under another sun

Up early and feeling nervous. I got into good clothes and once my minder Dawn had called around zoomed off to Downs Junior school not too far away with boxes of books. Dawn who left the school last summer, being hugged and kissed by all the teachers. Then I sat in a hall full of children rowdily filing into their classrooms from the playground. There was an interlude of calm in which I collected myself. Then Dawn came back and we sat on the edge of the stage together and a couple of hundred or so children filed into the hall. I was introduced and then talked about the fact I had been to Downs before and earlier children had given me feedback, and that Downs had a special influence on the writing of it. Then read, pretty well I thought, the first chapter of the book. Children very well behaved and very attentive. Then I plunged into four classrooms for long sessions with the kids talking about things like unfairness and prejudice, and skeleton videos and what kind of pseudonyms they w...

In bed this morning admiring the fantastic job Maureen did, turning a gold throw Lorraine bought at Trading Boundaries into a gorgeous pair of full length gold-coloured curtains. I'm sure the denizens of this part of Brighton are grateful no longer to be glancing up at the Kenny genitals from time to time. A dreadful night's sleep not helped much by drinking beers on a school night. Not just a figure of speech either, for I spent today with Dawn at Downs School with 32 more able writers of around 11. Clare joined us and was, like Dawn, an excellent teacher. The first part of the day was spent in using words poetically, and in the afternoon I gave them an advertising brief. The morning session worked well, encouraging them to use their senses. To this end Dawn had arranged for boxes into which you pushed your hand to touch things like cold custard, cold spaghetti with lumps, and a particularly unpleasant mix of jelly and suet. Impressive children, some of whom had words like ...

Among school children again. Spent much of the day being Robin to Dawn's Batman at Downs school. I arrived at 9:30 for a day working with 'gifted and talented' children, who were sat around little tables in the school hall. Gifted and talented means they are the more able ones in their class, not necessarily that they were Mozartian prodigies. The children today were from several schools in the area and were between 10-12. Because they didn't know one another there was a certain amount of self-consciousness in the morning.  My function was to talk about writing and the imagination. An interesting day spent outside my comfort zone. One poor girl was colourfully sick on the floor at one point, and was taken away as a casualty. Beyond this it all went fairly smoothly. Although I am never sure in these encounters with children just how much use they get from my contribution -- but they all seemed to listen. Dawn had arranged for us to go down into the extensive air raid...

Back to school Had a happy afternoon meeting at Downs Junior school with two teachers called Lesley and Cara. We sat on children's chairs discussing me taking Skelly into school for a couple of sessions in April. Is it just me or are teachers hugely better than they used to be? All the ones I have met lately seem really professional compared to the gin soaked rabble who taught me back in 1816. Happened to walk past London Road station as a train arrived, so I was home in five minutes too. Reuben told me later that Downs was his Alma Mater. Otherwise worked briefly and effectively on poems, admin, when not feeling exceedingly run down and hypochondriacal .