Tuesday June 23rd 2026
Holy Redeemer Primary welcomed me on one of the hottest days of the year, and I honestly thought everyone would be desperate to conserve their energy. I certainly wouldn’t have blamed anyone for doing the bare minimum.
Instead, the exact opposite happened.
I was melting…
The teachers were melting…
But the pupils just kept on writing!
Across every workshop, children were writing page after page, coming back for extra sheets, and choosing to carry on with my writing activity rather than moving on to my drawing activity.
I couldn’t believe the quantity of work they produced.
Even more impressive was the standard of it.
Sofija, who won my dragon prize, perfectly summed up the day. I honestly think she’d have happily carried on writing all day long if she’d had half a chance! 😂😂😂
There were plenty of other lovely moments, too.
It was, of course, music to my ears when the organiser greeted me and said, “We’ve already put your visit in the newsletter…” before adding that she’d also send parents another quick reminder. Things like that really do make a difference when it comes to end-of-day book sales.
Reception had me chuckling as they laughed out loud whilst I read an excerpt from WARNING: Grandma’s Gone Bonkers.
Year 6 rounded off the day with some fascinating conversations about writing, illustrating, and what they should do if they wanted to become published authors or illustrators in the future.
And Cooper and Jonathan spent their break time designing and colouring a cover for their suggested future Words of WARNING title before proudly presenting it to me. After photocopying it so they could each keep a copy, I headed home with the original, which I’ll treasure.
The icing on the cake was leaving the school feeling genuinely appreciated and hearing that they’d love to invite me back. I don’t charge a penny for any of my school visits… so genuine appreciation and thanks really do mean the world to me.
A huge thank you to all the pupils, teachers, and staff at Holy Redeemer Primary.
You were all amazing… even though I still haven’t quite cooled down! ☀️
