The Boy is nearly there.

We were in Carlisle shopping a couple of days ago and came across this sculpture of chairs. It’s beside one of the paths towards the stadium where Suzanne used to train in The Boy with Two Heads, but the story is set two years ago, and this is quite new. It seems unlikely for this part of the world, more reminiscent of Barcelona or Lisbon. The weather was so cold and windy that I didn’t manage to find out if it has a name and who made it. I’ll have another look on a better day. 

On a completely different note, it seems there’s to be an award ceremony at the IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) conference in Glasgow in March at which I will be given a certificate for winning first place with Dragons' Eggs in its category. When Nelson’s Dream won, it was a very small affair at the CUP stand, but this time it will be a bit more public and involve people having drinks and making speeches. I’ve known about winning the category since August, but had no idea there would be this celebration. Brilliant!

Eastern Highlands, Zimbabwe

Yesterday there was an email from the friend in Zimbabwe who checked over the text of Dragons’ Eggs for me to make sure there were no cultural mistakes. He jokingly mentions Juliasdale, a small town in the Eastern Highlands, where Brian and I climbed a granite hill and looked out across miles of mountains. It's not where the action of Dragons' Eggs happens but it is such a wonderful place, I want to include a picture here. I'm really looking forward to the better weather when we can do some more walking in the hills here in Cumbria.

My work on The Boy with Two Heads is almost done now, except for letting people know about it. There will be checks of text and so on till the last minute, but that looks like being within three weeks or so. I have made a proposal to CUP for another Reader for them. Their Readers are not timeslip novels, of course, but they can be just as complex to write because they are for young adults learning English, so the language and structure are carefully controlled, as well as the content.

We've been trying to get some more tickets to the Olympics in London, but the website seems to be having trouble dealing with the traffic. We wanted to see some of the athletics but haven't managed as yet, in spite of Brian spending hours on line. 

I shall be busy with other parts of my life for the next couple of weeks, so won't be posting anything here until later in the month. Thank you for your interest so far!