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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Elizabeth McCafferty

Pass the sick bag! Why I published a book on the art of the airline essential

Three airline sick bags displayed side by side: a Great China bag with a white bird, a Virgin Atlantic Star Wars Episode III bag, and a Shanghai Airlines bag with pink waves
Chunder wonders … sick bags from Trevor Cunningham's collection. Composite: Elizabeth McCafferty

If, a few years ago, someone told me that I would spend most of my 2026 scanning hundreds of airline sick bags, I would have wondered what had gone wrong with my life. Especially if you also told me I’d become a keen enthusiast for the beauty of their designs. But, as it turns out, making my new book Sicko has been one of the most joyful projects I’ve ever done.

It all began in 2023, when I met Trevor Cunningham. Back then I was making a film about his support group called Ask Trev – a free advice and guidance service staffed entirely by people called Trevor (there’s an astonishing 140 of them contributing to what he calls “a Trevorlution”).

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