SIGNED COPY PRE-ORDER: Giddy Limit 20th Anniversary

“Have you seen this week’s Giddy Limit?”

A phrase so often uttered not just within the newsroom of The Orcadian but throughout homes, workplaces and the wider community.

It is a measure of just how highly the Orkney public regard and cherish Alex Leonard’s prodigious talent.

It is scarcely believable that 20 years has passed since this local illustrating talent introduced his weekly cartoon strip within the pages of The Orcadian.

Two decades on, Sandy, Liz and Cheemo, Davo and Ivy, are firm favourites and household names, and The Giddy Limit, an enduring and integral light-hearted look on Orkney life.

One of the first pages people turn to in the newspaper, Alex’s true speciality is his exceptional knack for capturing every moment, and brilliantly illustrating this through the lens of The Giddy Limit.

The enduring popularity and strength of Alex’s work is a testament to the care, attention and detail which he displays every single week.

Over the piece, he has turned his cartoonist wizardry to all manner of local, national and international events, not to mention the humdrum yet humorous unique aspects of life in our islands.

Regardless of the subject, each time Alex hits the nail on the head with his trademark dignified humour.

Since taking the plunge to go full-time as an illustrator, and approaching James Miller in 2005 with a view to running a weekly cartoon strip — no mean feat — Alex has made the pages of The Orcadian his home.

This anniversary book captures everything there is to love about this brilliant comic strip, not to mention Alex’s other splendid creations, from front page specials to calendars. 

This twentieth anniversary book is not simply a book of comic strips — it is a fascinating insight into the intricacies and magic of Orkney life and society.

I have no doubt that it will hold a special place on any book shelf — mine included.