This post was written in response to a thread suggested by British Mummy Bloggers #BMB
A TROPICAL CHRISTMAS PAST
My most memorable Christmas was spent on the islands of Vanuatu as a teenager. Never heard of it? I hadn't either. But my dad worked at the agricultural college there for a couple of years in Port Vila, the capital. I say that glibly but acknowledge how fortunate we were to have had that experience. Swimming, sunbathing, learning to scuba dive on Hideaway Island, barbecues on the beach and giggling at some of the Pidgin English phrases we'd learnt. Having previously been based in sub-Saharan northern Nigeria for five years, while we four daughters did the boarding school thing, the change of scene was doubly welcome. It was hot, humid, prone to cyclones and earth tremors and a long, long way away!
As a 17-year-old supposedly studying for my A Levels in between all that sun and sea, I travelled out there with my two younger sisters via Dubai or Singapore, then Sydney, sometimes Brisbane, Noumea and then a tiny 'elastic band' style plane to Port Vila. We wiled away the minutes waiting for our connecting flights by racing up and down the travelators (I'm sure fellow passengers were impressed!) or spending our pocket money on Duty Free goodies like M & Ms - which you couldn't get in the UK at the time. Once we finally got there, ignorant about the likes of DVT, the heat hit us in the face like a sauna and the jet lag was something else!
This particular year, my dad was given a suckling pig by some of his colleagues so that we could celebrate it traditional Ni-Vanuatu style. We dug a pit in the very fertile soil (you pick up these details when your dad's a tropical agriculture nerd!), tossed in some stones and lit a fire on top of them. While that was taking hold, my mum prepared the meat. A great cook with a well-thumbed Mrs Beeton tome, I don't think she found a recipe for this, but someone at the Corona women's society (like the W.I.) probably gave her the heads up. She sprinkled salt on the outside of the pork and stuffed it with apricots and prunes to give it a tropical flavour, then wrapped it in banana leaves. The bundle was balanced on top of the hot stones and covered in soil to trap the heat like an underground barbecue. Then the big wait began.....
It secretly simmered for hours as it was too hot to eat a big meal in the middle of the day anyway. I remember prancing around excitedly in my t-shirt night dress for ages and then we busied ourselves unwrapping presents, ringing the grandparents and my older sister back home to share festive greetings and trying to figure out what time we had to tune in to the World Service for the Queen's Speech. Of course, we nagged Mum constantly, "Is it ready? Is it ready?" and dad would go over and prod it with the gardening fork and look like he knew what he was doing! Then, finally, the moment came. We could see if it had worked. What if it was inedible? The soil might have got into the package or maybe it was still raw. The dangers of salmonella! Whose idea was it to put prunes, of all things, inside it anyway?
Well, it was the most tender meat I've ever tasted and, prunes aside (literally, on my plate anyway!), it was a good job we liked it because there was so much left over it almost filled the freezer. And somehow, a traditional turkey wouldn't have worked in those sunny climes without snow and carols, sherry and mince pies. Our secretly simmered suckling pig was super special. And I think that's what Christmas is about. Not getting your family and friends exactly what they want as presents but making memories. From the sentimental Christmas tree decorations your kids have crafted to the carefully chosen crackers (we've gone for posh London ones this year) and table decorations, it's about setting the scene for the anticipation of something special. Then waiting and waiting until, finally, the big moment arrives. Merry Christmas fellow bloggers!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
THE SAVVY SOCCER MUM
Ok, so you're a mother or father of boys. Welcome to the fold! Especially if, like me, that makes you the solitary female in your household - a footy mad household at that!
Fortunately, I was a tomboy and played as a child. So, welcome too, to anyone who has football-loving daughters. Thank goodness they're able to play the game now, whereas in. my day, there was uproar when I shunned netball for the beautiful game in PE lessons. I even went so far as to buy loads of bubble gum packets with each week's pocket money so I could fill my sticker book with pictures of Bob Latchford (Everton?) and Kevin Keegan!
Now, my children play - and boy is it a serious business! It took a while to understand the intricacies of being offside or the variations on the rules that apply to Under 10s teams. But I've come a long way since I first signed up my eldest son to play for a local youth team. So, here are the mud-splattered tips that I've picked up on the way.
1) GIVE THEM A HEAD START
Whether you sign them up to a local Saturday fun club like SCL or PSR Coaching or maybe a local professional team has a kids' coaching section that comes to your children's school, it helps to get in plenty of practice in the garden or the local playing fields beforehand. This gives you a chance to explain the basic rules, instil a bit of "it's only a game" ethos into them, before they flounce off at every miss-kick and might mean you have to be keeper - always a joy! Especially as they learn to put real power behind their shots and you end up winded, eyes watering, congratulating them on their skills!
2) THE NEXT STAGE
It doesn't take long for them to outgrow the Saturday coaching sessions - maybe by the age of six or seven. Then they'll increasingly want to play matches rather than have endless skills sessions and this is where the fun really starts - for them & for you as chauffeur, kit provider and chief bottle washer! Via word of mouth and Google, find out where your nearest local youth team trains. This is of huge consequence because you'll be gaining a collossal carbon footprint as it is traipsing up and down the county to weekend matches. So to be able to pop down the road to weekly or twice weekly training sessions is a bonus - I wish I'd thought of this before I signed the dotted line!
3) CHIN UP!
Once you've chosen a team, phone up and find out when the team trials are taking place. These are usually sometime in the summer to prepare for the start of the season in September. But bear in mind that there are some really talented kids out there and your child might not get selected. Don't give up though! Children move away or get scouted to play for a club that's higher in the league so try out for other clubs with lots of teams in different divisions to suit all abilities.
4) RULES FOR GROWN UPS
The aim of the game is for your child to learn about fair play, losing and winning gracefully, sticking to the rules and to, hopefully, ward off adding to the obesity statistics into the bargain. So it helps if you're a calming influence on the sidelines rather than a ranting, swearing ref-hating crisis on legs! There are, in fact, strict guidelines on how supporters should behave while their child, niece, nephew or neighbour is playing so bear these in mind or the opposition coach can have a word with your team's coach and it all gets a bit embarassing. There is also a fee to pay, kit to buy and strict guidelines - similar to adult football - on your child moving to another club etc.
5) AL FRESCO
It goes without saying that you'll need boots, gloves, hats, coats and a flask either of the hip variety or containing something caffeinated to keep you going while you cheer on your side. Or wait for play to start. Or warm up after learning how to build the goal posts. But bear in mind that while the male of the species can make do with an overgrown tree, few local football grounds have decent facilities of the lavatorial kind! It's worth recce'ing local pubs and coffee shops in advance. They're also a good place to venture too if you can't take watching anymore - especially if your team is losing!
6) THE SILVER LINING
Ok, so you're out of pocket; you've lost your weekend lie-ins and seem to be perpetually washing horrible nylon fabric or trying to get shin pads clean (at this, I am STILL at a loss!) but, with any luck, you've made some new friends amongst the other MADS - the parental version of WAGS. But most of all, there is nothing like the glory of watching your child revel in the fact that they've just scored, or their team has just won, or they've saved a certain goal or gained the man-of-the-match trophy or, if all else fails, gained recognition for fair play. For that moment, to coin a phrase, it's all worth it!
Fortunately, I was a tomboy and played as a child. So, welcome too, to anyone who has football-loving daughters. Thank goodness they're able to play the game now, whereas in. my day, there was uproar when I shunned netball for the beautiful game in PE lessons. I even went so far as to buy loads of bubble gum packets with each week's pocket money so I could fill my sticker book with pictures of Bob Latchford (Everton?) and Kevin Keegan!
Now, my children play - and boy is it a serious business! It took a while to understand the intricacies of being offside or the variations on the rules that apply to Under 10s teams. But I've come a long way since I first signed up my eldest son to play for a local youth team. So, here are the mud-splattered tips that I've picked up on the way.
1) GIVE THEM A HEAD START
Whether you sign them up to a local Saturday fun club like SCL or PSR Coaching or maybe a local professional team has a kids' coaching section that comes to your children's school, it helps to get in plenty of practice in the garden or the local playing fields beforehand. This gives you a chance to explain the basic rules, instil a bit of "it's only a game" ethos into them, before they flounce off at every miss-kick and might mean you have to be keeper - always a joy! Especially as they learn to put real power behind their shots and you end up winded, eyes watering, congratulating them on their skills!
2) THE NEXT STAGE
It doesn't take long for them to outgrow the Saturday coaching sessions - maybe by the age of six or seven. Then they'll increasingly want to play matches rather than have endless skills sessions and this is where the fun really starts - for them & for you as chauffeur, kit provider and chief bottle washer! Via word of mouth and Google, find out where your nearest local youth team trains. This is of huge consequence because you'll be gaining a collossal carbon footprint as it is traipsing up and down the county to weekend matches. So to be able to pop down the road to weekly or twice weekly training sessions is a bonus - I wish I'd thought of this before I signed the dotted line!
3) CHIN UP!
Once you've chosen a team, phone up and find out when the team trials are taking place. These are usually sometime in the summer to prepare for the start of the season in September. But bear in mind that there are some really talented kids out there and your child might not get selected. Don't give up though! Children move away or get scouted to play for a club that's higher in the league so try out for other clubs with lots of teams in different divisions to suit all abilities.
4) RULES FOR GROWN UPS
The aim of the game is for your child to learn about fair play, losing and winning gracefully, sticking to the rules and to, hopefully, ward off adding to the obesity statistics into the bargain. So it helps if you're a calming influence on the sidelines rather than a ranting, swearing ref-hating crisis on legs! There are, in fact, strict guidelines on how supporters should behave while their child, niece, nephew or neighbour is playing so bear these in mind or the opposition coach can have a word with your team's coach and it all gets a bit embarassing. There is also a fee to pay, kit to buy and strict guidelines - similar to adult football - on your child moving to another club etc.
5) AL FRESCO
It goes without saying that you'll need boots, gloves, hats, coats and a flask either of the hip variety or containing something caffeinated to keep you going while you cheer on your side. Or wait for play to start. Or warm up after learning how to build the goal posts. But bear in mind that while the male of the species can make do with an overgrown tree, few local football grounds have decent facilities of the lavatorial kind! It's worth recce'ing local pubs and coffee shops in advance. They're also a good place to venture too if you can't take watching anymore - especially if your team is losing!
6) THE SILVER LINING
Ok, so you're out of pocket; you've lost your weekend lie-ins and seem to be perpetually washing horrible nylon fabric or trying to get shin pads clean (at this, I am STILL at a loss!) but, with any luck, you've made some new friends amongst the other MADS - the parental version of WAGS. But most of all, there is nothing like the glory of watching your child revel in the fact that they've just scored, or their team has just won, or they've saved a certain goal or gained the man-of-the-match trophy or, if all else fails, gained recognition for fair play. For that moment, to coin a phrase, it's all worth it!
Monday, November 15, 2010
ELEMENTARY
Love, love, love Sherlock Holmes! Much as I struggled to read the books, I adored Julian Barnes’ Arthur and George, which gave an insight into the real-life genius of author Arthur Conan Doyle. So I watched the new TV drama series from a new perspective.
The modern take on the original plots using new techniques like blogging and text messages shown as subtitles on screen was just brilliant.
As for the casting, the chocolate-voiced, quirky, stylish Benedict Cumberbatch was perfect as Sherlock. However, that chocolate voice had a lot to answer for as it very nearly caused a cancelled interview for telly land: a throat infection meant Benedict was quite hoarse the night before he was due to grace our sofa. Thankfully, he eventually decided he was up to it and the script introducing him, rather than one of the series' writers, was quickly reinstated.
Martin Freeman's Dr John Watson, who had been invalided home from the war in Afghanistan, brought the series bang up to date. They meet while Watson is looking for affordable accommodation in London and an old mutual friend introduces them.
I feel sure Mr Conan Doyle would have approved of both the casting and the modern interpretation of his stories, and his descendants seem to have given their approval.
But, whatever I've called this post, at no point in the original stories does Sherlock say "elementary my dear Watson" and these films remain faithful to that. Maybe this will make more people want to read the original Conan Doyle books too? Meanwhile, there’s a competition where have a go at writing something yourself here - click on The Contest.
The modern take on the original plots using new techniques like blogging and text messages shown as subtitles on screen was just brilliant.
As for the casting, the chocolate-voiced, quirky, stylish Benedict Cumberbatch was perfect as Sherlock. However, that chocolate voice had a lot to answer for as it very nearly caused a cancelled interview for telly land: a throat infection meant Benedict was quite hoarse the night before he was due to grace our sofa. Thankfully, he eventually decided he was up to it and the script introducing him, rather than one of the series' writers, was quickly reinstated.
Martin Freeman's Dr John Watson, who had been invalided home from the war in Afghanistan, brought the series bang up to date. They meet while Watson is looking for affordable accommodation in London and an old mutual friend introduces them.
As in the original Conan Doyle stories, Watson is the story-teller and, get this: his character writes up all the cases in his blog, just as Watson wrote up the cases that formed the original books. But this Watson is horrified, at first, by Sherlock's ego and by the way he treats a dead body like a game.
Director, Steven Moffat, of Dr Who fame, said at the time: "Benedict is playing a cold, almost alien-like man in Sherlock and John Watson is the person who humanises him - they are a unit together.
"Whilst other detectives have cases, Holmes has adventures. Sherlock isn't a drama about police procedure - the police are involved but the cases themselves are Sherlock's and he's only interested in the strange ones."
However, it's not all doom and gloom. Moffat continues: "The original books are funny. If you read the Sherlock Holmes stories, the interaction between the two main characters is always funny and I hope we've captured some element of that. Of course it's funny - he's a weird genius, not an ordinary genius."
However, it's not all doom and gloom. Moffat continues: "The original books are funny. If you read the Sherlock Holmes stories, the interaction between the two main characters is always funny and I hope we've captured some element of that. Of course it's funny - he's a weird genius, not an ordinary genius."
But, whatever I've called this post, at no point in the original stories does Sherlock say "elementary my dear Watson" and these films remain faithful to that. Maybe this will make more people want to read the original Conan Doyle books too? Meanwhile, there’s a competition where have a go at writing something yourself here - click on The Contest.
COMMON PEOPLE
I was thrilled to meet one of my musical heroes, Jarvis Cocker, in April this year.
He wanted to 'live like common people' and famously sang about the girl who studied at St Martin's College. I always thought that song was autobiographical and it turns out it was. Jarvis was himself a student at that art and design school in London, graduating with a 2:2 in fine art, before he went on to great success as the lead singer of Pulp and as a figurehead for 90s Britpop. Now he wants to see more children engaged with art and is encouraging them to visit museums.
He’s launched Culture Connect, a partnership of 15 galleries and museums in London, Paris and Brussels. Artists, students from St Martins College of Art and Design and local school children marked the event by creating a modern mural at St Pancras International station depicting world famous works of art from the galleries - including the TATE and Les Galeries Nationales in Paris.
Jarvis hosted an arts series for Channel 4 - "Journeys into the Outside”, which I haven’t seen but it involved following him while he took a trip across the globe, meeting so-called "outsider artists", people who create wacky and wonderful works of art; trying to understand what compelled them to do so. What a great job! But it turns out Jarvis doesn’t actually like going to art galleries, so he understands kids’ reluctance to do so.
In an interview with the Independent in 1999, he said: "They remind me of going to church - the formal atmosphere, people looking at things on the wall, attempting to get some kind of mystical revelation from them."
So he thinks they should be less formal and more creative. In a later interview, for Pitchfork, he: "I want to have as many events that involve some level of participation from the audience as possible. Because I do want to have that feeling that people are actively involved in something, rather than just consuming something. I suppose because it's such a dominant capitalist society now, everything becomes a consumer product. And I don't think that's really appropriate to the creative arts, really."
That explains why, in 2009, ahead of the release his new album, Further Complications, Jarvis and his band installed themselves in an art gallery in Paris for five days. Each day, Cocker and his musicians performed a variety of different tasks. These included soundtracking a relaxation class, inviting local musicians to join them in a jam, and arranging activities with local school-children. The events were organised around Jarvis's public rehearsals for his forthcoming live dates. This was all to explore what would happen if he invited an audience to interact with him and the music. Now something like that, even me and my anti-cultural kids might go and see.
In his interview for BBC Breakfast, he said: "TV, films and the internet may be great at showing you what something looks like, but they're no substitute for seeing them with your own eyes. Some of the world's greatest treasures are housed in museums and galleries in Paris, London and Brussels and I want to encourage people to explore these rich collections."
He has a seven-year-old son, Albert, with his french ex-wife. He's also talked in the past about feeling guilty about just sticking his son in front of a Walt Disney film, when he needed some peace and quiet, because he doesn't think that's how film, art etc, should be consumed. We’re all guilty of that, I’m sure. But we can't always be out at cultural museums and art galleries. For one thing, it's tough to tempt a child to venture there. While many are free to visit, they do need to do something about their ‘stuffy’ reputation and I think they’re starting to get that message. My friend worked for the V&A for years and devised educational backpacks for kids to walk round the exhibitions with, laden with quizzes and things to find. They’ve definitely taken off elsewhere too. So in this era of digital media, it’s worth us all taking the time to visit real relics you can see, sometimes touch, and walk round occasionally. It inspires future creativity and was build to last in the olden days, not like todays disposable 'stuff’.
He wanted to 'live like common people' and famously sang about the girl who studied at St Martin's College. I always thought that song was autobiographical and it turns out it was. Jarvis was himself a student at that art and design school in London, graduating with a 2:2 in fine art, before he went on to great success as the lead singer of Pulp and as a figurehead for 90s Britpop. Now he wants to see more children engaged with art and is encouraging them to visit museums.
He’s launched Culture Connect, a partnership of 15 galleries and museums in London, Paris and Brussels. Artists, students from St Martins College of Art and Design and local school children marked the event by creating a modern mural at St Pancras International station depicting world famous works of art from the galleries - including the TATE and Les Galeries Nationales in Paris.
Jarvis hosted an arts series for Channel 4 - "Journeys into the Outside”, which I haven’t seen but it involved following him while he took a trip across the globe, meeting so-called "outsider artists", people who create wacky and wonderful works of art; trying to understand what compelled them to do so. What a great job! But it turns out Jarvis doesn’t actually like going to art galleries, so he understands kids’ reluctance to do so.
In an interview with the Independent in 1999, he said: "They remind me of going to church - the formal atmosphere, people looking at things on the wall, attempting to get some kind of mystical revelation from them."
So he thinks they should be less formal and more creative. In a later interview, for Pitchfork, he: "I want to have as many events that involve some level of participation from the audience as possible. Because I do want to have that feeling that people are actively involved in something, rather than just consuming something. I suppose because it's such a dominant capitalist society now, everything becomes a consumer product. And I don't think that's really appropriate to the creative arts, really."
That explains why, in 2009, ahead of the release his new album, Further Complications, Jarvis and his band installed themselves in an art gallery in Paris for five days. Each day, Cocker and his musicians performed a variety of different tasks. These included soundtracking a relaxation class, inviting local musicians to join them in a jam, and arranging activities with local school-children. The events were organised around Jarvis's public rehearsals for his forthcoming live dates. This was all to explore what would happen if he invited an audience to interact with him and the music. Now something like that, even me and my anti-cultural kids might go and see.
In his interview for BBC Breakfast, he said: "TV, films and the internet may be great at showing you what something looks like, but they're no substitute for seeing them with your own eyes. Some of the world's greatest treasures are housed in museums and galleries in Paris, London and Brussels and I want to encourage people to explore these rich collections."
He has a seven-year-old son, Albert, with his french ex-wife. He's also talked in the past about feeling guilty about just sticking his son in front of a Walt Disney film, when he needed some peace and quiet, because he doesn't think that's how film, art etc, should be consumed. We’re all guilty of that, I’m sure. But we can't always be out at cultural museums and art galleries. For one thing, it's tough to tempt a child to venture there. While many are free to visit, they do need to do something about their ‘stuffy’ reputation and I think they’re starting to get that message. My friend worked for the V&A for years and devised educational backpacks for kids to walk round the exhibitions with, laden with quizzes and things to find. They’ve definitely taken off elsewhere too. So in this era of digital media, it’s worth us all taking the time to visit real relics you can see, sometimes touch, and walk round occasionally. It inspires future creativity and was build to last in the olden days, not like todays disposable 'stuff’.
TOUGH CALL
Five soldiers were killed by a 'rogue' Afghan police officer they were training in 2009. The soldier opened fire while they were all on a break at a checkpoint in the Nad-e'Ali District of Helmand Province. The divided loyalty he must have felt and their deaths called into question NATO's strategy of working with Afghans to help them run their own country.
BBC Breakfast interviewed Christina Lamb, the Sunday Times' foreign correspondent, because she had had a change of heart over the issue, having previously thought the strategy was justified .
She said: "I've been going there, back and forth, for years and I've changed my mind.
The worse the situation has got, the more successful the Taliban has been in invading the occupying army. The strategy of local mentoring has become a recruiting tool for the Taliban rather than the opposite. A credible Government needs to be able to sit back and try to find another way out of this, no matter how difficult all of this is.
"There was never much trust but now no British soldiers are going to want to work with Afghan soldiers. Where Afghan police have been trained and they go on to hold some territory, there have been cases where they've been raping the young boys of people in the village so local people have had to turn against the very people they thought they could trust.
There's been 30 years of war there so many local people haven't had an education - it's difficult to find the quality of people to recruit {to the ANP} and take on the job.
President Obama has been talking about sending more troops but if people don't believe the Government is doing anything for them, and the local police might be more of a threat to them than the Taliban, you're never going to be successful in containing insurgents.”
For anyone close to the British military, as my local community is, the thought that serving soldiers might be killed by someone they thought was on their side is just terrifying. Here’s hoping our involvement in this very complex war is over soon.
BBC Breakfast interviewed Christina Lamb, the Sunday Times' foreign correspondent, because she had had a change of heart over the issue, having previously thought the strategy was justified .
She said: "I've been going there, back and forth, for years and I've changed my mind.
The worse the situation has got, the more successful the Taliban has been in invading the occupying army. The strategy of local mentoring has become a recruiting tool for the Taliban rather than the opposite. A credible Government needs to be able to sit back and try to find another way out of this, no matter how difficult all of this is.
"There was never much trust but now no British soldiers are going to want to work with Afghan soldiers. Where Afghan police have been trained and they go on to hold some territory, there have been cases where they've been raping the young boys of people in the village so local people have had to turn against the very people they thought they could trust.
There's been 30 years of war there so many local people haven't had an education - it's difficult to find the quality of people to recruit {to the ANP} and take on the job.
President Obama has been talking about sending more troops but if people don't believe the Government is doing anything for them, and the local police might be more of a threat to them than the Taliban, you're never going to be successful in containing insurgents.”
For anyone close to the British military, as my local community is, the thought that serving soldiers might be killed by someone they thought was on their side is just terrifying. Here’s hoping our involvement in this very complex war is over soon.
Monday, October 18, 2010
BOOKS FOR TEENAGE GIRLS
Anything by author Louise Rennison would be a good addition to your birthday present drawer/Christmas present list (if it's not too early for that) if you have daughters.
She came in to Television Centre in July to talk about the end of the series of 10 diary-style confession books that had made her name. They featured 14-year-old Georgia Nicholson - most notably in "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging" which was made into the film titled "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging".
But her latest book is a departure. "Withering Tights" features new character Tallulah Casey. Tallulah is at a Performing Arts College in Yorkshire for the summer - something Louise has experienced, having been slated for her depiction of an embryo by her own tutor! And the book explores Tallulah's antics.
Louise lives in Brighton but was brought up in a council house in Leeds and her family emigrated to New Zealand when she was 15. She then moved to London and worked as a play leader, dental nurse, did some travelling and then went to a performing arts course in Brighton.
She toured with her autobiographical show "Stevie Wonder Felt My Face" at Edinburgh Festival and it was made into a BBC2 special.
She has worked for Radio 4, Woman's Hour & the John Peel Show & has written for well-known comedians. And it's her style of writing that's made her a bestseller among the sort of teenage girls who are just starting to get obsessed with boys.
I love this description for instance: "Alex had everything a dream boy should have. Back, front, side. A head."
* The Georgia series has sold 1.7 million copies in the UK alone
* She was shortlisted for this year's Queen of Teen authors' prize alongside 9 others including Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy.
* She previously won this (it's been going since 2008) & as it's decided upon by teenagers' nominations and an online vote, there's some kudos here.
* She says she loves hanging out with teenagers for her research - "the best fun known to humanity".
* Has great anecdote about living in NZ above the geothermal geezers that used to make their al fresco dining a table-lurching experience.
* On the website http://www.georgia-nicolson.co.uk/media/ she interacts with readers and there are several video clips of her chatting
* British comedian/actor Alan Davies plays Georgia's father in the film "Angus"
* There must have been issues around the title as the film was called "On the Bright Side, I'm now the Girlfriend of a Sex God" in the US.
* She talks about her own first boyfriend and the time she bleached her hair and some of it fell out (a scene repeated in "Angus").
* Publishers: HarperCollins
REVIEWS
On Angus: "Bridget Jones for teenagers - but funnier. Expect Potter-esque queues for the sequel."
On the Georgia Nicholson series: "Either these books make you chortle like a loon in loon pants or you live on another planet."
So, inspiration for writers and food for thought for readers.
She came in to Television Centre in July to talk about the end of the series of 10 diary-style confession books that had made her name. They featured 14-year-old Georgia Nicholson - most notably in "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging" which was made into the film titled "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging".
But her latest book is a departure. "Withering Tights" features new character Tallulah Casey. Tallulah is at a Performing Arts College in Yorkshire for the summer - something Louise has experienced, having been slated for her depiction of an embryo by her own tutor! And the book explores Tallulah's antics.
Louise lives in Brighton but was brought up in a council house in Leeds and her family emigrated to New Zealand when she was 15. She then moved to London and worked as a play leader, dental nurse, did some travelling and then went to a performing arts course in Brighton.
She toured with her autobiographical show "Stevie Wonder Felt My Face" at Edinburgh Festival and it was made into a BBC2 special.
She has worked for Radio 4, Woman's Hour & the John Peel Show & has written for well-known comedians. And it's her style of writing that's made her a bestseller among the sort of teenage girls who are just starting to get obsessed with boys.
I love this description for instance: "Alex had everything a dream boy should have. Back, front, side. A head."
* The Georgia series has sold 1.7 million copies in the UK alone
* She was shortlisted for this year's Queen of Teen authors' prize alongside 9 others including Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy.
* She previously won this (it's been going since 2008) & as it's decided upon by teenagers' nominations and an online vote, there's some kudos here.
* She says she loves hanging out with teenagers for her research - "the best fun known to humanity".
* Has great anecdote about living in NZ above the geothermal geezers that used to make their al fresco dining a table-lurching experience.
* On the website http://www.georgia-nicolson.co.uk/media/ she interacts with readers and there are several video clips of her chatting
* British comedian/actor Alan Davies plays Georgia's father in the film "Angus"
* There must have been issues around the title as the film was called "On the Bright Side, I'm now the Girlfriend of a Sex God" in the US.
* She talks about her own first boyfriend and the time she bleached her hair and some of it fell out (a scene repeated in "Angus").
* Publishers: HarperCollins
REVIEWS
On Angus: "Bridget Jones for teenagers - but funnier. Expect Potter-esque queues for the sequel."
On the Georgia Nicholson series: "Either these books make you chortle like a loon in loon pants or you live on another planet."
So, inspiration for writers and food for thought for readers.
SUGAR GLIDERS
One of the strangest interviews I have ever set up, on September 14th 2009, involved arranging for a woman to come into the studio for a live interview with two of her sugar glider pets.
It was my first introduction to the joys of the notorious Risk Assessment form at my new employer. Oh boy, I thought filling in my tax return as a self-employed freelance was tricky. Here, you have to think of everything. Imagine the horror of a presenter being bitten by an unusual creature live on breakfast telly while viewers were munching their muesli?
I'd never heard of these creatures before but was soon to become semi-expert in their needs because the purpose of the item was to warn people against having them as pets - despite their cuteness.
For instance:
* They're liable to show their affection by jumping on your head (or down your top!)
* They are mostly awake at night
* They need a large cage to run around in.
Our interviewee, Marie Bannister, brought in Dinks whom she had looked after for six years.
She said: "They can live to around 15 so a lot of thought needs to go into a decision to have one as a pet. They need an indoor aviary-type structure really, as they can't cope with the British climate, with some logs in to make them feel like they're in their natural environment and the space to run around or to be able to glide.
"But they're nocturnal and make a lot of barking noise at night so they are not for sleep-lovers. Looking after them is much harder than say a hamster or anything like that. It's not easy to buy food for them from just any pet store. You have to give them live insects, locusts or mealworms, and I give them fresh fruit and vegetables, boiled eggs, bee pollen and nectar drinks."
It's thought the little creatures got into the pet trade after they were smuggled here and ended up in London Zoo in the 1800s. And they certainly are cute. But I’ll stick to my dogs for now….
Read more about them here
It was my first introduction to the joys of the notorious Risk Assessment form at my new employer. Oh boy, I thought filling in my tax return as a self-employed freelance was tricky. Here, you have to think of everything. Imagine the horror of a presenter being bitten by an unusual creature live on breakfast telly while viewers were munching their muesli?
I'd never heard of these creatures before but was soon to become semi-expert in their needs because the purpose of the item was to warn people against having them as pets - despite their cuteness.
For instance:
* They're liable to show their affection by jumping on your head (or down your top!)
* They are mostly awake at night
* They need a large cage to run around in.
Our interviewee, Marie Bannister, brought in Dinks whom she had looked after for six years.
She said: "They can live to around 15 so a lot of thought needs to go into a decision to have one as a pet. They need an indoor aviary-type structure really, as they can't cope with the British climate, with some logs in to make them feel like they're in their natural environment and the space to run around or to be able to glide.
"But they're nocturnal and make a lot of barking noise at night so they are not for sleep-lovers. Looking after them is much harder than say a hamster or anything like that. It's not easy to buy food for them from just any pet store. You have to give them live insects, locusts or mealworms, and I give them fresh fruit and vegetables, boiled eggs, bee pollen and nectar drinks."
It's thought the little creatures got into the pet trade after they were smuggled here and ended up in London Zoo in the 1800s. And they certainly are cute. But I’ll stick to my dogs for now….
Read more about them here
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