Thursday March 13th 2025
Dear Diary,
It was another small school visit today, to Rodmarton Primary. But despite there only being 70 pupils in the village hall for my assembly, they could certainly make some noise!!! We stayed in the hall for my first workshop, during which the Reception pupils amazed me with how quickly they completed their letter tracing sheets about Uncle John – there must have been magic in the air – and Year 1 was full of budding artists! Thea and Nina both wrote fantastic stories about adorable monsters, and their pictures of incredibly Uncle John were brilliant. I also loved Skye’s account of what it’s like to own a pet dinosaur. After a quick break, it was onto my workshop for Years 1 & 2. I thought Evie’s blurb about a child who is a top-secret agent was super:
In a normal land there is a house. But this house is not normal. Because in the house in the basement, a girl called Mazey is hiding a secret. She is a secret agent! Mazey’s story starts when she has just come home from school. She went to the basement and tripped. She caught herself, but a wall suddenly shifted. A robot comes out so he can tell her that she has been hired to be a secret agent…
Clara’s story about a child who has a pet dinosaur was also fantastic:
My pet dinosaur is called Diply. She is a stegosaurus. She likes plants and eats them. I play with her and I ride on her back. I got her in the museum and the skeleton came to life. There is my play shed, but she can’t fit. Diply ate my treehouse, but I don’t mind, because I love her. Diply ate my mum’s food in the fridge. Mum blames me, but I blame Diply.
It was wonderful to see how many of the Year 1 and 2 pupils choose to do extra written work in this workshop, rather than moving on to the drawing activity. Many of them produced two or three stories, and Phoebe even managed to get four stories written in just over an hour!!! The afternoon session was just as productive as the earlier ones, too, with pupils impressing me with both the speed at which they worked and their wonderful imaginations. There were so many wonderful pieces of work produced during this session (and many certificates awarded), and I particularly enjoyed Henry’s story about a librarian who can time travel. But it was Lucas’ story that really stood out for me:
So, basically, I am this kid. But not an average kid. Let me tell you my story of how I became a top-secret agent! I was a normal kid until Monday. After school, I was walking home when a man asked me if I wanted to help him – even though he was dressed fully in black and looked kind of shady. I said yes. I know, I know! Looking back, I must have been bored, or extremely dumb, but back to the point… He told me to follow him. He led me into an alleyway with one dim light. He told me to take these glasses and put them on. When I put them on, nothing happened. But then he said, ‘Click the button on the side.’ When I clicked, I could see people though the walls. These were X-ray specs…
After another early start and a busy day (ending with a quick detour on the way home so I could pop into the lovely Yellow-Lighted Bookshop in Tetbury to sign some copies of WARNING: Magic Can Be Dangerous!), I’m feeling pretty shattered. But I now have a few days to get ready for next week’s visits, print lots more certificates and worksheets, catch up on my emails, and then prepare a speech for the Dudley Children’s Book Awards ceremony next Tuesday. And after another delightful day at yet another super school, I have many more wonderful memories to treasure.
