art

Saturday, 27 September 2025

The grid: Edie Medley’s pub-patter pictures

Two pints of lager, a packet of crisps and a nugget of wisdom – the sketches inspired by nights in the pub

After observing an argument in a beer garden (culminating in a drink being thrown and the incredible response: “Well this is Gore-Tex, so the joke’s on you, sweetheart. It’s waterproof”), the London illustrator and part-time pub manager Edie Medley began noting other striking one-liners during her shifts, ranging from silly to serious.

The result is I’m Not Listening, a tenderly observed comic tapestry of contemporary social interactions replete with pints and packets of crisps.

“I loved working on this because it made a shift at the pub feel a bit more like the work I wanted to be doing,” says Medley, “but also because it celebrates the pub as a space for conversation and community.” 

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