The past week has been a flurry of cartooning in the decidely warmer surroundings of Malta. The Cartoonists' Club Of Great Britain was holding its second Mini-Convention on the island, and families were invited, so we backed up our bags and headed for the sun. Apart from the obligatory sightseeing (Valetta, Mdina, Playmobil factory) there was plenty of time to enjoy cartooning via the daily themed competitions, speed cartooning, animal doodling and a cartoon-based quiz with possibly the greatest round ever-devised in quizdom. We also managed some more serious moments with talks on cartooning with Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash, while I did a talk about my experiences with self publishing. It was a great opportunity to share ideas and techniques, but what any gathering of CCGB members seems to generate is an incredible buzz and excitement about the art of cartooning. Despite the calibre of the other cartoonist pros you just can't wait to get stuck in to the daily cartoon competitions, and the inspiration is something you cling to for days afterwards. During the week I managed a first, second and third place, so that's not to be sniffed at. An utterly brilliant experience.