I am a former journalist. I was born and brought up in Edinburgh and have travelled extensively. I have lived in Egypt, where I taught English as a foreign language, and in Italy, where I worked as a news presenter on Vatican Radio. For fifteen years I worked in London as a feature writer and foreign reporter on the Independent and the Sunday Telegraph. Now I live in a village outside Bristol with my husband and two sons.

 

I started writing for children when my boys were little.  I have published three biographies aimed at Key Stage 2 children. I have also, under the pseudonym of Professor Georgie Blink, produced a pet care guide for how to look after your dragon (this is aimed at 5 to 9 year olds). At present I’m just finishing Professor Blink’s second book (about caring for your pet troll). I also have an adventure book set in the Second World War being published with Walker Books next November.

 

Visits to schools

I love teaching children. It’s such a nice change from sitting at my desk cooking up words.  All the sessions that I offer focus on topics that I have written books about. And in each case I like the children to participate—they have to DO something—discuss, imagine, act, and write. I believe that’s so much better for them than just listening to me go on and on and on. In all sessions the children will need pencils and something to lean on—but I supply the worksheets, which are normally in the form of little booklets that they get to keep at the end.

 

 In a day I can do up to three sessions—but the dragon clinic has to be either first thing in the morning or after a longish lunchbreak (the wig and eyelashes and costume take an hour to put on).

 

For the sessions based around Livingstone or Brunel I can do either one or two classes at once (so maximum about 60). The dragon clinic I’ve done up to 80 children at once—though smaller groups will get more chances to stroke the dragon. The Selkirk workshop, because it involves so much art work, is best done with just one class.

 

David Livingstone

Suitable for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 (content will vary according to age)

This is really a workshop about biography and about Victorians— Livingstone being so quintessentially a man of his age. It deals with the super confident Victorian mindset and attitudes then towards the unknown African continent (rather like the moon for them). Also: how Livingstone was one of the first celebrities, and how being a great man doesn’t necessarily make you a nice one. Much on the vagaries of African exploration: how Mrs Livingstone decorated their mud hut with cow dung, how the little Livingstones survived (or didn’t…) their treks across the Kalahari desert, about Livingstone being attacked by driver ants and mauled by a lion and deafened with quinine and tortured with bowel problems. And how useless he was as a missionary and why.

The children will write notes about Livingstone and also fill in maps (they have to chart his trips). There is also a short guessing game. This session takes about an hour.

 

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Year 3,4 5 and 6

Another larger than life Victorian. For this the children also do little books. We start with his precocious childhood, then go on to the Thames tunnel, and the railways and finally the disastrous ships. 

The children have a mini competition to try and draw a perfect circle (Brunel could do so from the age of 4). The children are also asked to devise a machine for removing the coin that was stuck in Brunel’s bronchi. About 55 minutes.

 

Dragon Clinic

Suitable for Years 1, 2, 3 and 4

Professor Georgie Blink gives basic instruction on dragon care. A bit of writing and drawing in little dragon books.  Also some practical exercises in how to control your dragon, what to feed it, the pros and cons of hatching an egg versus picking up a cheap rescue dragon etcetera. If they are good the Professor will let them stroke her invisible dragon Picton on the end of an invisible lead. Also features a chance to touch dragon poo, experience dragon breath etcetera

Takes about 45 minutes

Children will need some green and red crayons.

 

Alexander Selkirk

Best for years 3 and 4 (though other ages are possible).

This is a map-making workshop, based around the book I did on Selkirk— who was the real man behind Robinson Crusoe and was abandoned on the Juan Fernandez Islands off Chile for 4 years.  I talk a bit about Selkirk’s terrible experiences and how he survived and how he went on to become famous after his rescue. Then I show them early maps—which are often wildly inaccurate but do give great scope in other respects.

I then give them copies of the 18th map of Selkirk’s island but this is only an outline—all the wonderful sea monsters and other paraphernalia of the early map has been blanked out. They then fill in the missing bits. We then compare their versions with the original map. This takes about 50 minutes.

 

Awards

Finalist for the Blue Peter award 2003

Arts Council Writers Scholarship 2005

 

Books

My First Pet Dragon (ISBN 978 1 846470660)

Everything you need to know about caring for your dragon

 

David Livingstone: The Legendary Explorer (ISBN 1-904095-84-4)

How Livingstone survived in the wilds of Africa. Features lion and hippo attacks, cannibals, quick sands, rapids etcetera.

 

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (ISBN: 1904977-59-6)

The life and times and disasters of Britain’s greatest engineer-cum- showman.

 

 

Alexander Selkirk: Survivor on a Desert Island (ISBN: 1-904095-79-8)

The real life story of the man who inspired Robinson Crusoe.