Happy 2021!
Hello my friends, I don’t remember the last time I was this excited about the end of a year. It’s been quite a depressing year, to say the least. I don’t know about you, but I’m truly looking forward to a new beginning.
As I mentioned before, I’m planning to draw other characters in Candy Candy. Before that though, let me finish what I had in mind back in June. Remember this post? 😉 I imagine Albert would look like this in response to Candy when she asked with unstoppable tears, “Am I… prettier… when smiling?”
The epilogue of Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS) is undoubtedly one of the best gifts the author Keiko Nagita could have given to those who like the pair Candy and Albert. It begins with Candy’s reactions to Albert’s confession, and in her reply to his letter she wrote with minute details of the entire incident, before and after.
Since Albert arrived out of the blue, I figure Candy might be busy helping Miss Pony or Sister Lane with chores. It’s quite challenging (at least to me 😛 ) to draw someone who cries and smiles at the same time, but I hope you like my new drawing of Candy when she asked her prince the aforementioned question. 🥰
Happy new year, my friends! Continue to stay safe and healthy, and may this new year bring you hope, love and happiness! 🎉🎊🥂
Hi Ms Puddle!
Hope you enjoyed the holidays even amid this global crisis. I guess this is the significance of having the support of family and friends.
I really like your drawing of Candy. She actually looks much prettier than in the anime and manga. She has a bit of a Taylor Swift beauty about her even though Candy is much smaller in stature. When Taylor Swift used to keep her hair naturally curly, she reminded me of a tall version of Candy. It’s intriguing that Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn look so much like a modern-day version of Candy and Albert.
Hi @Irana93, yes I did enjoy the holidays, and thankfully I could devote some time to draw as well. I hope you had enjoyed your winter break too?
Thank you for your compliments, and I honestly think Igarashi’s style is still better. 🤗 It’s highly encouraging to hear that my drawing reminded you of Taylor Swift. ☺️ She’s a beauty in the music biz, I agree. Interestingly, as you said, Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn look like Candy (much taller) and Albert, only that they are of similar age?
I think that Joe Alwyn is slightly younger than Taylor Swift, approximately a couple of years. Besides, both Joe Alwyn and Albert look considerably young for their age. In the novel, Candy pointed out that Albert was too young to be the grand patriarch of the Ardlay clan but he also looked way too young for his age. She even described his face as being as fresh as that of a boy’s. Interestingly enough, both Joe Alwyn and Albert have such boyish looks because they’re so fresh-faced. Being blonde and blue-eyed also helps.
Yes you’re absolutely right, @Irana93. Joe Alwyn is a perfect example of a man who looks much younger than his age. As an actor, I can easily imagine him play a young lad (late teens to early twenties) in any movie.
He’ll probably always be able to play roles younger than his age given his youthful appearance. Taylor Swift also looks much younger than her age. They’re both a stunning couple.
As for Candy and Albert, they’re also a lovely couple. Candy finds Albert gorgeous as she keeps mentioning his beautiful blue eyes. She’s apparently wondering whether Albert also finds her attractive and beautiful too. In those letters, Candy is flirting a whole lot with Albert and she keeps on trying to make him open up to her.
@Irana93, I also feel that Candy wanted to know if Albert found her attractive too. It’s funny how she addressed herself as “beautiful daughter” right after teasing him as “father” in her letter. In his reply he affirmed she was beautiful but immediately added his doubts. If this is not flirting I don’t know how else to describe this kind of interactions between a man and a lady. 😆
Apart from some mere half-a-dozen desperate fans, everyone else who has read this novel easily discerns the flirtatious nature of Candy and Albert’s correspondence in the Epilogue.
Hi @Irana93, it’s also those desperate fans who created fanpages or groups to convince or ‘educate’ others 😉
There’s nothing wrong about fanpages and blogs. On the contrary, they can be fun and enjoyable. The problem with some of those fans is that they are delusional enough to believe that their opinion or fanpage is equivalent to the official novel and the author’s word. Those fans are simply expressing their opinion which is unauthorized and unofficial, therefore, merely an opinion and nothing more than that.
Yes, @Irana93, they are both very good looking. Is this Taylor Swift’s longest relationship yet, I wonder?
I’m not sure whether it’s her longest relationship but it surely is her most serious and worthwhile. Taylor Swift seems to hold Joe Alwyn in very high esteem and he’s probably the first man she respects so much. He seems to be a cool guy and he bears all those attributes ascribed to Albert (beautiful, tall, calm and gentle demeanour, respectful and considerate to women).
I’m not their fans, @Irana93, but from what I’ve read or heard, Taylor Swift seemed to care about Joe Alwyn a lot. Indeed he does resemble WAA in many ways.
I’m not one of their fan either but it’s difficult not to know about them unless living under a rock. Taylor Swift is massively famous and her circle of friends also share quite a lot of fame, especially her significant other.
I’m not one of their fans either but it’s difficult not to know about them unless living under a rock. Taylor Swift is massively famous and her circle of friends also share quite a lot of fame, especially her significant other.
Happy New Year!
This new fan-art is impressive and it’s great news that you’re going to continue to work on more Candy Candy-themed projects. Are you going to continue your fan-fiction too?
Happy New Year to you too, @Anita 🥳
Thank you very much for your encouraging words. 🤗 I do plan to draw a bit more this year, if time permits. As for writing fanfics, I’m not sure yet. Thanks for asking though!
I know.. So many obligations squeezed into such little time. The way the situation is these days, people are either unemployed and can’t pay their bills or they’re working their butts’ off and pay extra taxes because they make a bit more money. My husband and I are currently in the UK and the council tax is horrendous. We get no discounts because we’re regarded as “high earners” which is ridiculous because our income is alright but we’re not affluent. Fortunately, we’re not going to stay in the UK permanently and once our contracts end, we’re heading back to the USA. The houses here are cubicles in comparison to the spacious ones in the USA but the rent in the UK is twice as high and even more than that. Needless to mention that most British houses are old and lack the proper insulation against humidity and mould.
If the UK is so awful in comparison to the USA, nowadays, imagine how awful it was back then in Candy’s time during the early 1900s. Not surprised Terry wanted to head to the USA for a decent living. Only the really wealthy executives such as Albert could live a comfortable life in the British countryside. Everyone else, especially those in the performance arts such as Terry, were condemned to live in abject poverty during the Interbellum.
It goes to show that if you’re rich, you can live an awesome life anywhere-even in dodgy old England.
Anita, you have sure struck a chord when mentioning UK’s council tax debacle. I remember the tons of money I had to pay during my stay there for job purposes. I lived in London and it’s even worse over there when it comes to expenses. I only stayed a bit longer because it was useful for enriching my CV.
I agree with you about the life of thespians during the Great Depression. None of them wanted to live in the UK, and those who did, had no other choice. Those who had the opportunity, however, would not give it a second thought and head straight for America. Terry would have been a complete fool if he had abandoned his lucrative career in the US in order to receive handouts in the UK. The theatres in the UK were functioning but the thespians were working for peanuts-even those in London. The situation was much worse for thespians working outwith London, especially in smaller theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and further north of the border.
If Candy and ‘anohito’ lived, for example, in New York or California, then Terry would have had a higher chance of being that mystery man since both states were cultural and financial ‘hotspots’ for thespians and other performers. However, it turns out that Albert fits the narrative regarding Candy’s mystery man because he owns ample property as well as successful business enterprises in England.
Well said, @Myra! Totally agree with you concerning Terry and his chances of being “Anohito”.
I went to UK to attend a wedding years ago and stayed for a week. I enjoyed the museums, the shows and sightseeings a lot but also found the expenses quite high. I don’t mind going again in the future nonetheless.
When it comes to tourism, the UK is alright but not when it comes to living there permanently. For me, it was only a temporary situation so as to expand my professional skills and build upon my job experience.
Resuming to our discussion about the theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, even in our modern times this venue functions as a touristy, occasional and peripheral (or provincial) theatre which involves novice instead of highly establish or experienced thespians. There will be certain one-off or limited performances of renowned or highly acclaimed thespians but none of them ever live permanently in Stratford-upon-Avon. The conditions were even more severe back in the 1930s as the financial recession had taken a heavy toll on all forms of performance arts. There is no way Terry could ever afford a posh estate in rural England with the extremely low income of thespians in the UK during his time. Such posh rural estates near the Avon River in the South of England could only be occupied and owned by wealthy business entrepreneurs such as Albert. This was the reality back in the 193os and it continues even in our modern times.
All historical facts show that artists as well as actors back in the early and mid 20th century did their utmost to seek a respectable life and worthwhile career in the United States.
It was pathetic to be an artist or actor in Britain during those times due to mass unemployment and those who managed to have a job had a very low salary under awful conditions.
The situation has changed in our times but the United States continues to be the best place to live if you’re an artist or actor and that’s the reason why most British actors seek employment in the United States as the job conditions and salaries are far better.
Hi @Anita, so you’re originally from USA but working in UK? I know what you mean by cubicles vs houses in the states. It’s similar in many Asian countries too. The residents could only afford flats (apartments), but for the same amount of money they could already buy houses in North America.
In Canada the working class is somewhat “punished” by paying taxes to subsidize the less fortunate ones; the more one earns the higher the tax bracket. That’s why many people rather not work so hard because in spite of higher gross income, the net pay is more or less the same after tax. 🙁
You’re right about Terry and his whereabouts during the Interbellum. It’s only a slim chance he would reside in the countryside, even if he had changed his career and the economy in UK was slowly recovering.
I’m an American citizen with a mixed heritage/cultural background-as everyone in the US anyway. Job-wise, I’m based in the US but I have a fixed tenure in the UK. Then I’ll be able to return home once the contract ends.
I think Canada is in a better condition than the US when it comes to healthcare but I’ll agree with you that Canadians also pay a hell of a lot of taxes and the waiting time to access to healthcare is way too long.
As for Terry, most critics of this novel online have arrived to the conclusion that he’s not anohito given the fact that there’s no way his meagre income as a stage performer in a provincial theatre could afford that posh estate. They have a point and economic history proves it. The economy in the UK during the Interbellum was actually getting worse for the arts due to the impending emergence of World War II. Investors would not risk their wealth on the entertainment industry but invest in safe-haven industries including manufacture, textiles and automation. Unless Terry had become a business entrepreneur like Albert, there’s no way he could ever afford that lavish lifestyle in the British country-side and pay for the staff working in this luxurious estate.
Valid point, Anita. There’s no way a theatre actor in 1930s rural England, struggling to make ends meet, could afford such and affluent lifestyle. It’s apparent that Candy’s lover is a wealthy man and he is offering her a financially comfortable life. That said, anohito is either Albert or another wealthy man not mentioned in the novel.
***such an affluent lifestyle***
Exactly, and the only way Terry would be able to afford such a lavish lifestyle is if his dad paid for it and gave him a profoundly generous inheritance. However, there is no mention of any reconciliation between Terry and his father. He even renounced his father’s name and changed his surname to Graham. The only one who could afford such a wealthy lifestyle in tandem with his lucrative and prolific career as a business entrepreneur is Albert.
I agree with you all, @Myra, @Anita, and @Sarah. I don’t have much to add to your brilliant points except to emphasize that Candy and Anohito indeed led an affluent lifestyle. They lived in a nice single house with a backyard taken care by a gardener. Given some historical data, a house back then could easily cost three times the average income or more, and many were unemployed due to the Depression. They could also afford a car and electricity when gas was the cheaper option in the working class. Anohito asked with a concern why Candy did not turn on the light, which means they normally would do that when it got dark. In other words, he had no worries about cost savings.
You’re absolutely right, Ms Puddle. Enjoying such a lifestyle as Candy did back in the 1930s required an above-average and, in most cases, a very high income which no provincial theatre actor could ever afford even if working on a 24/7 basis.
Well said, Ms Puddle!
Hello Ms Puddle,
This is another fine fanart of yours regarding Candy. The ways in which you have depicted the dirge as well as mirth in her eyes is stunning to say the least. I have come across many a fanart from both the Terry-fans and the Albert-fans but I must say that yours is one of the finest. I would have said the best but I don’t want to incite others to become invidious.
I agree with the comments about Candy having mixed feelings. Her relationship with Albert is far more complex and profound than with Anthony or Terry-both of which were simplistic and so easy to define as they both belonged in Candy’s early adolescence. However, Nagita decided to create an adult romance between Candy and Albert which-like all adult liaisons-are neither simplistic nor easy to define by most people, hence, the various misconceptions ensued by those who fail to grasp the arcana of adult relationships.
The bottom-line is that Nagita wants Albert to be considered as an equivalent “anohito candidate” as Terry, otherwise, she wouldn’t have devoted the greater part of Section III and the entire Epilogue on Candy and Albert.
No matter what mere fans have to say, what counts is what the author wants and she sure intends Albert to be considered as a potential suitor for Candy.
Hello @Lakewood, your compliments made me blush ☺️ Thank you very much! Yet I’ve seen some extraordinary fanarts in the fandom, and I actually had the honour to chat with a Japanese CC fan before. She’s a prolific artist, and I admire her style a lot. 👏
About Candy’s feelings and her relationships with her three loves, I can’t agree with you more. Albert undoubtedly had feelings for Candy that were beyond friendship, and the fact that she addressed him as her prince again and again could only mean that he was her love, not a family member or friend. 😉
Agreed. Some fans obsess too much over Candy and Albert being nothing more than friends by claiming that their correspondence is unromantic.
First off, their correspondence is actually quite romantic albeit not in words alone as in gestures (the exchange of gifts, finding Caesar and Cleopatra, Albert returning his badge to Candy and Candy intending to return her diary to Albert, etc).
If Nagita had erased Albert’s name from those letters and placed Terry’s name instead, his fans would have been jumping around like happy-bunnies exclaiming and rejoicing the romantic nature of those letters. However, since those letters are exclusively between Candy and Albert, those who oppose their romantic relationship will keep on being in blatant denial even if the content of those letters had become overtly sexual. Those fans would find Candy and Albert in bed together and still continue to deny that those two are a couple. LoL
Right on, @Lakewood! 👍👏
If these same letters from Candy had been addressed to Terry, his fans would have celebrated or become uncontrollably emotional, declaring Terry as Anohito. I don’t know what else can convince them that Candy was quite over Terry by then. 🤔
They know that anohito is Albert but they still hope they can spin-doctor the narrative and/or convince Nagita to tear the Epilogue to shreds. Some of those fans are so delusional that they believe they’re passionate. Apparently, they have conflated the meaning of being “passionate” with pathetic.😉
I thought they still held onto Terry’s brief letter shown after Susanna’s obituary in the novel, @Lakewood. That was the most important ‘proof’ according to some theories out there. 😉
Sadly for those desperate fans, that scrap paper means nothing on its own as it is vague and downright useless.
It’s ironic that those same desperate fans try to downplay the significance of the Epilogue which consists of a dozen of letters exchanged between Candy and Albert (some of which are lengthy), whilst they waste so much of their time and effort on a mere piece of paper with a bit of mumbo jumbo in it. Needless to mention that the sender didn’t even have the guts to sign it with a proper name but resorted to hiding behind initials. If someone is definite about his/her feelings and respects the recipient, then that person specifies his/her name and signs that paper-whether it be a letter or a piece of paper.
Totally agree with you both, @Lakewood and @Michelle! 👍👏
There is one question these desperate fans can never answer. Just ask them why Nagita herself declared that Candy has to choose between Terry and Albert, thus nominating Albert as a possible love partner for Candy. They will have to explain why on earth the author doesn’t exclude her adoptive father from any probability of being also her lover.
(The fact that they still believe a man 11 years older than a girl can be her father is another matter that speaks volumes about their way of thinking.)
There’s no point asking those delusional fans anything because their rhetoric is vacuous and their mannerisms are abnormally childish (considering that most of them are over 50 years old) as well as frivolous. It’s disturbing enough to see those desperate fans behave in such an asinine way even though most of them are parents and grandparents, hence, should have had an iota of maturity in them. They probably have daddy issues and other problems thus simply projecting all their frustration and hysteria on mere fictitious characters.
Yes indeed, @Fay. The author herself endorsed Albert, so he was also a potential candidate. We don’t need a brief video to prove that Albert and Candy had feelings for each other. 🥰
Best wishes for an awesome 2021!
@Ms Puddle, your illustration of Candy is amazing. It’s great that you have decided to share more of your newest illustrations online. I would like to see your perception of Stear, Terry and Susanna. But these are only my requests.
Your illustrations are so awesome that people will be requesting for more.😊
And…some more requests:
George, Anthony, Patty, Annie, Eliza (and the list goes on and on and on..).
Haha, @Gabriella. Thank you for your suggestions, but Eliza? She either looks angry or jealous most of the time, lol 😉
Thank you @Gabriella for the positive feedback 🤗 So glad to hear you like my new illustration of Candy. I take your requests as compliments. This is very encouraging, my friend. 😊
Did I comment on your minific yet? I enjoyed reading your letter from Archie to Candy. I like how he respected his young uncle and was grateful at the same time.
Thank you @Ms Puddle. I was inspired by Candy who had described how proud Albert was of Archie and how he was growing to become a fine young man with maturity and resourcefulness.
Yes, @Gabriella. It was a pleasant surprise to see this uncle and nephew’s relationship in the novel, despite the small age gap. Albert could easily be a big brother to Archie, but he was also the patriarch with the authority to override Great Aunt Elroy’s opposition. I’m sure Archie really admired and appreciated his young uncle, as depicted in your fanfic. ☺️
Archie and Stear didn’t seem to ever view Albert as their senior but as their peer. Even Terry enjoyed visiting Albert and they would chat as if buddies from school. If Archie and Terry have the same age and Stear is a couple of years older than them, then the age gap between them and Albert is even slimmer. Archie and Terry would be 7-9 years younger than Albert and Stear would be 5-7 years younger than Albert. Apparently, Stear never lived to discover Albert’s true identity as WAA but when Archie found out about it, he continued to treat Albert as his good friend. Nobody within Candy’s group of friends ever saw Albert as a father-figure but someone within their own peer group, instead.
Well said, @Gabriella! My sentiments exactly. 😉 Although I have a feeling Terry is older than Archie. He could be slightly younger than Stear or same age. When Terry left London and headed to New York for work, he might be in his late teens, if not a young adult already.
It’s possible but there’s no textual evidence to support Terry’s exact age as in the case of Candy and Albert. Presumably, he’s 2-4 years older than Candy. He could be a bit more given that he mentioned having stayed far too much time at that dreary religious school.
Yes, @Gabriella, that’s why I figure Terry might be as old as Stear. 😉
The novel doesn’t provide any solid evidence regarding their ages. What is clearly stated, however, is that Albert looked very youthful for his age and Candy seemed to have a habit of reiterating this. Apparently, she considered Albert to be beautiful because she kept on talking about his blonde hair and blue eyes as if she was completely mesmerized. Such blonde and blue-eyed people have the benefit of always looking young.
Yes @Gabriella you’re absolutely right that Candy had the habit of repeating herself about Albert’s youthful looks or appearance. She was mesmerized, no doubt about that 😉
May we all have a wonderful New Year and, hopefully, the trials and tribulations of 2020 will remain a long and distant memory.
Thank you, Ms Puddle, for sharing your amazing fanart and fan-fiction with us.
Thank you @Aurora for your kind wishes and positive feedback! 🤗 Hopefully in the future we will remember 2021 as the year when the pandemic was over 🙏
There’s hope in the horizon as a vaccine is currently becoming available worldwide. Nonetheless, the world needs considerable time to heal in many aspects including health as well as the socio-political arena.
I certainly hope the vaccines help, @Autora, despite the news about new variants. 🤔
What a beautiful drawing! You have surely nailed it with Candy’s expression. Due to the complicated relationship she has with Albert, her feelings are mixed and repressed. However, with the passage of time, both Candy and Albert overcome their initial insecurities and eventually open up to each other more and more.💞✨💌
Thank you so much, @Michelle! 🤗 As I mentioned before, I had doubts about my drawing, especially Candy’s expression. That’s why I’m very happy to hear you like it too.
“Repressed” is certainly the right word. Candy was grateful to Granduncle William but she had also fallen for him. His confession was no doubt a breakthrough in their relationship. 💘
It’s as the saying goes: “Once bitten, twice shy..”. In Candy’s case, she was twice bitten and this rendered her even more apprehensive than she already was when realizing that she had feelings for a man who was not a vagabond but a well-educated and eminent wealthy magnate.
Candy had been slut-shamed numerous times for her relationship with Anthony and later on with Terry. Imagine what the malevolent gossipers would hurl against Candy if they discovered their romance?
In addition, Candy was no longer the impulsive and spontaneous teenager but a far more sophisticated adult and that’s why she behaved accordingly. If she had met Terry during her adulthood, Candy would have also been much more reserved. In our teens. we are all rebellious and straight-forward but we eventually become more mature and balanced when entering adulthood.
Even Terry became a domesticated, timid and placid man when he became an adult and there’s very little doubt that Albert was also a rebellious teenager-arguably, even more so than Terry.
The irony is that Albert remained rebellious even during his adulthood and Candy herself admitted that he was popular for his business acumen but unpopular within his own family due to his controversial and unconventional character.
Well said, @Michelle!! You nailed it! Some fans can’t see that Albert had remained somewhat rebellious, like adopting Candy or disappearing in Africa, etc. On the other hand, Terry had been tamed; he could not get along with his colleagues (in the manga), because he lacked the interpersonal skills, not because he was a rebel.
Even Terry admitted that he was never a rebel but a mere teenager wasting his dad’s money whilst bored to death at St Paul’s boarding school. Apparently, Terry cared about Candy and wanted to take her with him but he was also delighted to leave that confined religious school and seek a new life in the USA. In the manga and anime Terry appears to be a bit more rebellious but in the novel he’s timid and introvert.
Albert, on the other hand, is the strong silent type who is not a drama queen like Terry but retains a subtle rebelliousness in him which is not easily noticeable. The same applies for Stear and Archie was right when he specified to Candy that Stear was always the most rebellious of them all even though he was the most silent.
Sometimes the silent ones are also the most rebellious and radical, as in the case of Stear and Albert.
You’re right, @Michelle, that Terry is an introvert. I’m curious though what made you think he’s timid in the novel?
Regarding Stear and Albert, a CC fanfic writer once said they were similar, as you said. They liked to fix/repair things as shown in the manga, and Albert also enlisted himself en route to Europe, only to be stopped by the bombing incident.
But Nagita sensei removed this part in the novel (possibly in the old novel as well).
There are quite of few examples of Terry’s timidity in the novel (as opposed to the anime and manga where he’s more aggressive and reactionary-most notably the ways in which he simply took flight from St Paul’s boarding school after Eliza’s trap. In the manga, Terry actually went up to Eliza and spat in her face but in the novel he kept his head down and quietly went to the head of school to declare that he’s renouncing his father’s title and leaving that boarding school.
Moreover, Terry recoiled within his timidity after Susanna’s accident. Instead of notifying Candy and discussing this serious situation with her, he kept her in the dark until it was too late. Terry had also been timid regarding all those rumours about him and Susanna being a couple. Instead of refuting those claims, he allowed them to proliferate.
It’s worthy of note that Terry had never consulted with Candy nor did he ever seek her consent in any of his serious actions which involved and affected them both. Weren’t they supposed to be a couple? What sort of rubbish relationship is that where the dude simply makes all the decisions and calls all the shots without even discussing it with his significant other? Is that the sort of toxic male certain fans slobber themselves over? Seriously? Talk about being infatuated with the “cave-man” type..
Fortunately, we live in the 21st century and such toxic male and other misogynistic tactics are no longer acceptable nor tolerated-at least not by women and men who respect themselves.
I see your points, @Michelle. Thank you for taking the time to elaborate. 🤗
Except the first one about Eliza, the other scenarios are similar in the manga or anime, aren’t they? I agree with you 💯% that the fact Candy had no say whatsoever (when he decided to leave London for good) or was kept in the dark (about Susanna’s rescue and grave injuries) speak volumes about his attitude towards Candy. 👍
I mentioned this before but don’t mind repeating myself: Candy loved Terry way more than he loved her. He might have been possessive or jealous of her past love, but he could leave her behind and move on in his life without a problem.
Exactly!
Dear Ms Puddle,
I would like to wish you and your awesome blog community a productive and fulfilling new year. Hopefully, our world will overcome this pandemic and we can resume to our normal lives.
Take Care!
Thank you @Lynn for your positive feedback 💕 Yes let’s hope that we will see the end of this pandemic, and we are free to meet with our loved ones again 🤗 Take care and stay safe!
My partner and I are looking forward to reuniting with our dear friends in Vancouver after this chaotic situation with the global pandemic is appeased. When I’m in Vancouver, I will let you know. If you’re around, we could all arrange to go to one of those awesome pizza places. My personal favourite is the “Nook” at Denman Street. I hope the pandemic hasn’t affected it in a detrimental way. Both food and service were ace and the prices were so reasonable.
Hi @Lynn, I haven’t been to downtown area or any tourist attractions ever since March 2020. I also wonder what have happened to these restaurants, and I sincerely hope they would survive. I know some grand or high-class restaurants have shut down permanently due to the pandemic 🥺😟
Some may probably manage to survive by functioning temporarily as catering or takeaway services but the profit loss will still be severe.
Sadly, this might be happening to many small businesses around the globe, @Lynn. That they have to change their business operations to survive. 🙁
It’s the smaller businesses which are struggling to sustain the blows from this global pandemic while big-tech firms and corporations have been flourishing. The financial gap is widening to such an extent that there will no longer be such a financial category as “middle-class”.
Hi Ms Puddle!
So pleased to see that you’ve resumed to making more CC-themed drawings. You’ve got a lot of talent and we’d all be delighted to check out more of your illustrations. It’s great that you’ve decided to draw more characters from the CC/CCFS.
Have a lovely 2021!
Hi @Myra, thanks for your kind and encouraging words. 🤗 I’ll try my best to draw a bit more this year. Best wishes to you in 2021 🎉
Your artwork is so beautiful, Ms Puddle! You’ve done such a fine job depicting Candy’s expression.
Looking forward to more of your artwork in the near future.
Happy New Year!
Thank you very much @Sarah ❣️ So glad you like Candy’s expression. I actually had doubts when I published this new fanart.
Happy new year to you too 🤗
By all means, do not doubt or underestimate your talent @Ms Puddle. Your drawings are sky-high better than most of the stuff circulating about.
Thank you @Sarah! There are many fantastic fanarts out there, I must say, but your highly encouraging words are much appreciated 🤗
Ms. Puddle, we sure are glad to get rid of the gloomy year we’ve been through and to welcome the new one in hopes for better things to come.
You can be proud of your new drawing, since it is simply wonderful. You have captured exactly the expression Candy should have at that certain moment.
I agree with you that the Epilogue is the highlight of the entire novel, at least to those who can understand the real nature of the relationship between Candy and Albert. The scene you have illustrated is one of the most beautiful and touching moments of CCFS.
A happy new year to you too, healthy, prosperous, fulfilling in all respects.
Hi Fay, I wish you a peaceful, safe, healthy and prosperous new year too❣️
Thank you so much for your encouraging feedback for my new drawing. 🤗 Other than the fact she was shedding tears of joy, I want her to look tender and pretty as well.
I can’t agree with you more about the Epilogue — primarily the correspondence between the two main characters. The letters not only showcased their invincible bond but also the progress of their loving relationship. It’s indisputable both Candy and Albert were highly emotional when he took the initiative to disclose his last secret to her, which speaks volumes of their feelings for each other. 🥰
Happy New Year to you-Ms Puddle and Fay! Hope this year will be much better for all of us.
Thank you, Sarah. Happy New Year to you too.
Well said @Fay!