Sir William Petty has been travelling the country telling the tale of the Great Fire of London to all and sundry. As is their wont, several of the more artistically inclined amongst the crowds have been sketching their impressions of the events. (The children were not asked to do so as part of the sessions, but simply took it upon themselves to do the work.)

Here you can see the work of one Year 2 child showing Petty and his audience.

The artist certainly had both an eye for detail and a good memory. You can see everything from the curls in Petty’s periwig, to the wooden blocks used as feet to hold the map up. Even the River Thames on the map is clearly shown, in a very bold blue. The audience themselves do seem an unusual bunch, however, with eight redheads, one green haired lad and one with brown hair. I love the fact that everyone is so happy!

This next picture has me perplexed. The artist Rachel has drawn Sir William and his good friend Samuel Pepys. Now the disparity in size could be a matter of perspective, and Sir William (somewhat troubled with the gout) has fallen behind his quicker paced friend as they perambulate through Smithfields or some such place. Or alternatively, perhaps the artist has taken Sir William’s surname quite literally and decided if he is ‘Petty’, and assuming Pepys is of more average proportions, then the two gentlemen standing side by side would indeed look like this?

I do love seeing the pictures children draw of my characters.