So What's Been Happening?

Five unexpected events that have occurred since last I blogged:

1) A Barba Do Tio Alonso arrived in the post - Uncle Alonzo is a fully-fledged Brazilian at last! Now all I need is someone who speaks Portuguese to translate for me...

2) Following a generous gift of fresh-from-the-tree damsons from a lovely neighbour, I have successfully cooked two different damson-related desserts from scratch! Recipes to come in later posts.

3) I have started driving lessons again. No fiddling about with manual cars for me this time, though; it's automatic all the way! I have decided that I possess neither the patience nor the robust mental disposition necessary to cope with a manual car. Yes, I've heard all the arguments - 'What if you have to drive someone else to hospital in their car?' being one of the most popular. Frankly, if my control of a manually operated automobile is all that stands between the critically ill individual in question and certain death, then they might as well start picking out hymns... ;-)

4) A random evening google resulted in the discovery that Windows Vista has inbuilt speech recognition software - very handy! I have already begun training it. Listen to my voice. You are feeling very sleepy...

5) I have had a new passport photo taken which - for the first time in living memory - did not result in my looking like a newly-caught criminal, digits still wet with fingerprinting ink. My occasional visits abroad will no longer begin and end in shame as I hand over the little red book and try to neutralise the passport official's incredulous stare with a nonchalant shrug and a Yeah, the photo's hideous but what can I do about it? eye-roll. It is nothing less than an honest-to-God miracle!

Emma vs Technology

Like Alien vs Predator (though with slightly less gore and rather more swearing), the saga of Emma vs Technology continues.

I may have mentioned this before but, in the present circumstances, I feel it bears repeating: Technology Hates Me. It truly does. From the computer I still think of as 'new' that now insists on blue-screening with increasing regularity, to the mobile broadband that only lives up to half of its name (Mobile? Well, yes. Broadband? Not so much), the technological trappings of the modern world seem to be conspiring against me.

I have, however, managed to stay online with a non-blue screen and working broadband long enough in the last couple of days to get a few things done, including this very update that you see before you. I have turned my Twitter profile picture green in common with 20,000+ others, updated the Athlone Trust website in time for their next fundraising run on July 12th, paid an extremely rare visit to Facebook, exchanged a number of e-mails at a significantly-speedier-than-snail's pace (what joy!) and been able to receive a brilliant e-card featuring a wooden spoon with more talent at cookery than Delia and Jamie combined!


If things continue going my way, I shall soon be back to give you my impressions of Peter Pan, which I am going to see tonight in Kensington Gardens. A belated birthday treat, I have been looking forward to it for ages - fingers crossed that it lives up to the hype!

All the Fun of the Fair?

I am going to The London Book Fair for the first time tomorrow.

I'm not quite sure what to expect - I've heard both good and bad reports from people in the know - but this year they are offering an interesting program of seminars on various aspects of writing, publishing and marketing children's books, not to mention a shiny new Author Lounge to hang out in, so it seems to be as good a time as any to dip my toe in the water!

I shall let you know how I get on...

Happy Easter!

There is a Green Hill Far Away
Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895)

There is a green hill far away,
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.

We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains He had to bear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.

He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by His precious blood.

There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven, and let us in.

O dearly, dearly has He loved!
And we must love Him too,
And trust in His redeeming blood,
And try His works to do.

HAPPY EASTER!

The Oxford Literary Festival

I spent the weekend at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival and, once again, had a fantastic time. The weather was gorgeous, the location (Christ Church college) both beautiful and convenient, and attendance at nine events, shoe-horned into a little less than forty-eight hours, saw the setting of a new personal record!

The highlights included an extremely entertaining debate between children’s writers Helena Pielichaty and Penny Dolan (Penny arguing in favour of fantasy in children’s books, whilst Helena championed reality), a wonderful talk by former Children’s Laureate, Michael Morpurgo, and a moving presentation by ex-Royal Marine, Pen Farthing, who not only managed to rescue a large number of mistreated dogs while serving in Afghanistan, but has also now set up the charity Nowzad Dogs to continue the good work. You can read more about Pen's experiences (and help the dogs by doing so) in his brilliant book, One Dog at a Time: Saving the Strays of Helmand.

I also very much enjoyed Martin Brasier and Emma Darwin's fascinating joint event, which was ostensibly concerned with Charles Darwin and the Cambrian explosion, but turned out to be incredibly wide-ranging, covering everything from fossils to metaphors, by way of the Wars of the Roses! I was delighted to get my copy of Emma's latest book, A Secret Alchemy, signed afterwards and greatly look forward to reading it - the first paragraph has me hooked!

The train home to Paddington was sweltering, though thankfully not as crowded as the one up to Oxford two days beforehand had been, and we arrived back in London to discover that the Hammersmith and City Line was closed for 'engineering works' - grrr! Despite these hitches, however, nothing was able to dampen my spirits after such a great weekend - nor to dissuade me from going again next year!

Now That's Magic!

After being directed to the following YouTube clip by a fellow member of the wonderful WriteWords writers' community, I couldn't resist sharing it with you. I hope it will give you, too, enough giggles to brighten your afternoon!

All you need is the most basic knowledge of Harry Potter...

The 39 Steps

To celebrate my father's birthday yesterday (Happy Birthday, Dad!) we went to see The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus.

With a mere four actors playing 139 characters in 100 minutes, the show promised to be funny, fast and furious. And, happily, it kept that promise. Inventive, clever, entertaining, amusing - in many places, laugh-out-loud comical and jaw-droppingly creative - there are an absurd number of adjectives that I could use to describe this production, but I shall attempt to restrain myself!

What I will tell you is that my mother (who is not a huge fan of trekking up to the West End for any reason) considered it the perfect type of show (comedy action adventure), in the perfect location (just next to Piccadilly Circus tube station, so no long changes at Green Park required) and lasting the perfect length of time (1hr 45 mins, including the interval). If it was good enough to convert her, then just imagine what it could do for you... ;-)

No prior knowledge of the book or various film and television adaptations is required. 'Richard Hannay' does a very good job of introducing himself and explaining his situation as the story begins, and the old-style radio broadcasts that punctuate the action thoughout the show keep even the most obtuse audience member up to date as the poor man is chased up and down the country, trying to protect state secrets, unearth foreign spies and escape from a police force determined to arrest him for a murder he did not commit!

After something of a theatrical drought, I now have a few more theatre trips booked for the next couple of months, including Brief Encounter in April and the (hopefully) spectacular Peter Pan for my own birthday in June. If the upcoming shows - all of which I have heard good things about - are anywhere near as impressive as yesterday night's was, I shall be a very happy theatregoer indeed...

A Delightful Day

Many thanks indeed to the pupils and staff of the Virgo Fidelis Preparatory School, who made me so welcome when I went to spend their School Book Day with them yesterday.

In the morning I visited three separate classes - the Nursery, Reception and Year 1 - all of whom were delightful and very generous with their lovely hugs! After reading Uncle Alonzo’s Beard, I conducted a short quiz on the book. Each correct answer, of which there were many, won an Alonzo badge. Following the quiz, the children were able to turn the tables on me and ask any questions that they wanted to. I then finished the session by introducing them to one of Alonzo’s relatives, My Scandalous Sister Sophia – a terribly badly behaved little girl, who I am certain had little in common with the angelic nippers of Virgo Fidelis! ;-)

In the afternoon I had the privilege of sitting in on illustrator Garry Parsons' wonderfully engaging workshop with the older pupils. Then, at the end of the day, we both had the chance to chat with the children and say hello to their parents, whilst signing the books that Adriana from the marvellous Tales on Moon Lane bookshop had sold.

Lots of photographs were taken, all of which I am certain were absolutely hideous! I don’t consider myself to be the most photogenic of people at the best of times, but yesterday I was sporting crazy hair, a shiny face and scrunched up eyes (we were outside, staring into the sun) on top of everything else! I can only hope that the incriminating pictures will all end up locked in a deep, dark vault somewhere, never to see the light of day again...

I must offer particular thanks to the Deputy Headmistress, Mrs Pollard, and to VFPS parent, family friend and all-round fantastic person, Isabelle Blake-James, who organised the whole day. It was a real pleasure to visit Virgo Fidelis and I look forward to returning at some time in the future. :-)