MUCH ADO BOOKS

There's a a wonderful small independent bookshop in Alfriston, East Sussex, run by Cate Olson and Nash Robbins. It has recently moved premises and, as you can see from the picture, has a covered archway housing their second-hand books in a way that reminds me of the bookstalls along the Seine in Paris.  The new books are in the small shop on the right. Through the archway is a courtyard (where they keep chickens) leading to a renovated barn.  It is here that they put on events. 

I did a workshop there a couple of weekends ago, showing children my original arwork, sketches and roughs and getting them to make their own little books. It was a well organised, ticketed event, with refreshments laid on. The  price of the ticket included a signed copy of one of my books for each child. We all had a lot of fun and shared our stories at the end.

AUSSI SKETCHES

As I sit at my desk and look out at the November rain, conscious of an absence of light for most of the day, I recall where I was a year ago - travelling down the Queensland coast in a camper van named Rattles, with my middle son:

snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef

bathing in a pool with white parakeets,

lying on the surf beaches

then meeting a dingo, driving Rattles down an isolated track, getting stuck in sand, digging in vain with a plastic dust pan for five hours, and finally being rescued -

so that I could return to my own safe, wet island to enjoy the November rain for a little longer.

THRALE'S

Last night there was a meeting of Thrale's; a newly formed group of writers - adult and childrens - meeting at Lady Cavendish College in Cambridge. There was wine and snacks and socialising and we all brought one of our books. Then the lights were dimmed and Chris Priestley entertained us with a ghost story; The Demon Bench End from Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror; a story set in Cambridge which starts to get nasty in Grantchester Meadows. Not very nice having to cycle home afterwards on a dark, wet, November night.
Thrale's