I feebly excused my lateness on the grounds that I had struggled to get all my presentation material into our small car.

This week I gave a couple of talks to the upper and lower schools at Long Ditton St Mary’s Junior School. What a wonderful experience! All the kids were really engaged and keen to hear about what’s entailed in working as an author. I spent the whole day at the school, talking to kids as they wrote stories based on images from some of my books. The staff were well prepared and keen to make the most of the day. In particular, the charismatic head, David Gumbrell, worked hard to ensure the day was a success, and made me feel very welcome.

I really needed his reassurance when I arrived: a journey that should have taken less than 90 minutes actually took two and a half hours, and I was very late. Next time I have to use the M25, I’ll just double the driving time!