An Isles of Scilly cartoonist is having a 20-year retrospective of his work exhibited by the Guardian newspaper this week.

Chris Garratt, of St Mary’s, has been producing cult cartoon strip BIFF for the Guardian with partner Mick Kidd, who also used to work on the islands, since 1985.

Chris, who plays tenor sax in local blues band Roadrunner, designs the artwork from a mixture of collage, tracings and original drawings, whilst Mick is responsible for the text.

The two men met at Coalville Grammar School in Leicestershire in 1955 and have worked together on BIFF, which they describe as ?raising trivia to exciting new heights,? since the mid 1970s. Chris graduated in fine art from Bath Academy in 1966 and after working seasonal and vacation jobs on St Mary’s (originally at the Sunset restaurant), he taught at Exeter College, Falmouth School of Art and Design and the University of Plymouth.

Mick Kidd graduated from the University of Swansea in 1965 and has worked as a waiter on Scilly, a community worker in Islington and Distribution Officer of London Film Makers Co-op before going freelance in 1981.

Chris still lives on St Mary’s and Mick in London. They say they have created their strips at a distance for the last thirty years by phone, post, e-mail and telepathic thought transmission, as well as the occasional meeting.

‘Mick does the whole thing really, BIFF was his idea,? Chris told ScillyNews. ‘I just respond to whatever storyline he sends up and do the artwork. Although increasingly it’s a double-act and we have an understanding that we can both change things at either end.?

The retrospective, at the Guardian newsroom in London from January 19 to March 3, will showcase over 70 original artworks that appeared in the Guardian between 1985-2005.

‘It’s nice that they’re having it,? said Chris. ‘It’s 20 years since we started at the Guardian and we’ve stopped working for them now, so it’s very much the end of an era.?

In addition to their Guardian strips, BIFF has also appeared in Viz, City Limits, National Student, New Society, BBC History, Froots and Fortean Times. ‘We’re still working on other magazines, including Folk Roots and People Management magazine,? said Chris. ‘The latter of which is a strange commission for us because we usually take the mickey out of that human resources sort of stuff and then we ended up doing things for them. It’s very tongue in cheek, which they don’t seem to mind.?