Bookwitch

I felt compelled to go. So I went, and I’m glad I did. There was a memorial service for Siobhan Dowd in Oxford yesterday. The Holywell Music Room was a beautiful place to have it. The weather was beautiful. And the celebration of Siobhan’s life and work was beautifully put together.

Siobhan’s husband Geoff and friends started it off by singing Gypsy Rover. Then David Fickling (”the Lancashire Comedian”) and Fiona Dunbar did their Oscars style presentation. Siobhan’s sisters Denise and Oona talked about their childhood, and read from a favourite book.

Bella Pearson read from A Swift Pure Cry and Phil Earle from The London Eye Mystery, which just showed us again how good these books are. Geoff read a poem by Siobhan, and Meg Rosoff read an extract from Siobhan’s next book, Bog Child.

There was a lot of music and singing. Nick Gill played Scott Joplin. Daryl Wells sang Nina Simone. And we had real Bulgarian Gypsy music from Mike Limmer and Morski. There were readings from James Joyce, Irina Ratushinskaya, Henrietta Branford, Ezra Pound and Dylan Thomas.

There were family and friends, and many people from the book trade. Someone wanted me to put together an exciting report on who was there, but I have to admit to only recognising some of the many who attended. Linda Sargent and Linda Newbery. Lee Weatherley and Anthony McGowan. Rachel Billington. Julia Eccleshare.

Afterwards in the Turf Tavern I was introduced to people, and their names whirl round in my head. There was talk of crossdressing. I got some more background on Lauren Child and Pippi Longstocking. Had to admit to people I hadn’t actually read their books, despite Meg R going round saying I read everything. (But Lee, Anthony and Fiona - you are on my next list. Definitely.)

I found I’d already met Nina Douglas from David Fickling Books, without knowing it. And I learnt that David himself let out a secret to us, so we’ve been sworn to silence. Now that I’ve seen how very nice “the Lancashire Comedian” is, I’ll never be brave enough to take him up on his earlier offer of a coffee when I’m next in Oxford. Not that I drink coffee, anyway, but I’d thought I might. Almost.

Meg did that very nice thing, and introduced me to her agent, Catherine. Maybe she knew I don’t have a book to flog, and never will. She even gave me her copy of Bog Child, which I will tell you about later.

Have to mention here, that all my trains ran on time.

A big thank you to Geoff for a beautiful day.

If Adele Geras’ time at Oxford was a piece of history, then the time Vera Brittain spent there is even more historic. Both their tales have a nice touch of nostalgia, when looked at from the twentyfirst century.

It was Linda Newbery who led me to Vera Brittain and her book Testament of Youth. Linda had been inspired by it when writing her own war fiction. At first I assumed that Testament of Youth was an obscure and little known book, but after laying my hands on a copy in Oxfam, I realised Vera Brittain was both famous and important.

Considering what Vera went through in the first world war I suppose it’s wrong to envy her her time at Oxford, but I think I do. It was harder for a female student in those days, but there were many positive aspects as well.

In fact, throughout Testament of Youth I was rendered almost speechless by the efficient ways of communication they had in those days. Letters went where they were supposed to, trains arrived on time and telegrammes did the task of the mobile phone.

And it’s interesting to consider that Vera’s pre-Oxford train trips into Manchester took her past my house, except it hadn’t been built then. But I can picture her journeys perfectly.

I can really recommend Testament of Youth. I’d intended reading a chapter every now and then, but I went through the 660 pages in very little time. Couldn’t put the book down. And if it had been possible I would have loved to have met Vera.

It was great. You can never be sure how a really good book will translate to the stage, or how much will have to be left out. Starseeker is my favourite Tim Bowler book and I wouldn’t have taken kindly to too much messing with it. Miraculously Phil Porter appears to have left nothing of note out. So, it was a play as good as the book.

Considering the importance of the piano playing throughout the story, it was wonderful to hear good music actually played on stage by the actor playing Luke.

The five actors taking on all the parts did a very good job. And the set was excellent, with imaginative use of space for so many different settings.

Tim was there, with most of his extended family and plenty of friends. It was good to see him again and nice to meet all the others. And as an added bonus I found Costa winner Linda Newbery had also come. So that’s two extremely good authors for the price of one play.

The theatre was wonderful, with the old traditional auditorium and the newly built extension allowing plenty of space for bars and socialising. Northampton turned out to be a pleasant town, but maybe it could be London next for Starseeker? Or at least Manchester.

Time to hit the bookshops again, for three books if you please. The second batch of The Historical House books is out now.

Adele Geras, Linda Newbery and Ann Turnbull are back at 6 Chelsea Walk with new stories about the people who have lived there. The first lot of stories covered the mid-nineteenth century to the second world war via the suffragette movement.

This time round Ann Turnbull’s Mary Ann & Miss Mozart takes us back to 1764. Adele Geras’ Cecily’s Portrait is set in 1895, covering the next generation along from her first story. Linda Newbery’s book Andie’s Moon is barely history at all, taking place during the moon landing in 1969.

I have to confess to a passion for houses, so I enjoy every minute of trying to visualise this house in its various guises. I believe the house is real, except with a different address. And I think it was Linda who met a man at a party who actually turned out to have lived there, and had written a book about it himself. Weird, isn’t it?

As I may have said before, I’m not incredibly interested in history as such, but this series of books is very fascinating. I’d like to think that what Ann, Linda and Adele have made up could very well have happened. Imagine meeting Mozart at the age of eight. Think of the childhood of photography over a hundred years ago. And consider two girls who wanted to make something of themselves. In contrast, it’s easy to see Linda’s Andie, as she’s very nearly my own age. Except I didn’t know Chelsea in the sixties, so that’s a revelation.

I understand from an interview the three of them did with Mary Hoffman for Armadillo Magazine, that Ann and Linda both wanted the same period. I think Linda won, in which case I’m grateful to Ann for her wonderful story from a long time ago. I didn’t know most of what I learnt from Mary Ann & Miss Mozart. And I’m glad Adele continued with the same family as last time, because you get to know them so well.

Last time I was in London I desperately wanted to go along and look at the house. Lack of time and aching feet prevented me, but I will go there one day.

When I’ve mentioned to people that the books are published by Usborne, there’s an element of surprise. “Do they publish real books then?” Seems they do. Don’t know if you can still go to Usborne parties, but if you can, these books are perfect.

I haven’t read the winner. Yet. I only had time to read the children’s book shortlist. They were all good, but some better than others.

I was pleased Linda Newbery won with Set in Stone, or SinS as she calls it. Our family read it on holiday last summer and the difficult reader (Daughter 13) loved it. We went to the beach for a swim. She sat on a sand dune and read. We went to an art gallery. She sat on a bench and read, moving to the next bench as we went along. Thought Linda might be interested in the effect her book had, so I emailed her. And she apologised for ruining our holiday! Aargh!

Always thought how hard it must be for the winner not to go round grinning like some Cheshire cat after they’ve been told and before the news has been made public. Who do you tell? And how do you avoid inadvertently letting on you’ve won? Heard about some of the non winners on the shortlist emailing each other to see how they’d done. A couple even discussed it in the school playground, what with their children going to the same school. And if you’ve won, do you say so, or do you lie through your teeth? While grinning.

The fashion report from the Costa Awards ceremony is black. How come all these exciting writers and other types who get to go still only do black? (Please invite me next time and I’ll show you!) Though Jacqueline Wilson didn’t wear black for a change. Adele Geras admits to her shoes, non black, killing her, but says she’ll wear them soon again. Really. I’d have thought they wouldn’t have survived ploughing through the snow to get home. The shoes, I mean.  Anne Fine’s agent wore a black tie. Literally. Carol Thatcher talks a lot and Sophie Kinsella is very small and wore a properly sticking out skirt. It’s entirely possible that Esther Rantzen’s jewellery was real, and she once shared a boyfriend in Oxford with Adele Geras.

Having a great deal of understanding for agoraphobics I will now go and read the winning book. Which, horror of horrors, was written by an author who’s not been to Canada. As someone commented in the Guardian’s blog, Douglas Adams presumably never went to Betelgeuse. Or maybe he did?

Surely this is what a good writer does. Makes things up.