Mrs Butler's Blog 6
September 2005 Number 6
I came in to school this week, clutching the crutches, to see our famous visitor Philip Ardagh, author of the Eddie Dickens series, the Fergal books, the Hieroglyph Handbook and loads of others. I wasn’t going to miss it. He is just amazing; enormous, bearded and armed with the most surreal sense of humour, as you can imagine if you’ve read any of his books. You really must try his website to get the authentic flavour – www.philipardagh.com It has lots of quirky information and pictures on it and I find the journal fascinating (but long – because he has been writing it for quite a while).
When I first saw him, a couple of years ago, he insisted that his beard was bifurcated. It didn’t look like it this time so I was a bit disappointed. (This word will be familiar to anyone who reads Terry Pratchett because Ankh Morpork is always described as bifurcated. If you don’t know it – you could look it up. Your new word for the day. I guarantee you will not forget it, but I doubt if you’ll be dropping it naturally into conversation.)
Anyway, this amazingly successful author was working with our very own Year 8 students. He’s written the beginning; they write the rest – and then they perform it for him at Cheltenham Town Hall during the Literature Festival.
The beginning of the story was a cliff-hanger, but very cleverly ambiguous – you couldn’t pin down anything about the place, time or the characters – that was up to our intrepid Year students. Their only clue: Viking Times. I have no idea what happens next. They will perform on 11th October in front of five other schools who have produced five different endings.
But the really great thing is that I get to see him twice because we are running a trip for 46 lucky Year 7s to the Olympus Theatre on 12th October. I hope he’ll tell us about the next book in the Further Adventures of Eddie Dickens.
At this point I suppose I ought to plug the books, but I think you’ll be disappointed if you go down to the library because they have all disappeared in a reading frenzy. Mrs Rush bought loads more copies of Awful End and extra copies of all the others but you’ll be lucky if you find them in this week. You’ll have to reserve them. Mrs Daniels has put up a little display of all his titles just by the door so you’ll know what to ask for.
I haven’t read The Fall of Fergal or Heir of Mystery yet, but I do have in my possession a sponge model of Fergal’s brain. I suppose it ought to be displayed proudly in the library. I’ll need a glass case - or a pickle jar.
I came in to school this week, clutching the crutches, to see our famous visitor Philip Ardagh, author of the Eddie Dickens series, the Fergal books, the Hieroglyph Handbook and loads of others. I wasn’t going to miss it. He is just amazing; enormous, bearded and armed with the most surreal sense of humour, as you can imagine if you’ve read any of his books. You really must try his website to get the authentic flavour – www.philipardagh.com It has lots of quirky information and pictures on it and I find the journal fascinating (but long – because he has been writing it for quite a while).
When I first saw him, a couple of years ago, he insisted that his beard was bifurcated. It didn’t look like it this time so I was a bit disappointed. (This word will be familiar to anyone who reads Terry Pratchett because Ankh Morpork is always described as bifurcated. If you don’t know it – you could look it up. Your new word for the day. I guarantee you will not forget it, but I doubt if you’ll be dropping it naturally into conversation.)
Anyway, this amazingly successful author was working with our very own Year 8 students. He’s written the beginning; they write the rest – and then they perform it for him at Cheltenham Town Hall during the Literature Festival.
The beginning of the story was a cliff-hanger, but very cleverly ambiguous – you couldn’t pin down anything about the place, time or the characters – that was up to our intrepid Year students. Their only clue: Viking Times. I have no idea what happens next. They will perform on 11th October in front of five other schools who have produced five different endings.
But the really great thing is that I get to see him twice because we are running a trip for 46 lucky Year 7s to the Olympus Theatre on 12th October. I hope he’ll tell us about the next book in the Further Adventures of Eddie Dickens.
At this point I suppose I ought to plug the books, but I think you’ll be disappointed if you go down to the library because they have all disappeared in a reading frenzy. Mrs Rush bought loads more copies of Awful End and extra copies of all the others but you’ll be lucky if you find them in this week. You’ll have to reserve them. Mrs Daniels has put up a little display of all his titles just by the door so you’ll know what to ask for.
I haven’t read The Fall of Fergal or Heir of Mystery yet, but I do have in my possession a sponge model of Fergal’s brain. I suppose it ought to be displayed proudly in the library. I’ll need a glass case - or a pickle jar.
posted by Extreme Reading Group | 6:06 PM
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