JS: I’m a realist at heart, Pete, and once I know that something is irreversible I have no choice but to accept it. There is a certain sense of peace that comes from acceptance. It eliminates the need to ask “why me?” and “if only”.

Fitz: I have been told, wonderfully, that since that outpouring of love for you last Friday, there has been a small uptick in your prognosis?

JS: Haha, I think I just had a big adrenaline rush from that one! Hard not to feel better with 209 people you love, in turn, lining up to hug you!

Fitz: Are you receiving treatment for the ailment specifically, or have you moved into palliative care?

JS: It’s palliative care now. There’s a wonderful team at St Vincent’s [Hospital] who visit me once a week, or when needed. They’ve given me a bed, but I can still climb stairs and sleep with my darling wife, Anna-Lisa.

Fitz: Johnny, I once read a famous book, Tuesdays with Morrie , which was about a former student of a professor with a terminal illness going to see him every Tuesday for a year to give comfort, certainly, but also to try and capture what it is like for someone to face their imminent death ... thoughts?

JS: What’s it like? For starters, it’s so busy! Endless appointments, reading and answering messages, drugs to be taken, exercise, home visits from friends etc, etc. I barely have a minute for a cat nap. I am constantly tired too. As time draws closer? I guess it will be more time in bed, I’m a bit concerned about the last few weeks. I may go to the care hospice – I’m not sure I want to have the family witness that from home.

Fitz: May I, gently, ask: do you feel despair?

JS: No mate, very rarely. Despair does come of course, mostly when I’m in physical pain, but once the painkillers kick in I banish those negative thoughts that have no solution. I’d much rather feel happy than depressed in my final days! It’s pointless to get depressed about dying. That is a given. I don’t believe in hell, so I assume Kerry Packer was right – there’s nothing there. Yeah, family and friends are sad for you, and you’re sad to be leaving them, but it has to happen one day.

Fitz: Is your waking thought every day, “Christ, this is really happening?”

JS: No that, too, would just make me depressed! I don’t give much air time to that one.

Fitz: What you are going through will soon enough confront all of us, as we come face to face with our mortality. What advice do you have for us?

JS: My motto is “accept, adjust, adapt”. The key is to be able to accept something that can’t be changed. Only then will you find some peace. Otherwise, it will be a battle with the unmovable. Sort out your financials so that your family will be as secure as possible, and that will give yourself a sense of relief to carry into your final days. Have as much fun as your energy levels allow!

Fitz: You came from a very religious household and turned away from that. In this extremity, do you turn back to it now?

JS: Each to their own, but I can’t see myself getting back on board with someone who did all this to me just as I’ve freshly retired! No, thanks. Plus I still don’t believe a word of it, ever since that day many years ago when I found myself as a student kneeling on the floor praying for God to help me find my lost rubber!

Fitz: Tell us about your art. You and I have worked together off and on for nigh on four decades – and on for a solid 15 years – and I have loved seeing your art evolve. When did you first realise you were good at it?

JS: I think to be good at anything you need to be a bit obsessive (or passionate about something). I’m obsessive, so I had that ability to do repetitive practising without getting bored. The more you practise, the better you get, and soon people were noticing, and that fuelled my confidence.

Fitz: Who or what were your major influences?

JS: Early childhood days, Mad magazine of course, and all the superhero comics. Later years: Alan Moir, John Spooner, Patrick Cook, Leunig.

Fitz: Have you drawn your last painting, or still doing a bit now?

JS: No, no paint brushes for a while, but I did draw a small emoji collection while in hospital!

Fitz: The prime minister and Cathy Wilcox both noted your capacity to do satirical cartoons on public figures – and this is a rarity in your game – somehow, without ever being mean to your subjects. How on earth did you manage it, when the very nature of satire is to poke fun?

JS: Yes, I never see the point of making politicians ugly. I don’t see the reason to insult them like that. I prefer making them look silly, as in with a “whoops, I’ve done it again” expression – making fun of them. I prefer presenting political folly, rather than doing personal attacks.

Fitz: You have, however, sometimes drawn me as being very overweight, with a pug nose, and a face like a dropped pie. Any chance you’ll take this opportunity to say sorry now? I’m giving you one last chance, you bastard!

JS: Yeah, sorry mate! I was obviously a bit crueller back then! I think I draw you as a toned Adonis now, right?


Fitz: Exactly. You have a singularly fine family, a wonderful wife and a great son. I imagine they have eased your path?