Ten Thousand Hours

no longer gives up on the knowledge these people have.

wheelchair, my disability and the restrictions that have been placed on me due to an accident.

I found that illustration was what I could do; I knew that by my late twenties.”

What distinguishes Scheffler is the memorability of his illustrations.

The illustration of the Gruffalo itself is a magnificently weird creation, full of an outlandish comedy which is only hinted at in Donaldson’s poem. The books simply wouldn’t exist as they are without Scheffler’s ability to delineate absurdity.

And yet they’re also essentially inclusive, creating the illusion that anyone might have a go. That makes him a wonderful person to come into schools and give talks (“If someone says to draw a cow or a dolphin or whatever, I can do that, I’ve been doing this a long time!”) but there’s a quiet professionalism beneath the humour.

How long does it take him to do a double-page spread? “If everything goes well, I will do it in a day and a half or two days but normally I’m not happy! It might depend how much detail I have to do. If there’s a sky or not, or whether I’m using watercolours with colour pencils on top, but a double spread in two days is possible. I hope my publishers won’t read this!”

For a moment, I’m in his world - briefly aware of the technical skill involved. Is he a great gallery-goer? “I’m sad that there were a few exhibitions I wanted to see when corona came. I wanted them extended but I don’t think there’s a direct link between classic art and my work.”

There’s a generosity about Schefflera love of children. He continues, almost wistfully. “I don’t know whether there are numbers on whether Covid-19 has made children more creative but it would be a good thing if that was the case. Arts education in school isn’t priority in this country anymore, and it’s good if children can create.” Scheffler’s appears such a one-off career that it feels hard to imagine how it could ever be repeated. But does he have any advice for the younger generation? “I would say it’s not always the first choice you make which is the right thing for you. The situation has changed for young people compared to what people grew up with in the mid-80s. This concept of a job for life is under question, and in some ways it’s harder now to do what I did. But hopefully there will still be authors and there will be illustrators. My advice is to be open and try.”

With Talan Skeels-Piggins by Alice Wright

Iwas in the Navy for six years as a regular, as a fighter controller in the operations room. I then became a reservist. Shortly after I joined the reserves in November 2002, I was paralysed as a result of a motorcycle accident.

Initially the Navy dismissed me, but I argued my case to the medical board of survey and proved that I could carry out the same requirements as an able-bodied officer. I did the bleep test, the mile and a half run in a race chair, the weapons handling test, the gas mask handling test and I passed each one for my age group. But I knew I would not be going to sea again. I ended up working with NATO.

After the paralysis, I was in a pretty dark place. This massive change had happened to me and all I could see was that change. Luckily for me, I had a chat with a guy who had also become disabled, who came in for a regular check-up while I was laid up in hospital. He told me he had been skiing. That became my goal: to get out of hospital and to learn to ski. I didn’t know at the time that I would become a gold medallist in the European championships.

In order to do that, I had to accept what had happened to me. The more I looked internally, the more I realised that we have this untapped power, resilience and energy inside of us. I call it the little person inside. I believe we all have it. I don’t have any magical ingredient. I’m not superhuman. I’m not special. We should use ourselves as our greatest source of inspiration. You don’t need to look externally for inspiration.

I set up a charity called The Bike Experience. I take disabled people and help them to learn to ride motorbikes. We’ve taught over 400 people so far. Some people come once and it’s the catalyst for them to go off and do other things - whether that be triathlons or fly planes. Some people come back and they’re able to ride on the road again. You see someone arrive nervous, but when they leave, they look like they can take on the world.

After 13 years of being paralysed, I had a conversation with myself about what it means to be a human being.

I asked myself: “How do I validate my existence?”. The answer I came up with was: “How many people have you helped?” and I realised that since I’ve been paralysed I’ve helped more people than I would have done if I had been able-bodied.

Axel Scheffler

My case set an important precedent in allowing disabled people to remain in the armed forces. Back in 2003, I wasn’t allowed to tell anybody the outcome as the Navy were concerned that the floodgates would open and all those that had been previously dismissed would want to return. But after the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, applicants were able to use my ruling as a precedent to continue serving in whatever shape they could. It’s great to see that the military

Motorcycling would become another passion. As with the Navy, I went about getting permission to race motorbikes by looking at the arguments as to why I couldn’t do it: then I’d overcome whatever obstacle was placed before me. Gradually I jumped through all the hoops.

In Great Britain, you’re either a motorcycle racer or you’re not, and that was what I was fighting for. It’s a really fabulous thing for me as a paraplegic to go and compete with able-bodied cyclists. It’s a little bit of escapismbecause for that moment in time I’m simply a racer and I’m not being treated any differently from someone able-bodied. I feel free from my

It’s a very difficult time right now, and everyone is experiencing change: they’re allowed to be upset. Sometimes when you have things that affect your life it sets off these waves or these ripples in your timeline, but it’s realising that it is only temporary and the next good time is coming.

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