu-Telugu-Podcasts
0:10.0	I'm just scruffy Charlie with a dog in a barn. I don't really know very much.
0:14.0	I'm not on one side of the river saying this is how you get across. I'm on the same side of the river.
0:18.0	Everybody else saying, I wonder how we can cross this together.
0:24.0	Hello, my name is Brian Gordon and welcome to the latest series of Mad World.
0:29.0	When we first launched this podcast back in 2017, our tagline was because it's really, really normal to feel weird.
0:38.0	And well, haven't we all had the weirdest of years?
0:41.0	This time 12 months ago, when I spoke to you from my bedroom, microphone hastily propped up on my dressing table.
0:47.0	I explained that we wanted to release some episodes to bring you comfort when you were locked down.
0:52.0	But I obviously had no idea what the next year would have in store.
0:57.0	And I wanted to start this series with a guest who I know has bought a lot of comfort to people during this bizarre time,
1:03.0	when it's been so easy to feel like you're alone.
1:06.0	He's an artist, an author, and the loveliest person I think I've ever met.
1:12.0	His first book, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, has been on the best sellers list for a frankly ridiculous number of weeks.
1:20.0	He uses beautiful illustrations and poignant words to depict the world of four unlikely friends and their most important life lessons.
1:28.0	The back cover says it's a book of hope for uncertain times, which might explain why I felt like now was the perfect time to catch up with him.
1:37.0	I'm talking, of course, about Charlie MacCasey.
1:40.0	Charlie's quite a private person and doesn't do that many interviews, so I was so thrilled when he agreed to come on Mad World from his cottage in the countryside.
1:49.0	We're still recording remotely, and like me, he's not a huge fan of technology.
1:53.0	But I think the bird's song in the background adds to our conversation.
1:57.0	And just a warning, there's a little bit of colourful language in this episode.
2:03.0	Charlie, we start the podcast by asking the same question to everyone, and that is this.
	...

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