News

Travels, early 2016

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January

After several weeks of writing on our new gamebook project, we set off again on our travels.

First stop was the Zurich International School and guess what, it snowed!

The snow outside is the giveaway!

We had a great time visiting 3 different sites (one was opposite the Lindt chocolate factory!).

The views were spectacular!

This was one of the schools – yes really!

Thanks to Orlagh, Linda and Catriona for looking after us.

We were interviewed by Victoria and Grace from ZIS TV – here are then interviews – warning, we do sound like Daleks!

Back in the UK, we headed over to North Wales for 2 weeks of school visits! We began in Llangollen at Ysgol Gymraeg y Gwernant before heading up the valley to Bro Dyfrdwy and a day at Ysgol Caer Drewyn.

We had a great time and so did the students, staff and parents!

Just in case you’re wondering, we didn’t bore the students – in this context bore is welsh for morning!

We had a great Win Lunch with the 2 Steves table setting at Caer Drewyn –very

super hero!

The following week saw us at Ysgol Clawdd Offa, for the whole week – this was great to be able to do intensive workshops with the students.

We also performed a family iHero show – when asked what they got out of it, one bright spark parent wrote this!

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February

This was again a busy month for us!

We began with 3 days in Hampshire, visiting Holbrook Primary, who invited

Bedenham, a neighbouring school to join in the fun! Then we hotfooted it over to

Abbotswood Junior School to have a look at their recently refurbished library

and finishing at Merdon and St Francis School in Eastleigh.

We finally got round the M25 to Stansted, where we performed at the brilliant Bishop Stortford College Literary Festival organised by our friend Rosie Pike. It was also great to see the best bookseller in the land there – the fab Marilyn Brocklehurst!

After catching our breath, we hopped onto a plane bound for Cairo!

We’d been invited by Josianne Fitzgerald, a librarian we’d met in Tianjin, China a couple of years ago – she told us that the bike we’d won in a raffle was still hanging on the wall in the school library there!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Egypt – the students and staff were fantastic -and it was great to meet up with some old friends who we’d met in Venezuela!

A Nile view from the hotel window!

Winners of Win Lunch with the 2 Steves’ competition!

Now that’s a reading corner in a library!

Some great posters were made!

The following week saw us in Luton and Cambridge, where we bumped into Adisa – a fantastic poet – we hadn’t seen him since our visit to Malaysia some years ago!

March

We began the month with a visit to LVS in Ascot on World Book day.

There were some AMAZING costumes on display – even the staff got involved!

Goth Girl, Batgirl (and Steve B!)

We were amazed at this beautiful bookcase designed and crafted by a sixth former – it is designed to hold some of the amazing books the library has.

We even got to see an original first edition of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary!

Then we headed down the M3 back to Hampshire for a day with the Crofton Anne Dale Federation –it was another dressing up day of heroes and a great time was had by all!

The following week saw us in Abbey Junior School in Smethwick for a couple of days and sandwiched between was our annual visit to Leicester Tigers ground and the brilliant Whatever It Takes, Leicester Book Week.

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Each student gets given a free book to take away (lots of books for us to sign!)

We met up with several authors including Bali Rai, Andy Briggs, Alan Gibbons and Dave Harmer – it really is brilliantly organised and is one of our favourite events!

We then zoomed up to North Wales for our Patron of Reading visits to Cystennin and Esgob Morgan. We also opened the amazing library bus at Bodnant!