Tuesday June 4th 2024

Dear Diary,

Another delightful day at another super school. Today, it was just a short trip across Cheltenham to Oakwood Primary, where the reception I received made me feel like royalty! I got to feast my eyes on all the fantastic creations the pupils whipped up in no time. Children really do have incredible imaginations, and it was lovely to help them tap into theirs today and watch them conjure up characters and stories that I hope they’ll continue to work on until they have books of their own. I’m so relieved to see that the love of reading hasn’t died out, and that the members of this young generation still love burying their heads in a good book, or being read to aloud. When asked if being an author had made me rich, I had to say no. But I do feel rich in so many other ways, from all the wonderful doors that have opened up to me recently. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t play ball today. But its miserable demeanour didn’t spoil all the fun the pupils, teachers, and I had this afternoon. I hope many of them will join me at the Regent Arcade Shopping Centre on July 13th for my magical treasure hunt. As it seems they like the idea of seeking out badges and possibly winning Lego prizes even more than they enjoyed their free bookmarks and stickers today. I left Oakwood with another treasure trove of memories I’ll look back on over the years. Every single pupil welcomed me into their school so whole-heartedly and made the afternoon so joyful. Oh… and one adorable young pupil ran all the way home and back after school to get some money to buy a copy of my book. I hope it doesn’t disappoint. I’d like to put her on the list to receive a free advanced copy of my next book in the series. So, if I don’t hear from her and her parents directly, I’ll have to get in touch with her teachers to sort this.