Greeting & Musing : A School A Shop and Alice.

Odd drive on Tuesday morning as something was wrong with the car - now happily sorted - but by heavens, not what you want in busy traffic on the way to a school ooking.

So thanks to everyone at Norton Primary School, Malton, North Yorkshire, for welcoming me and for making the day enjoyable after all, and to Mary Marlowe who arranged the day and let me tell stories o=in the lovely library too.

Lovely drive in the sunshine today to the Little Ripon Bookshop, collecting a box of books for an author event I'm organising and very much looking forward to: Emma Barnes talking about her book "How (Not) To Make Bad Children Good".

Also ended up collecting several lovely and longed for books for myself, including an "Alice" with Mervyn Peake's illustrations. Excuses? One: I don't like the nasty, dingy look of my own childhood copy. Two: I can't find the alternative: our copy of "The Annotated Alice". Three: It's the next but one title for my grown-up Book Group. But I just wanted the pictures really.

In fact, Lewis Carroll did lodge in Ripon for some of his life and enthusiasts have claimed that the twisting tunnel below Ripon Cathedral was the inspiration for that famous rabbit hole.

I now have a deep and mysterious hole in my bank account.

Greetings - And a Transformation Spell

Last week I had a most interesting Writing Day at East Ardsley Primary School, working on writing on the theme of Ancient Egypt. Many thanks to everyone involved, especially the children.

Here's something that Year 6 and I made, based on an Egyptian myth.

THE SPELL OF AMUN-RE
Spoken to transform the gentle Cow Goddess Hathor
into the Goddess Sekhmet the Lioness.

O GENTLE HATHOR!
May your soft breath steam with vengeance!
May your teeth turn sharp as spears!
May your tongue long for the taste of blood!

May your eyes blaze like rubies with rage!
May your paws lash like a crash of
thunder!
May your claws slash like swords in battle!
May your skin shine as bright as the burning sun!

May those who spy you approaching -
O GREAT SEKHMET!
Scream with FEAR! FEAR! FEAR!

www.pennydolan.com

PENNY ONE, GERMS NIL . . . ALMOST.

School visits don't come along that often (and may come along even less in future) so the one thing I didn't need was more of a coughy, coldy, spluttery, down-in-the chest bugs good for dulling the brain, especially after a 6am alarm call. But it was grumbling away all the same.

Luckily, the Year 6 classes at SETTLE MIDDLE SCHOOL were great and so, helped by several hot cups of coffee from the kind librarian, I survived and think that a good morning was had by all.

Thanks for being such good audiences, everyone (especially a certain person with The Tractor Of Doom tale)and hope the rest of your week goes well. Got home groggily but safely to a restful afternoon.

By the way, there were so many good fiction titles in the school library that I longed to borrow a whole pile of them. What a pleasure it was to see them there!

LETTERS & A LUNCH DATE

Thak you to the children from RAWDON LITTLEMOOR SCHOOL who sent such lovely letters! You said such lovely things! Will reply as soon as I can.

Today I have a sort of lunch date at ST. JOHN FISHER CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, Harrogate, almost on my doorstep. I'll be in the library to chat to readers about A BOY CALLED MOUSE. Please can I add that I won't be offering to eat any unwanted sandwiches from lunchboxes. I can be bribed, but not in that way. See you soon!

JUST A COINCIDENCE?

Well, a really good day making up stories and poems with the Year 3 & 4 classes at RAWDON LITTLEMOOR SCHOOL. Thank you for a very welcoming school visit - as well as the interesting surroundings full of intriguing things to see. Tigers sleeping on cupboards anyone?

Odd coincidence! Today a child asked me about MR POD & MR PICCALILLI, a picture book I'd written some time ago with NICK SHARRATT so not one I talk about as much as I used to. And another child asked me about what kind of pen I used.

Then I got home to find a parcel from WALKER BOOKS, the P&P publisher. Inside were three special copies of the book, and a special "pen" that will read the text aloud for the young reader if you put the "pen" at the start of a line. It comes all the way from Korea, where P&P is now part of a Learning English scheme!

SEE HEAR

Monday, and a day for tidying and getting ready for tomorrow's school visit to RAWDON LITTLEMOOR PRIMARY SCHOOL, near Leeds.

This morning I took part in a three-way Skype conversation with a couple of other writers about a project we're involved in. Although we know each other a little, I wasn't sure the session would work out. The technology certainly doesn't help, as the slightest cough or "um" (or miouwing cat) cuts out whoever is talking, which makes the discussion rather dislocated. But, as it happened, the session went well and was a really enjoyable chat.

I have heard of authors doing school Skype video visits, which are probably enjoyable too, but I know I'd rather go to tomorrow's school and see everyone in person.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hello again! I had a lovely long Christmas, although that happy time was followed by a horrible sneezy cold. The first weeks felt a bit of a struggle as an editor had asked me to revise a story for a Spring anthology. The school visit requests started arriving, so I had to re-arrange my School Visit folder very quickly. Some interesting visits to come!

Last Thursday, I went to ST. AIDAN'S HIGH SCHOOL "STAR" reading group to talk about A BOY CALLED M.O.U.S.E. Thank you for the sweet-scented narcissi, which lasted until yesterday.

This week I've been thinking about some old and new writing projects. I've also gone through my diary and blocked in some good writing time. Yes, new resolutions for the New Year!

IT TANGLES & ALL SAINTS

At the moment I feel caught in a tangle of technology! I had a great time at MICHAEL SYDDALL PRIMARY SCHOOL, Catterick on Friday 25th June, where I opened their new (and roomy) Library & Resource Centre THREE times - once for KS1, once for KS2 and once for the Parents Association and the Governors, as well as three "author" sessions with the children. It was something the school had been planing for several years so a great celebration for everyone. And I got very good at cutting wide purple ribbons.

However, just as I was tasting the delicious spread laid out in the library, a friendly Governor & IT specialist pointed out that what I think of as my "school blog" wasn't up to date. Oh dear!

That was when I realised that the link to this new "Penny Dolan's Diary" wasn't active on my website yet, and my old Journal had fallen foul of Blogger's updating a month or more back. However, today - 4th of July in fact - my kind resident IT expert has updated some of my website, including linking in this blog and my Year Of Mouse blog too, and putting up the cover of my imminent book.

The past week has been very busy with all sorts of admin and meeting deadlines for short stories - a Winter Anthology Story and a 247 word story for the Bloomsbury website. It's been slightly interrupted by the fact that I'm learning about how much time Facebook takes up too. Where does the time go?

But there was time on Wednesday 30th June for a lovely school visit to the Early Years & KS 1 children of ALL SAINTS SCHOOL, FEATHERSTONE nr Pontefract , where I also met two very smiley librarians who generously carried my bags for me. It felt like a life of luxury, so thank you, Frances & Christine. I had a highly brilliant time with the children & staff too so here's a quick "thank you" wave to everyone at All Saints!!!