Argie Bargie

Stratford was bathed in sun as we boarded the barge and prepared to feast. Pate, pork and pricey river properties all came and went as we sailed down the Avon through a series of slimy locks that gurgled and bubbled. It was rather decadent but you're only here once. In the heart of Shakespear's-ville the tourists were buzzing and the fizz was flowing. Promise to be good next week. Back to reality and back to the thing I love doing most of all - exploring the Western Isles, from Ullapool to Oban and quite a few points in-between.

W H Smith show the way...

Sam Wilding wooed the children from Banchory in a W H Smith writing workshop, where the kids got to design their own monsters and run with their imagination....
W H Smith is showing its colours as a very proactive store that cares about the reader, and wants to develop new talent. Sam went on to raise awareness about asthma. He spoke recently at the Scottish Parliament on the subject and pointed out that James Peck, the main character in the Denthan series, has fantastic adventures despite the affliction... The Denthan series continues to be the most tagged children's book on Amazon.co.uk.

Ted McKenna and Wee Joe

Ted McKenna - legendary drummer of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, The Michael Schenker Group and Rory Gallacher,to name a few, and, Wee Joe - The 6 years ago, main inspiration for Wee Joe in the Denthan Series. Ted and Joe are now a little older but both made a huge mark on my creative life. I've admired the various bands where Ted has drummed and Joe is still, as my youngest son, one of my main inspirations to write. On Saturday Ted gave a drum clinic where he showed his great skill and immense wit and experience. Wee Joe, a budding drummer, pianist and guitarist, loved every minute of it. Thanks, Ted. A huge thanks must be given to Jim Carr, another huge influence on my life, and to Johnny Watson, drummer of Littlehed, my rock outlet these days. It was great to meet so many other friends on the day. Great stuff!

Auchinairn Primary School - Recent Visit

What a great school! Auchinairn Primary children explored their own writing talents through a brilliant workshop where the children created their own characters and wrote out their own story board. Split into groups, they worked furiously under the guidance of Kirsty Rawley, a truly inspiring teacher, and myself to produce some fantastic work. They also used mind maps and passages from the Denthan series to give them a greater insight into their own work and really amazed me with their slick cartoon scenes and inventive plots. Great Work all round guys!

Sam Wilding meets Gordon Brown at Scottish Parliament

Gordon Brown promotes new fantasy book
Gordon Brown, of Asthma UK Scotland, met with children’s author, Sam Wilding, at the Scottish Parliament today. They attended a cross-party discussion group on asthma action plans and then took the opportunity to launch book three in the Denthan series to tie in with World Asthma Day. Sam Wilding’s fantasy trilogy about a boy hero with asthma has been a great success and Sam’s work in libraries and schools across Scotland has boosted creative writing among children and raised awareness of the affliction. Over 300,000 people have asthma in Scotland and awareness is key to saving lives and preventing primary care patients ending up in secondary care.
Sam had pictures taken with Emma Graham, Asthma UK Scotland’s Youth Engagement Officer.
If an asthma sufferer has an ‘asthma action plan’ they are 4 times less likely to have a serious attack. For more detail visit www.asthma.org.uk/scotland
For details on Sam’s fantasy adventure books for children from 7 – 87, visit Sam’s website at http://www.sam-wilding.com/

Up Up and Away?

Up Up and Away?
Apparently not, if you want to fly anywhere… This is as close as I came to flying during my Easter break, thank goodness. Unfortunately the camera missed my forward double twist roll. Ah well… Wee Joe has a nice pose as does Ruthy. This is Brora just before the ash from Iceland started to clog up my asthmatic lungs. No kidding, I could hardly breathe for days. We had a little cottage in Helmsdale where the chippy, La Mirage, is to die for and the beach, apart from the odd decapitated seal, was a dream. What would do that to a seal? A very fussy Killer Whale? I don’t know. But guess what? I’d never ever seen a newt before and, sitting on the sand minding my own business, one crawled out of the seaweed and walked right towards me. Is it a sign? Wee Joe found some Ammonite fossils and the girls had a good old moan about the dead things. For Pete’s sake, it’s nature… Bought some lovely pork and apple burgers and had a barbecue but still they moaned…

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE...

It started off so well… A brisk, Easter Day walk round Ardmore Point with Betsy, was the idea. There was sun, a full complement of Wildings (7, including Betsy – the dog)and a cold to shake off. I went ahead with my eldest daughter, Emma, only to discover that we’d actually slipped into another dimension and ended up in the forbidden marshes of Middle Earth. Damn, I hate it when that happens. It was nice, in a bleak, ‘dont follow the lights or jump in a pond with dead people’ kind-of-way but I knew it was all going to go pear-shaped and I was right. A sudden scream from Emma saw her new, expensive trainer disappear beneath the deep mud she thought was sand. Bare-footed, she leapt about, said some rude words and stomped off to the car. And then there were 6. We pressed on, had a giant hogweed fight and soon found the going sunny and very pleasant. Not for long, though. The wide hawthron-lined path soon merged into a tiny strip of mud surrounded by an impenetrable wall of gorse. Before long my youngest was crying and we’d become hopelessly trapped between the Sleeping Beauty-like wall of thorns and an endless Hound of the Baskervilles-type marsh. Everyone started blaming everyone else, mostly me, until we had no option but to get very wet. Besty was in heaven. She splashed and yelped and wagged her sodden tail and shook herself vigorously at every opportunity, usually at the very point where balance and a clear mind were imperative. Ryan, my eldest boy performed a Herculean leap, only to smack straight into a 9 foot gorse bush and fall back, slowly, into the mire. We all guffawed and then saw his expression and bit our lips. Soon, well after about an hour, we escaped the terrors of Ardmore and hobbled back to the car and my waiting daughter, Princess Huff. Well, we all have nasty cuts which are copiously covered in foul-smelling mud, but hey… That’s what family walks are all about.