Marcus Sedgwick Western Isles Book Tour Blog Part Four
Day Four! The weather has really closed in on us now, but still there is no denying the beauty of these islands, even in the wet. And there is no denying also the friendliness of everyone we meet here – including complete strangers – last night a family passing by stopped to ask if we needed directions coming off the ferry, and invited us to follow them so we found the way to our hotel.
We headed down from North Uist to Lionacleit where I spoke to around 100 S1 and S2 students in their fantastic theatre space. Among them was the son of the family who’d helped us last night, who immediately asked if we’d got there okay. The session flew by and there wasn’t enough time to tackle everyone’s questions, sadly. Oh well, another time, I hope.
This afternoon we drove down to South Uist, passing some really pretty cottages, such as this thatched number whose roof appeared to be held down by rocks on a rope…
The venue for this afternoon’s event was Daliburgh School, where I spoke to around 50 P4-P7s. They were fantastic fun to talk with, five of whom helped me perform a short play with great enthusiasm, and then I answered as many questions as I could in ten minutes, ending with a good one. No children’s author can ever get too big for their boots, I think, because every now and again a young reader will ask something in all innocence which reminds you that, after all, you’re only some guy putting dumb ideas into a book, and nothing more than that.
Example?
‘Last question then,’ I said, and picked a smiling boy in the back row.
Then came the question that put me back in my box.
‘Mr Sedgwick,’ he said. ‘Have you ever met any real authors..?’
Finally, here are some photos from today that really made me smile.
