Cathy MacPhail: Exeter Tour

Last week, we took the amazing Cathy MacPhail on The Scottish Friendly Children's Book Tour and we went to Exeter with the help of Cyprus Well. This Monday, The wonderful Cathy stops by the blog to talk about being on tour with Chris and Candy from Scottish Book Trust.

“You can’t have coffee, you didn’t tick for it.”  Our landlady had strict rules about filling in your breakfast order the night before. Candy, with her lovely South African lilt, found it quite endearing. The landlady, bless her, was never annoyed, only anxious that we weren’t getting a good breakfast before setting off for a day’s work.  And next morning’s forms were waved at us as we were leaving the dining room. She was fighting a losing battle. We never got it right all week.

This is just one of the special memories I have of my week in Exeter.

Everyone was so helpful and friendly. The hospitality was fantastic. Alex and Tracey from Cyprus Well took us for dinner the first night. We wandered through Exeter town centre, trying to find somewhere that still served food. And imagined the statue of the Blue Boy coming to life and walking behind us.

The school visits were so well organised, and how well prepared and enthusiastic those schools were.  Honiton Primary turned up late with a teacher who said they would have to leave early, and then we couldn’t get rid of them, they had enjoyed it so much.

One school had a walkway above the library with a noisy class in it, and a BTech lesson going on behind the partition, it was like giving a talk in a battle zone....and yet, the pupils listened and enjoyed it.

The queue waiting for books to be signed and the girl who walked to the front, flicked her blonde hair and said. “ The queue starts behind me.” And they all moved behind her. Bet she’ll turn up in one of my books soon.

The wonderful evening when Chris found a perfect place for a spooky video of Another Me, I read an excerpt and then I loomed behind a green glass tombstone, looking like a ghoul...some people might say, I always look like that! But I bet it’s going to look great on the video.

Chris and Candy were wonderful, they made everything run so smoothly.  Only thing is, I can’t stop thinking in Candy’s South African accent.  I just picked it up in my mind... and now it’s stuck there. Am I the only one who does that!

Final memory, fantastic memory.  Teignmouth College, I was greeted like a pop star.  They even gave me a Mexican Wave when I walked into the packed auditorium, and I thought, I am going to remember this moment forever. They made me feel so special!

Still didn’t get me a coffee for breakfast next morning.

I hadn’t ticked the box.

You can also read Candy's blog from the tour and check out other tour pictures and feedback by going to Cathy's our page on our website.

To find out more about Cathy, please visit her website.

You can also follow Cathy on Facebook and Twitter.

You can follow Cyprus Well on Facebook and Twitter as well as visiting their website to keep up-to-date with them.

Listen to Cathy reading from her book Another Me below.

Early Years Residency: Alison Murray, Glasgow-based author and illustrator, is Scottish Book Trust's first Early Years Writer in Residence.
Over the next nine months, Alison will work with a Home-Start group in Renfrewshire, in an area of socio-economic deprivation, to support parents’ reading and writing skills and embed a love of book sharing with young children within the community.
Read all about the residency in Alison's blog.

Other news:

Philip Pullman is without doubt one of the greatest writers of all time and we are absolutely delighted to bring him to you with our next Authors Live event. The event will be streamed live on the 9th of December but you can register for the event now.

We have a new book of the month for November. This month we have Gillian Philip's Firebrand. To enter our competition, please visit our book of the month page on the website. Good luck!

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