 |
| I stopped for coffee next to the Hackney Empire theatre |
at least for us authors (we can't believe our luck when we meet children who have actually read our books!) I hope the children feel the same way. Here are some highlights of my Booklinks Day:
1 The sun came out and Hackney was beautiful!
 |
| Loved these cats I passed on a random street |
2 At Morningside Primary School, Teacher Kenneth totally threw me by playing an old Filipino comedy song - Pinoy peeps, it was Yoyoy Villame's Philippine History Song!!! Oh my! When I got home, I excitedly reported this to my daughter and (groan) she hasn't stopped singing it since!
 |
| Couldn't help noticing this beautiful church opposite Morningside. |
 |
| At Morningside Primary you are greeted by this mosaic: "Today is a great day to learn something new". Yes indeed! |
4 When I'm explaining character and showing pictures of famous characters in children's fiction, I always throw in Tom Sawyer, one of my favourite books when I was a child, but I never expect anyone to have read it. Surprise surprise! One boy had a copy of Tom Sawyer in his BAG! Respect! (Then I found TWO more boys who'd read Tom Sawyer in Millifields and one girl in Clapton - who says children don't read the classics?)
5.At Millfields Community School I had to start by apologizing because the children had left some lovely questions on the Booklinks website but I couldn't for the life of me log in and answer the questions.
 |
| More outdoor art at Millfields |
6 Millfields children performed in the grand finale of the Paralympics!
 |
| A display of Paralympics performing gear |
7 One Millfields boy told me his dad went to the boarding school where Michael Morpurgo was a teacher. They weren't allowed to go out at certain times, but Michael Morpurgo made an exception if they could write a poem!
8 I was signing autographs when I discovered that the girl whose notebook I was signing was Orla Hill who plays Jennifer in Song for Marion, now showing in cinemas near you (starring Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave) ... I promptly asked her sign MY notebook!
9 The Millfields children had watched my video on How to Write Your Own Legend and had tried making their own legends!
10 Clapton Square is one of the prettiest places I've ever seen and I took a lot of pictures while waiting for my gig at Clapton Girls' Academy.
 |
| Somewhere near Clapton Square |
 |
| One of the extraordinary slides Sam showed of dogs working for the war effort |
 |
| Clapton Girls' Academy had this beautiful etching on their gate which reflected the buildings opposite. |
 |
| WISDOM, the mosaic said outside Clapton Girls' Academy. |
13 After I finished my talk the Clapton girls then jumped up and performed scenes from the book - I was gobsmacked! Especially because the girl who played Andi moved and talked just like I imagined Andi would move and talk! Wow, wow, and wow!
 |
| The girls had prepared fabulous mini-performances of scenes from Tall Story! I totally didn't expect it! Photo by Patrick Boyd |
 |
| A banner for me! Photo by Patrick Boyd |
