East Meets West - A Richard III Extravaganza

We have created a Richard III extravaganza. Last week we gave our first performance as part of Leicester's ArtBeat Festival and I'm delighted to say that it was very well received.

Nimisha Parmer showed us the story of the Battle of Bosworth using the ancient Indian dance style of Bharat Natyan. Her son, Aayush, accompanied her on the drums.

I took to the floor next, performing a rather tongue-in-cheek interview between a modern day reporter and the Witch of Daneshill. It's all in my book if you'd like to buy one - The Children's Book of Richard III. I went on to explain how a King's body came to be under a car park in Leicester.

Me playing the part of the Witch of Daneshill

Our grand finale was Richard Buckley, head of Archaeology at Leicester University, the man who led the dig that discovered Richard III's body. He gave us a fascinating insight into what the dig was like and then produced a 'King' in full period armour with sword, dagger, halberd, the lot. It was not only the kids who were excited. We were all fascinated by this King-cum-knight in almost shiny armour.

Richard Buckley on the left with a halberd

Richard Buckley demonstrating how a dagger was thrust through Richard III's skull
(as you can see he didn't really do it!)

There are plans for repeat performances so if you missed this one then watch this space for the announcement of our next Richard III extravaganza.

Everyone's Reading

Last week Leicester was alive with reading and writing events for this year's Everyone's Reading Festival. I went to quite a few sessions and thought I'd share some of them with you here.

I attended a poetry writing session run by the talented Helen Mort. Helen inspired us to write portrait poetry which ranged from the personal to the surreal. It was a great evening and I can see why Helen has been the Derbyshire Poet Laureate for the last few years. I'd like to know why Leicester doesn't have a poet laureate.

I visited the Leicester Writers' Club for an open evening. I used to be a regular member in the last century! (I feel so old!) It was lovely to go back and meet old friends and they were all so welcoming. Their evening consisted of a panel of six members who had each chosen the book that inspired them to start writing. More about this when I've told you about the rest of my week.

My signing table at Waterstones Leicester

I was invited to BBC Radio Leicester to talk about The Children's Book of Richard III and my imminent appearance at Waterstones Leicester. It was going to be a proper interview but there was so much happening last week that they didn't manage to squeeze in more than a quick shout-out but it was fun and when I arrived at Waterstones there was a queue waiting for me, so it must have jogged a few memories.

I love to hear the questions that children ask at these bookshop events. I'm humbled by the awe that they express when I tell them that I did, indeed, write the book. I would like to think that my book, and the story I tell them about writing it, inspires some of them to have a go at writing themselves, which brings me back to the topic of 'books that inspire us to write'.

The panel from the Writers' Club said that they had great trouble selecting one book that inspired them to write and I'm not surprised. I've tried to think of one but I'm stumped. I think that the inspiration must have come from a mighty mixture of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and newspaper/magazine articles.

I can come up with several books that influenced me in life. As a child I was totally enthralled by Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven. I wanted to have a secret den and plans of trips by boat to deserted islands with lemonade, sandwiches and a scoundrel of a dog to add to the excitement.

When I became a teenager it was Wuthering Heights that had me gripped. I was besotted with the hopelessness of their relationship and the depth of love and indeed hate that this relationship created. It suited and probably fuelled my mood of teenage angst. I spent several years collecting old versions of the book and still have them all on my book shelf.

I'm intrigued to know which books have most inspired you.

Breaking News

Today has been an exciting day for me. It is the 150^th anniversary of the death of Sir Joseph Paxton and I have been to St Peter’s Church at Edensor on the Chatsworth Estate for a Commemoration Service. I talked at length with John Greatrex, Fellow of the RSA, who organized the event. I spoke with Canon Dave Perkins who conducted the service. I was introduced to the Duke of Devonshire. A film crew interviewed me. I bet you’re wondering why. I shall explain all.

Sir Joseph Paxton was a gardener, an architect and a Member of Parliament, but he is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was erected in Hyde Park in 1851 for the Great Exhibition... 

Here comes the really exciting bit... 

I have been commissioned to write The Children’s Book of The Crystal Palace. It’s going to be in the same format as The Children’s Book of Richard III and I can’t wait to get started on the research.

You’re going to be hearing a lot about Paxton and the Crystal Palace over this next year. It’s a fascinating subject and I will definitely be sharing with you glimpses of the book as it emerges, but for now I’ll share with you some photos of my day.

Inside St Peter's Church just before the service began. The children from Pilsley School took part of the service and you could feel their enthusiasm. 

Joseph Paxton's grave. The children had made flower baskets that they placed in front of the grave.

The cameraman from Sort of Films who interviewed me. He seemed to need a rest after the interview. Was I really that difficult a subject!

And last but not least, John Greatrex wearing his Joseph Paxton hat and declaring the start of his campaign to rebuild the Crystal Palace. The site has yet to be named so watch this space.

Going Back

Sometimes it’s hard to go back. I’m not good at revisiting the past. It always turns out to be one of those ‘lump in the throat’ experiences, but this week I had no choice. This was work. My old school, St Barnabas Primary, had invited me to talk at a school assembly about my Children’s Book of Richard III and sell books afterwards so, of course, I agreed.

A bit of background – I was teaching at St Barnabas for many years but I thought I wanted to progress up the ranks, become a Head one day. I started to study for an MA and I applied for promotion in a different school. The bad news was that I got the job. The even worse news was that promotion meant a lot more work, a lot more responsibility and a job that, in retrospect, was not possible for one person to do and keep their sanity. I kind of, temporarily, lost mine. I left the new job within months on the sick and never returned to full time teaching again.

So, as I said, this week I went back to St Barnabas for the first time in over 20 years and I remembered how warm and friendly it had been and still is and it hit me, with an almost physical slap, what a mistake I’d made leaving that school.

The experience reminded me of a favourite poem. I know I’ve mentioned it on my blog before but it bears a second mention. It is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.

Do you ever regret decisions made?

A busy few weeks

What a week it’s been here in the UK! In fact, for me it’s been an interesting and busy few weeks all round and here are some of the reasons why:

The Election:  I promise this will only be a short moan...

For those who have missed it, most people expected Labour (the left) to do well, well enough to form a coalition government. They didn’t. Cameron and the Tories (the right) now have an overall majority. I'm not going to discuss policies here. Lots of other bloggers have covered that. What I find most surprising is that, everywhere I go, people are expressing their displeasure with the results. So where are all those people who voted another Conservative government in?  ...End of moan!

A cartoon illustration from the
Children's Book of Richard III

Children’s Book of Richard III:  The book is continuing to sell really well and I’m delighted with all the positive feedback. I'm still doing schools visits. I may blog about some more of them soon! This week I’ve met with the theatre group who are performing my Children’s History of Leicester in schools. They have plans, funding permitting, to take my Children’s Book of Richard III into schools using the same hilarious format. I’m very excited about this and so am typing with my fingers crossed (metaphorically speaking, of course).

Jewish Gilroes:  I'm still receiving and adding family stories to the Leicester Jewish Cemetery website. If you're interested in social history, or if you know members of the Leicester Jewish Community, you might like to catch up on these additional stories. You can see the list here:  Jewish Gilroes Stories

Jewish Voices:  I love the way that my Jewish Voices book in still in demand. I get a steady stream of email requests about it. If anyone would like a copy I have some to spare, courtesy of the Heritage Lottery. It’ll only cost you the postage. Here is a link to the website to remind you: Leicester Jewish Voices

Plus:  And of course I haven't yet mentioned my new writing project that I'm researching (fascinating but I'll save it for another blog post), my regular writing workshops, life, the universe, etc, etc.......

Amazon, The Children's Book of Richard III and the weather

Amazon:

I'm pleased to announce that Amazon is now stocking The Children's Book of Richard III. You can view the page here. 

Even though my first three books were listed on Amazon, this is my first real working relationship with the company and so I have been spending a bit of time mulling over the setting up and wording of my Author Page which you can view here. It is still a work-in-progress. I have been browsing other Author Pages and making improvements to mine as they occur to me. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. 

My next task is to get the book reviewed by a national newspaper. I have a few ideas how I might go about this but, again, any suggestions would be very welcome.

Weather Report:

They have forecast snow and I suspect that people are stockpiling tins of food even as I type! We're not very good in the UK when it comes to snow. Of course, no one likes it when neither feet nor car wheels can 'make purchase' but the excitement that it generates is sometimes verging on the farcical. It is guaranteed to make the news headlines. Reporters are sent to snowy streets to show us what it looks like. We are treated to aerial shots of white fields and action movies of children on makeshift sledges. 

What makes this kind of reporting all the more amusing is that bad weather happens every year. It's winter! So wrap up warm, be careful how you go and don't let the snow hype get you down.

Me and Richard III

We've Been Visiting Schools

For the last few weeks Richard III has been escorting me into local schools. I've been mainly talking to Year 4 and 5 classes (ages 9 to 11). My publisher, Lynn Moore from The Reading Shop has been coming with me too. We have an excellent partnership. I talk about The Children's Book of Richard III and she sells it.

Every school is different. Some have the children waiting in rows with pre-prepared questions. Others just slot me into their busy schedule.

Every class of children is different too. They each want to know about different aspects of the book. Today's children were really fascinated by the Princes in the Tower. Last week the children were more interested in the fact that Richard's body had been found beneath a Leicester City car park. The week before, I was quizzed about how I'd written the book and how it had been produced.

The children's questions are fascinating and funny in equal measure. Last week I was asked if I remember when Richard III was alive! The teacher assured me she would do some more work on maths awareness. This week I was asked if I personally believed Richard III to be a good or a bad King. Good question. I sat on the fence, as I have done in the book, but then admitted that, because I'd spent so much time writing about him, I had become really fond of him and was prepared to believe that all the bad press had come from Henry VII and the Tudors.

This was me this afternoon at a small village school just outside Leicester:

I'm pleased to say that the children do have one thing in common, they all want to buy a book.

If you'd like to buy a copy then please visit The Reading Shop website or if you're in the Leicester area then why not pop into the shop and support a local children's independent bookshop. It's on The Parade in Oadby.

Collecting Happy Memories

We've just spent a bit of quality time with our amazing grandkids. I have to admit that I am now exhausted but it was lovely to see them and I've gathered up lots of happy memories while we were there. We saw monkeys in the monkey forest playing and chasing each other. We played on the swings in the local park and I plucked up the courage to swing high, like when I was a kid. Then there were the stories that we read together and the games that we created whilst crawling on the floor. The best memories are the hugs and kisses and the words, "I love you, Grandma Ros and Grandpa Rod".

Those happy memories will keep me going for a little while until we can meet up again. (Why can't families all live round the corner from each other like in the olden days or am I wearing those tinted specs again?) But I came away from our visit with more than happy memories. I came away with a wise piece of advice from my son. (Don't you love it when your kids become wiser than you?!) On our last evening there he put little grandson to bed and came down saying, "I always like to leave him with a happy thought to take with him as he goes off to sleep. Tonight he chose the baby monkeys playing in the forest."

A lot of life is about what's in our heads, isn't it. We can think about something lovely and smile or we can think about something awful and grimace. It sounds like an obvious choice and if it was as easy as that then we'd all spend all our time thinking lovely thoughts. For me the hardest times are those hours in the middle of the night, but maybe I can turn that around if I listen to my son's advice and take a happy thought with me when I go to sleep. (If you're reading this, Son, and I know that you often do, then thanks. I'll certainly give it a go.)

Daughter update: I'm so pleased to report that my daughter is recovering well following major surgery earlier in the summer. She's hoping to get back to work after the Bank Holiday week. Thanks to everyone who sent her get well wishes.

Children's Book of Richard III update: We have almost sold out of the first print run. Because there were one or two small changes required, this next print run has become a 2nd edition. Apologies if you wanted to order a copy this week. The 2nd edition will be available either online or in person from The Reading Shop in about two weeks' time.

Photos of an amazing day

Yesterday was an amazing day. We had two book launch events for The Children's Book of Richard III and each one was the kind of exciting event that gives you an inner buzz.

This blog post is going to be totally self-indulgent with photographs of both events, in case anyone is interested in looking at them.

The morning event was a media launch held in Leicester's Guildhall, an appropriate venue because the hall predates Richard III. This is a picture of Alice Povey and myself (Alice is on the right) posing for the Leicester Mercury photographers. I've started with this photo to show you what an amazing room we were in. Just look at that wonderful fireplace!

A clearer photograph of Alice and myself.

We were delighted that Richard Buckley, Head of Archaeology at Leicester University, was able to join us. This photo shows him talking to us about the book.

We were interviewed by Bridget Blair from BBC Radio Leicester and that interview can be heard on the Radio Leicester website here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p022yr98

In the evening we had a private launch party at The Reading Shop. The crowds were overwhelming. This photo was taken by Dave Goodman from Soar Valley Press, the lovely people who printed the book for us.

We were delighted that Tori King, Leicester University Geneticist, the lady who announced the DNA results on Richard's skeleton, was able to join us in the evening. A number of guests asked if she would also sign the book and this photo shows her joining our 'signing table'. She's sitting to my right in the middle of the photograph.

I shall end this picture show with a photo of some of our writing group members. From the left there's Alex Gutteridge, me, Josephine Feeney and Bridget Blair. They have been so supportive and they piled me high with flowers and chocolates last night making me feel like a real star!

If you'd like to buy the book it's for sale at The Reading Shop, Oadby, Leicester or online at The Reading Shop.

*New Release* The Children's Book of Richard III

I'm proud to announce that

The Children's Book of Richard III 

is now published and available for you to buy. 

Here's my copy...

When I started writing this book the plan was to explain the last years of the Wars of the Roses in easy terms. As I progressed through the story of his life I became more involved with Richard, his life, the way that his name was treated after his death and the excitement of the archaeological dig.  Consequently this book has become much more than my original plans for it. To give you a taster of what's in the book here is a photo of the Contents Page and aren't Alice Povey's illustrations amazing!

The most exciting bits to write were... well, all of it really, but I did enjoy writing the interview with the Witch of Daneshill. She was said to see Richard riding out to the Battle of Bosworth. His foot hit the side of Bow Bridge and she predicted that the next time he crossed that bridge it would be his head that knocked against the side... and she was right! I also loved writing about the science and archaeology aspects of the search for his body.

(Update posted on Friday 4th July: Apologies if PayPal tried to add £10 shipping on top of the p&p. This has now been resolved. We will be including payment by credit and debit card very soon. )

If you'd like to buy a copy, you can get one at The Reading Shop either online or phone through your order on 0116 2717077 and it will be posted to you. Alternatively you can pop into the shop on The Parade, Oadby, Leicester.

Note for teachers:

 I will be visiting schools next term to talk about Richard III and the book, which covers a range of Key Stage 2 areas in addition to history. If you are interested in booking a school visit then please email me on rosalind.kathryn@gmail.com

Daughter update: Thanks to all those of you who have sent your kind messages to my Daughter. She is starting the slow post-op recovery and, yes, I'll still be Nurse Mum for at least another week.

Richard III and Fancy Headstones

A blog post of two halves:

Richard III

The other day I went along with Lynn, my publisher, to the printers, Soar Valley Press to do a final, final check of The Children’s Book of Richard III. I found myself discussing gutter marks and bleed lines. I’m learning so much! Here is a preparatory version of the complete outside cover; back, spine and front.

Everything was good with the proofs so now the printers are printing and binding while I sit back and sip tea… I wish! We have two launches to arrange; a media launch and a private launch. We have promotion to do; schools, retail outlets, anyone who will listen and I’m proposing to do school visits next term.

The school visits are going to be fascinating. The contents of the book are relevant to a number of areas of the curriculum, not only history, and we hope that this element proves to be an additional selling point. It’ll be strange standing up in front of children again, a bit like being a grandma. I can have lots of fun, drawing on skills that I honed when I was younger, and then I can hand them back at the end of the session.

Fancy Headstones

For those of you who are getting fed up of me rabbiting on about Richard III, I thought I’d tell you a bit more about the cemetery project. This week I’ve been working on an article about headstone embellishments. It was researched and written up by one of my team and I’m sorting out photos to illustrate it and preparing it for uploading onto the project website.

In modern Jewish cemeteries it’s customary to have plain headstones, usually with just a Star of David embellishment on them but in the early 1900s the designs in our cemetery were quite elaborate and very similar to the headstones in the non-Jewish part of the cemetery. A recurring theme among the earlier headstones is ivy adornments, ivy being a symbol of immortality. One of the most fascinating headstones has a cut down tree, representing a life cut short and probably a reference to the ‘tree of life’ mentioned in Genesis.

I seem to be learning something new every day at the moment. Steep learning curves are exciting but just a little tiring. Maybe I will sit back and sip tea after all.

Have you experienced any kind of learning curve recently?

Exclusive Front Cover Reveal

These last few weeks have been a frenetic time of checking and rechecking final proofs for my Children’s Book of Richard III. I am relieved to say that, at just gone midnight last night the book finally went off to our local printing firm, Soar Valley Press. I’ve used them before and so I know that they are four friendly, accommodating, award-winning printers. They hope to get the books to us in three weeks’ time.

Here is an exclusive peep at the front cover:

I'm so pleased with Alice's illustrations and design work. She has turned my book into something very special. You can see more of her work on her website, Alice Povey Illustrations.

So far, Independent Publishing has not been as scary as I had expected. I mentioned in an earlier post about the disparity of heading styles. I've certainly learnt a lesson from that, but this last week has been full of insecurities over spellings, word usages, spacing on the pages; all those small things that can make such a big difference. For example, on one page I’d put battle field as two words even though I know that it’s one word. On another page I’d repeated a word three times in one sentence. It was easily corrected but what amazes me is that five people have proof read this and I’ve proof read it many, many times. I suppose there will still be the odd mistake hiding amongst all those words but if you buy a copy and find one of them, I don’t think I want to know about it… ok, ok, you can tell me but please be gentle!

If you want to order an advanced copy please contact Lynn Moore at The Reading Shop. Lynn Moore is not only my publisher; she is also the owner of one of the few Independent Children’s Bookshops left in the UK. 

Quite soon there will be launch parties to arrange and school visits to plan but before all that happens I have to get back to working on my Cemetery Research Project. I’ve fallen seriously behind schedule… but it’s been worth it.

For those who didn't catch the announcement, the High Court Judges have ruled that Richard III will be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral in Spring 2015.

The Tricks of Time

Time is a strange concept. We can't stop it and yet sometimes it seems to be hardly moving at all. We can't stretch it and yet sometimes it feels as if that would be the only way to get things done.

An excellent example is the Cemetery Research Project. The Heritage Lottery have allowed one year to complete it. A year is a long time, right? Wrong! There's so much work still to do and it must be done by October. Not that I'm complaining too much because the work is fascinating. I've just finished documenting the travels of a Jewish gentleman who, during the late 1890s to the 1920s, moved with his family from Turkey to Egypt to Germany. With the rise of Nazi Germany, they moved on to Paris, then to Clacton-on-Sea, London, Littlethorpe and finally Leicester. It was a privilege to record this story and it's one of many. You'll be able to read them in full when the Website is completed which can't be long because, as I said, I'm running out of time.

Time is playing its tricks with my Children's Book of Richard III. I couldn't believe the day would arrive when I would hold the pages, with their beautiful full-colour illustrations, in my hands but yesterday I did just that. We're now working on last minute corrections, tweaks and alterations - we being myself (the author) Alice Povey (illustrator and book designer) and Lynn Moore (editor and publisher). We'll soon be ready to go to print BUT why is it taking so much time for the High Court Judges to make their decision over where Richard III will be reinterred? We may have to publish without waiting for their decision, which is fine because my book tells a satisfying story even without the reinterment, and there's always the 2nd edition!

If these were the only demands on my time, then time would be almost manageable, but there have been hospital appointments too and it's common knowledge that waiting around in hospitals can make time grind to an almost halt. Mr A has just completed his regular two days of tests at the National Amyloidosis Centre in London's Royal Free Hospital. They're so pleased with his progress that they don't want to see him for a whole year. You see! Suddenly a year feels like a good and long time. But my daughter is waiting for an operation. Because of her severe endometriosis, she's going to have to have a hysterectomy. There are just over four more weeks to wait and the time is going slower than a snail.

Do you see what I mean about time being a strange concept? If we knew the true meaning of time, I suspect we'd have discovered the true meaning of life, but I don't have the time to think about it right now. Maybe later, when I've time to spare... or maybe not!

What are your thoughts about time?

Independent Publishing and a Preview of Richard III

They say it keeps you young to learn new things but I think it batters your brain! Producing the text for The Children's Story of Richard III ready for publishing has been packed with new experiences and I now realise how daunting Independent Publishing can be.

It's not always the big things that catch you out. For me it's the little things like creating the Title Page.  I'd never thought about the Title Page inside the cover of a book. It's something that is just there. Fortunately Alice Povey is doing the Book Design as well as the illustrations and she came to my rescue. I'd never thought about the wording on the spine of the book either but again, Alice has got it sorted. As for the Acknowledgments Page, there is quite a lot of legal speak that we've had to include to cover copyright permissions from other people for images used and copyright claims on behalf of ourselves, not to mention acknowledging support and advice.

A preview of Richard III

One of the scariest 'almost mistakes' that I made was to not be consistent with my side heading styles.  I am eternally grateful to my publisher, Lynn Moore from The Reading Shop, for spotting this. Some of the side headings had initial capitals. Some just had a capital for the first word of the heading. Of course, I know how important it is to be consistent but I hadn't noticed the inconsistencies. So, how many more mistakes will I find before the book is out?

The illustrations have almost been completed by the amazing Alice Povey. I then get a penultimate opportunity to proof read. I'm feeling slightly sick at the thought of reading those words again but it has to be done! The final chance will be when the Printers, Soar Valley Press, produce their draft book. Once we say 'Yes' to that, there'll be no turning back. People keep reassuring me that even the most prestigious of publications have little errors but I so don't want that to happen to my book.

If that were all I was doing right now, then I wouldn't be feeling so brain battered but there's the small matter of continuing to catalogue the local cemetery and create a Website for Ancestry Research. Thankfully I have an expert in database building working with me but it's down to me to write the content of the Website text pages. This has meant a crash course in HTML coding and website design. Enough said!

So excuse me while I pop off and work out which letter to put in-between < and > to make things happen in HTML. It's all good stuff... I think!

Well, aren't you the cat's whiskers...

...which means, you think you're pretty amazing.
 
And I'm sure you are amazing but this post isn't really about you, it's about cats and it's about my ruminations on why there are so many sayings that use cats to put the message across. Here are just a few by way of illustration:-

• cat on a hot tin roof
• raining cats and dogs
• cat nap
• weak as a kitten
• scaredy cat
• like herding cats
• fat cats
• grinning like a Cheshire cat

I could go on. In fact, I will:-

• copy cat
• cool cat
• cat walk 
• a catty person
• cats' eyes in the road
• cat-in-hell's chance
• cat got your tongue
• cats whiskers radios (It wasn't really a whisker. It was a fine wire that looked like a whisker.)

"So why all this talk about cat words?" I hear you ask.

Well, I was watching our two cats wash their faces after their supper yesterday and I couldn't help admiring their whiskers. Mabel's are black and shiny. Charlie's are white and bushy. Both sets are fine examples of cats' whiskers and both cats are quite convinced that they're the cats' whiskers!

Mabel

Charlie

And anyway, I needed a break from Richard III and Cemetery cataloging and it was a perfect excuse to post up photos of my two furry girls :-)

The Children's Book of Richard III Update: The illustrator, Alice Povey, has started the colour work. It's looking amazing. The front cover will be completed for viewing very soon and you'll be among the first to see it. Watch This Space!