A hot week in 'sweltering' Swindon!

I spent the penultimate week of the school academic year in Wiltshire... and boy it was hot in sunny Swindon. As with many parts of the UK, the temperatures soared above 30 degrees but my author visits to four schools proved a great hit!

I arrived in South Marston on Sunday evening to be greeted by a wonderful eccentric landlady at "The Old Post Office Guesthouse" (which proved to be perfect base for my working week). Jackie offered me a tour of her well-presented abode, including the vintage rolls in the garage. Then I was afforded an operatic rendition, as she opened her arms in the middle of the garden to deliver high-pitched notes that rattled the windows on the 18th Century cottage. What an unusual but lovely welcome start to what turned out to be an absolutely fantastic stay in Wiltshire.

On Monday I paid a visit to two schools near the city centre of Swindon... in the morning I showcased my Bradley Baker presentation to the pupils at Oliver Tomkins and then later in the afternoon I met with children from King William Street. Thankfully both school halls were kept cool with open windows and the students displayed a heightened level of enthusiasm as I introduced the main characters in the books. The signing events that followed were a great success with hundreds of new Bradley Baker fans receiving signed copies of the books.

Even Swindon Primary was my next port of call on Tuesday and tour organiser Tracey Badenski had arranged a fantastic event. The stage in the hall was put to good use with my smoking bath taking centre-stage! More record breaking queues of eager youngsters lined up to get their hands on the boy hero and his amazing adventures! Even the children from both classes in year 5 wrote me some fantastic letters to thank me for presenting at their school... brilliant to read such wonderful messages of support - it makes what I do so worthwhile!!

My final author visit took place back in South Marston on Wednesday, so it was a short journey from the Old Post Office to the village school. Wow... what a reception from the 90 children. We had a blast and the event proved to be a big hit with both the students and the teaching staff. I was even asked to sign some of the year 6 leavers school shirts!!!

 

Here's just a few of the many pictures taken by the pupils during the two days I spent at the school;

So, with the Wiltshire tour completed... I headed back to Devon and finished the week with a visit to Start Road Primary in Plymouth. We celebrated the opening of the new library with a fantastic show and all the 300 students were very excited during the presentation. I'm looking forward to a return visit on Monday to meet the children again in the library to sign their Bradley Baker books.

With the end of term fast approaching, I'll be visiting a few more schools during the early part of next week... including a rescheduled event at St Margaret Clitherow in Brixham. I'll let you know how I get on and bring you right up to date this time next week.

Thanks for popping by again folks. Best wishes for now, DLJ