Today’s long drive down to HILLOCKS PRIMARY SCHOOL, Sutton in Ashfield, Notts, felt rewarded when I found out that the all children had read lots of my books and prepared lots of interesting questions too! I felt most honoured! Thank you, thank you everyone!
(But please, she said, peering dimly at the screen, can I have my glasses back? I’m sure I've left them somewhere on my Hillocky rounds - probably with the skeleton story in the Year 5 classroom! Will he be wearing them tonight????????????????????????? Oooooooooh-er!!!!!!!!!!!)
Another good thing was that one of the teachers told me how well MR POD & MR PICCALILLI met the KS1 Literacy needs, which Nick Sharratt and I had not even talked about when we worked on the story, and how it’s the children’s favourite book. Hooray! I shall go and eat lots of lovely cake!
(Readers, please, please note that most of my life is not like this!)
I have just arrived back from the South of France, where I had a happy reunion weekend with an old friend, followed by a couple of amazing days visiting classes of children at the INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL of NICE and the INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL of MONACO. Everyone was so kind and I had a lovely time telling stories and talking about writing. Thank you to everyone involved, including the children and teachers, and especially Miss Minnis at ISN, Mrs Thompson, ISM librarian, and Bookbox International, who supplied copies of my books – even my newest book THE THIRD ELEPHANT. I’ve got lots of happy memories of a great "author trip" not to mention ice-creams on the beach at Menton, and a friendly lunch in Dolceaqua, and many other magic moments. Now all I have to do is recover, and carry on with the Christmas story I was working on. Sun, le Sud and Santa! An odd life, eh?
A mad fortnight or more, visiting lots of super schools and great children. Good hectic fun, despite the 6am alarm. But the downside (and yes, I’m still feeling a bit sorry for myself!) has been a lurking cold, complete with sore throat and potentially disappearing voice. I seem to have been awash with Lemsip, so this weekend is definitely a quiet one.
So a belated THANK YOU to everyone I met during my previously mentioned WORLD BOOK DAY WEEK visits. More recent thanks to LINTHORPE Primary School, Middlesbrough, who helped me share stories last Monday & Tuesday, and two schools celebrating the opening of their new libraries: BOLSHAW Primary School, Cheadle on Thursday and the Junior Department at SHEFFIELD HIGH SCHOOL for GIRLS on Friday. Two elegantly wide ribbons to snip, and two places crammed full with books that I SO SO wanted to read. Congratulations, & happy reading to all of you! (And well done, librarians!)