Graeme Puckett Author

Having graduated at Bath Academy of Art, Graeme Puckett worked at Butlin's for a season as a portrait artist, where about one in ten customers asked for a refund when their money ran low at the end of the week. He subsequently worked as a freelance illustrator and corporate caricaturist for 25 years. Graeme's work frequently appeared in T.V. Times, Woman's Realm, Knave, Fiesta and the like and frequently had to be altered because of art directors who knew better.

In the 90s, Graeme changed course, when he and his partner Ann started swing dancing and discovered they were good at it. After 18 months they became UK champions and went on to win many more national swing dance awards. As Hoppin' Mad, they've continued teaching and performing Lindy Hop all over the world, and run regular weekly classes in Bath and Bristol. They were the dance consultants for the film Chicken Run, which they watch every Christmas, to see their names in the closing credits. Graeme and Ann have appeared swing dancing on numerous TV shows, most recently the Netflix award-winning series Sex Education.

During the pandemic lockdown, when partner dancing ground to a halt, Graeme kept in touch with his friends by writing to them. By the third or fourth letters, reading between the lines he wasn't receiving, he started to suspect his friends were getting irritated by the obligation to reply. To salvage what friendships he had left, he just started writing for himself.

This is it.

Graeme lives in Bath with his partner Ann and their two children, Badger and Little Bear, who, like Graeme, are both short-haired domestics.

If ever you are in Bath or Bristol, Graeme and Ann would love to see you at their swing dance classes. www.hoppinmad.co.uk