Interview with DNOTY 2006

A Conversation with Mungo

By Bee Gears

Mungo reads from his fantastic novel Leaf

It was a rainy day in Blackrock, Co. Louth when I visited Mungo, current DN of the Year, to talk to him about his writing career, winning the DNOTY and all things Mungo.

It took me a while to find the entrance to his palatial home, just off the sea front, surrounded by verdant gardens and a high stone wall. I drove up the long curving avenue and squeezed my battered VW into a space behind a phalanx of French cars.

Approaching the front door, I was greeted by a volley of vicious barking from the guard dogs (three intimidating hounds – a german shepherd, a poinsettia and a collie). Thankfully, they were enclosed behind glass and couldn’t get at me to rip me to shreds. I could understand the need for them, as I am sure Mungo’s fame must draw a lot of unwanted callers to his door. Not being in that category, I didn’t have to wait long for the door to be opened by a burly rabbit, who ushered me inside. There I met Mango, Mungo’s campaign manager. She informed me that Mungo was very busy and could only spare a little time to talk to me, as she led me to the inner sanctum where Mungo sat upon the shining silver Nodpot cup, dressed in his DNOTY t-shirt.

Bee: Oh Mungo, thank you so much for seeing me, it is an honour. I know what a busy schedule you have.

Mungo: Hello.

B: You look wonderful as always, I must say. How do you manage to look so wonderful and white all the time?

M: Clean living (laughs)

B: You look very dashing sitting on top of the Nodpot Cup. Tell me, was it a surprise that you won?

M: (looking bashful) Not at all Bee. Last year I was upset that, despite all my contributions to the Nodpots, I was not even nominated for DNOTY.

B: You mean 2005, don’t you, Mungo? You won last year.

M: (frowning) Oh yes, yes of course. Anyway, I was told that I would have to write to be eligible for nomination the next year (which was 2006) and I said I would write a book – because writing is easy, after all – and win DNOTY 2006. And I did.

B: I have often heard you quoted as saying that writing is easy, but for many people – even professional reporters like me – writing is a daunting task. Tell me Mungo, what is your secret?

M: Well Bee, I don’t know why you find writing so difficult, or anyone for that matter. You think up an idea, you think about it for a little while, and then you sit down and spend so many hours a day writing it. I think a lot of people think writing is hard and then, when they should be writing, they are surfing the internet or watching TV. But really, writing is very easy.

B: That is wonderful advice, Mungo, thank you for sharing that with me.

M: You’re welcome.

B: However, even with that, Leaf is a wonderful book. Few people would be able to write such an original, absorbing, amusing story. Where did you come up for the idea of a story like that? Was there an external influence or is it simply your natural genius?

M: (smiles) I suppose my natural brilliance did have something to do with it, but I believe you should write what you know. Most modern literature has little interest for me because it is so human centred. I decided to write something I would like to read, something about monkeys. I also wanted to write an adventure story that would be humorous. I can’t bear boring depressing rubbish.

B: It must have been hard making the transition from being a judge to being a writer.

M: Not at all, not at all. I’ve been retired for some years now, and Leaf actually came about because I used to tell stories about the Animal Kingdom to my good friend, Miss Monkey. She loved the tales so much that she encouraged me to write it down, and that’s what I did.

B: Yes, you dedicated Leaf to Miss Monkey, didn’t you?

M: That’s right.

B: Is there any truth in the rumours that Leaf and Rainbow are based on you and Miss Monkey?

M: (laughs) None at all. People like to see themselves in my work, I suppose, because they aspire to be like my characters but no, Leaf and Rainbow are not me and Miss Monkey. Leaf isn’t as handsome and talented as I am, for one thing.

B: To get back to winning DNOTY 2006. I know you had a strong campaign going, with Mango as your manager and publicity on your blog and the streets of Dublin. Even with all this, were you afraid that you wouldn’t win?

M: Not at all. You see, this year I knew the votes would be counted properly because they got in an objective non-Nodpot to count them. Other years they have been counted by Valerie, and I know the vote has been skewed by her so that Iseult would win.

B: They are very serious allegations, Mungo.

M: I’m not alleging anything; I’m just saying that I knew the right Nodpot would win this year.

B: I see. Still, at the moment before the winner was revealed, did you feel a thrill of fear that you might not have won?

M: Not at all. I never feel fear.

B: What was it like when you found out you won?

M: I knew that justice had been served.

B: And what are your plans for this year? Do you want to win the Nodpot cup again?

M: I’m not really bothered about retaining my title, now that I have achieved what I set out to achieve, however I am sure that I will win again in 2007 as I am the best Nodpot and my work this year will prove that. I don’t intend to become a slave to writing, because it is only an enjoyable pastime to me, but I am going to write three books this year. I have Mango the Unlucky Monkey coming out in March and then the third book in the Kingdom of Animals series, Rainbow and the Mountain of Life, which should be due out in the autumn and the first in a new series, Tottie the Demon Rabbit Slayer, should be out in time for Christmas.

B: That sounds very ambitious Mungo.

M: Not at all.

B: What about Leaf, are you still seeking for an agent?

M: I will be submitting Leaf to agencies again this year, yes.

B: That’s good. Is it true you will be touring with the Nodpot Cup this year?

M: I have to keep the fans happy, you know. I will be going to Dublin for a while, to thank the people of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown for voting for me, and I have been asked to travel over seas as well, but I have yet to make up my mind on that offer.

The door opened and Mango entered. She gestured for me to leave.

B: I can see my time is up. Thank you for your time, Mungo. It was an honour to meet you and I look forward to reading your new books this year.

M: Thank you.

Mungo & the cup posing with me

Profile of Disresponsible Nodpot of the Year 2006 - Mungo

Mungo started his own blog in February 2006.

This is what he wrote about himself:

Mungo
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Astrological Sign: Capricorn
Zodiac Year: Ox
About Me
I arrived in Ireland 17 years ago, after smuggling myself out of Africa in a bunch of bananas. My best friends are Marvin and Nobbles (who can't quite make up his mind whether he is a monkey or a cat) and of course, the beautiful Miss Monkey
The first time you had your shoes taken off - how surprised were you to see that you still had toes?
I never wear shoes
Favorite Movies
Serenity
Favorite Music
jungle drums
Favorite Books
Lemony Snicket and Garth Nix's the castle series

Mungo's origins are shrouded in mystery. He claims to have arrived in Ireland 1989 (or perhaps late 1988). We can identify his presence on a special occasion on 14th May 1988, and know that he arrived in Blackrock at least Christmas 1987, if not a year earlier. Well known author Geri Valentine once documented his history, but alas this document has never been published. Our trusty researcher Bee Gears is endeavouring to obtain the original copy so that we can find out more about him.

Photo of Mungo posing for the first DNOTY voting form (2004)

The first few years of Mungo's life - prior to joining the Disresponsible Nodpots - were full of life and excitement. He frequently went where he was not invited (On Iseult's First Holy Communion, he snuck into her bag and went through the entire ceremony). He appointed himself Judge to the Toy Court. He starred in a film. And all the time, his best friends were Marvin and Nobbles - together, they were known as The 3 Amigos.

Nobbles, Marvin & Mungo in the inseparable days


It was only in 2001 that he grew interested in the Disresponsible Nodpots. Possibly suspecting that Marvin, as Chairtoy, was having fun without him, he tricked his way in to a meeting, uninvited, but contributed so much that he made his way to the minutes of the DNs, and, by default, became a member of the society without going through any of the usual application and initiation processes. (To this day, nobody is quite sure how he managed it - and Mungo is not giving away his secrets.)
Mungo visits his fans in Dublin!

Mungo's most famous words - the line quoted most regularly - is "Writing is easy!"

Doubtless he was getting tired of his fellow Nodpots vacillating ways - it is rumoured that they talked about writing but did little, and that the early meetings were all about giving each other presents.

To prove what he said was true, he promised to write a book and to win Disresponsible Nodpot of the Year in 2006.

He did both.

Mungo photographed with his wonderful book "Leaf: In Search of Ramune"

Early in 2006, Mungo wrote the exciting fantasy tale of Leaf, a little white monkey based loosely on himself (although no one can see the resemblance). We will be reviewing it later in this blog but it was received with critical acclaim, both within the DNs and without. He then sourced a POD service and produced beautiful hardback and paper back copies of his story. In fact, by that action, he instigated the Disresponsible Nodpot Publishing concern, which we have covered in another post. He is currently in the process of obtaining an agent - we wish him all the best in this venture.

Early in 2006 he invented the phenomenon of the mungo-bot. These are other toys programmed to adore and idolise Mungo, and to obey him in every respect. We believe he has to date at least one mungo-bot.

During 2006, he appointed two campaign managers to head his bid to win Nodpot of the Year - Mango and Tottie.
Pictured at the launch of the media campaign

As we all know, this campaign was very successful, with thousands of people promising their allegiance to Mungo (also affectionately known as Little White Paws or LPW). Unfortunately few of them had the vote, but the word got out that Mungo was to win.

Which he duly did.

Congratulations, Mungo - a very worthy winner of DNOTY 2006.

We look forward to seeing what Mungo accomplishes over the next 12 months.

Mungo claims his trophy December 31st 2006, under the Chairtoy's watchful eye

Watch out for an exclusive interview with the winner of DNOTY 2006 by our ace reporter Bee gears!

Nodpot of the Year 2006

It seems only appropriate to start the year (and this blog) with a profile of the winner of Disresponsible Nodpot of the year (DNOTY) 2006.

But first, a review of the big night - December 31st 2006, where the trophy was unveiled, revealing the winner's name.

As everyone (in the world) knows by now, Mungo was crowned winner!

Here he is, pictured wearing the hat and sitting on his cup, and enjoying the company (or adoration) of his publicity manager, Mango.

The Nodpots engaged the services of Pinky (Pamela) as independent vote counter. Here she is, expressing her delight that Mungo won:

A lot of nasty words were spoken after the winner was announced, implicating the "judge" in some kind of bias or prejudice in favour of Mungo. This reporter wants to state categorically their belief in Pinky's integrity, and puts these rumours down to sour grapes.

There were actually 5 nominees for the award - Inkpot, Valpot, Marvin, Parsley and Mungo.

Before the vote - note their happy and expectant faces.

After Mungo was announced the winner, Valpot said: "I'm gutted! I just can't believe it! I thought the trophy was mine at last!"

She wasn't the only distraught one. Inkpot covered her face with her hands and wept (the photographs are too upsetting to publish). An insider source reveals an attempt to nobble Mungo as he took his place on the trophy - though Inkpot denies this.

The other Nodpots seemed to take the news of Mungo's win with equanimity

Marvin commented: "...Having never written before, Mungo produced an excellent novel in the form of Leaf: in Search of Ramune and submitted it to many agents. It is a mystery to me why it was not snapped up immediately, but I am sure he will gain that success this year. While he has not been as prolific as some of our other members, he had a longer journey to make and his peers have awarded him for his hard work, dedication and belief in his writing..."*

Parsley added: ".... I was surprised when Mungo won, but pleased for him as well. I felt very sorry for Iseult and Valerie who had worked so hard all year and didn’t win. They looked very upset..." *

October and November had no comment to make, other than that they were very pleased for Mungo, but as they both sported "Vote for Mungo" badges, we can guess where their loyalties lie.

Sparkie had this to say: "...I hoped Mungo would win because he said he would buy me a gavel for Marvin if I voted for him and he won. He did win, but I am still waiting for my gavel..." *

The other highlight of the evening was the inauguration of the Muffin Memorial Trophy. However, due to the importance of this award, we will leave this to a separate post.

Therefore we will leave the final word with Blueberry: "...2006 was a very sad year for me. I had a nasty accident and spent months in recovery. I lost my best friend Muffin and this new beast has invaded my lair. Then the Nodpot of the year was announced. I wasn’t very interested because I wasn’t nominated this year. I tried to talk to them about having more meetings in the house, but they wouldn’t listen. Mungo won. I found it amusing. He had asked me to vote for him, but I can’t remember whether I did or not in the end..." *

* Full text of what these Nodpots had to say about DNOTY 2006 will be published on their dedicated profiles.