Every spread, full size

Waiting on ink

18 stories are written up but not drawn yet. Here's the bit that makes you want each one — tap through for the whole thing.

• 27Not drawn yet

  Donuts On The Rec

  1994 · The recreation ground, Bramblewick

  The recreation ground is empty, the grass is wet, and we've just borrowed a car with very bald tyres. It is the perfect recipe for skids…

  “Round and round we went, until... BANG.”

  Missed by

  The park keeper had gone home at noon

  Got away with

  Four mud circles blamed on the travelling fair

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• 28Not drawn yet

  The BYOB Party

  1995 · A house on the Colchester road

  The first rule of a 'bring your own booze' party is simple: hide the evidence…

  “Then we saw it: Mum's car... right by the hedge.”

  Missed by

  Somebody's mum did the pick-up and never looked in the hedge

  Got away with

  Nobody counted the bottles

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• 29Not drawn yet

  The Fire Extinguisher Disco

  1996 · Village hall, Bramblewick

  Every school disco needs a smoke machine, but the village hall doesn't have one. What it does have is a fire extinguisher…

  “The music was pumping... and then the world went white.”

  Missed by

  The caretaker was locking up the other end

  Got away with

  Everyone blamed the smoke machine

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• 30Not drawn yet

  Ben's Den In Brightlingsea

  1996 · A shed behind the sea wall, Brightlingsea

  Ben's den is the perfect hideout: a battered shed behind the sea wall with a sofa and a kettle. It is our private kingdom. Or so we think…

  “It was our den. So why did the teapot feel... warm?”

  Missed by

  Our parents thought we were fishing

  Got away with

  We honestly did not know what we were looking at

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• 31Not drawn yet

  The Washing Line Run

  1995 · The lane home from the 2-4 shop

  It's a race back from the chip shop, but not for chips. We've liberated a neighbour's bedsheets from their washing line, and now they're magnificent capes…

  “My mum's going to... absolutely kill me.”

  Missed by

  Four gardens, nobody at a window

  Got away with

  The sheets went in our own wash basket

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• 32Not drawn yet

  The Humpback Bridge Jump

  1997 · The humpback bridge, Bramblewick road

  Neil's dad's car is a beauty, but can it fly? There's only one way to find out: the old humpback bridge on the Bramblewick road…

  “And for a second... we were flying.”

  Missed by

  Nobody wrote the plate down

  Got away with

  The exhaust was rehung with a coat hanger

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• 33Not drawn yet

  Dale And The BB Gun

  1995 · The Bramblewick road, by the hedges

  Dale's just got a new BB gun and he's showing it off to everyone. He's so busy being a tough guy, he doesn't spot the police car cruising slowly down the road…

  “Just act normal... he's looking right at us.”

  Missed by

  The officer looked at us and kept driving

  Got away with

  The gun stayed in the hedge for a week

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• 34Not drawn yet

  Dale Gets Shot

  1995 · The pavement outside Dale's house

  There's a scream. A cry of agony. A boy collapses to the pavement as if struck by a cannonball. It's Dale, and he's just been shot…

  “Avenge me... tell my story.”

  Missed by

  Dale's mum was in the kitchen with the radio on

  Got away with

  Sworn to secrecy on the spot

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• 35Not drawn yet

  Dale And The Rubber Ring

  1996 · The river, past the mill

  A sunny afternoon, a gentle river, and Dale, blissfully asleep in a giant rubber ring. It's the perfect picture of peace…

  “Should we... should we wake him up?”

  Missed by

  The parents were parked up with a flask

  Got away with

  Dale claimed it was the plan

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• 36Not drawn yet

  The Professional

  1997 · Three back gardens on the estate

  A badly aimed water balloon, an open window, and a very, very angry man. Now we're running for our lives, vaulting fences and tearing through back gardens…

  “He's clearing the fences... without even touching them.”

  Missed by

  He never got close enough to see our faces

  Got away with

  We never learned his name

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• 37Not drawn yet

  Seven Day Wonders

  1994 · Everywhere in the village

  One week, it is pogo sticks. The next, diabolos. The next, rollerblades…

  “Right, that's it... who wants to have a go on my pogo stick?”

  Missed by

  Parents assumed each craze would last

  Got away with

  One A&E visit per fad, all recorded as falls

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• 38Not drawn yet

  The Strawberry Raid

  1995 · A strawberry polytunnel off the back lane

  It is a hot summer afternoon, and the farmer's polytunnel is bursting with ripe, red strawberries. We fill our pockets, then our shirts, then our faces…

  “And on the count of three... we all start throwing.”

  Missed by

  The farmer was three fields away on the tractor

  Got away with

  We were eating the evidence

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• 39Not drawn yet

  Ben's Escort Van

  1998 · Ben's yard and the gravel track

  Ben's dad is out, and he has left the keys to his Escort van. A quick spin around the yard cannot hurt, can it?…

  “Wait... was that the bumper falling off?”

  Missed by

  Ben's dad was at the football

  Got away with

  The bumper was quietly binned

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• 40Not drawn yet

  The McDonald's Incident

  1997 · The retail park, Colchester

  At the retail park, Chubb is desperate for a wee. The queue for the McDonald's toilet is too long, so he slips out the back…

  “Chubb, don't look up... but I think you're on television.”

  Missed by

  The camera pointed the wrong way, we think

  Got away with

  Nobody came out until we had gone

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• 41Not drawn yet

  Basketball Summers

  1996 · The cracked court on the rec

  For two whole summers, all we do is play basketball. The court is cracked and the hoop is too high, but we do not care…

  “That was not a foul... you are just rubbish at this game.”

  Missed by

  The grown-ups were pleased we were doing sport

  Got away with

  The scoring argument was never resolved

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• 42Not drawn yet

  Plums At The Gate

  1995 · A plum tree and a garden gate

  There is a house in Bramblewick with a plum tree so full, the branches are touching the pavement. We fill our pockets, then we have a brilliant idea…

  “That'll be fifty pence, please... for your own plums.”

  Missed by

  We sold them to the people who owned the tree

  Got away with

  Best wages of the decade

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• 43Not drawn yet

  Gold Balls

  1997 · The long grass by the golf course fence

  It’s a sweltering summer Saturday and we’re bored. We’ve got a brand-new slingshot, but nothing to ping with it…

  “My hand pulled the elastic back... further... and further...”

  Missed by

  The greenhouse belonged to nobody we knew

  Got away with

  The glass was blamed on hail

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• 44Not drawn yet

  Barry Moves In

  1993 · The tennis court, Bramblewick

  The new boy, Barry, has a face like a slapped satsuma and a treasure trove of words we’ve only ever heard adults mutter…

  “He took a deep breath, and said the word we were all thinking.”

  Missed by

  Both mums were unpacking boxes indoors

  Got away with

  Eleven minutes that shaped seven years

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