Wychwood Festival 2015 .... Part 1 - Pre Festival Excitment

So here I am, three days away from attending the Wychwood 2015 Festival and I have to say I am excited.  What is there to be excited about I know you are wondering.  And what does it have to do with Armadillo?

Well, the two questions can be answered in one.  It is because Wychwood has a dedicated Chlidren’s Literature Festival running alongside the music and workshops.  Not only is there a packed programme of authors for children to meet and listen to but also they have the opportunity to attend classes and workshops and enjoy performaces too.

Wychwood is a an incredibly family friendly festival and I know that any children who attend will not only be inspired by the authors they listen to and meet but they will gain from their experience fond memories of a wonderful weekend and some inspirational encouragement to read and maybe even be writers themselves one day.

Lots of thought and hard work, considerable effort, goes into the planning of these events and I know that my first trip to Wychwood 2 years ago was a great opportunity to meet some wonderful people and the Children’s Literature Festival was there, in its own marquee, roving popular but looking at the programme for this year I can see that even more authors are involved, there are even more big names and there is likely to be very little room left in the children’s tent for the whole of the weekend!

So just who will be there – fantastic authors galore …Ali Sparkes (think Monster Makers, Shapeshifters, Dark Summer) offering something to children aged 7 and upwards; Petr Horacek with his marvellous picture books appropriate for all ages.  I don’t know Giancrlo Gremin but am excited that I may get a chance to meet this new name along with the also unkown First Draft and local author Karen Langtree.

Steve Anthony will be there and I am hoping he will show off his fantastic illustration skills.  Friend of mine Steve Cole will be there and he could be talking James Bond, Egyptian Adventures or even dinosaurs in space – watch this space to find out.  The bearded giant that is Philip Ardagh is likely to have his audiences in stitches, John Dougherty will hopefully play his guitar whilst Anna Wilson, Tracey Corderoy, Paul Strickland, Chris Edge and Cathy Cassidy not forgetting Matt Brown, Paul Strickland and Tony de Saulles.

Phew I think I need a sit down now but maybe that will have to wait until this weekend when I park myself in the Children’s Literature Tent at Wychwood for an inspirational series of events.

If I have time in my busy schedule I may pop along to listen to some music on one of the 4 stages, learn more about what Wychwood are doing to go green, hone some belly dancing skills. Listen to some comedy … the list of things to do is endless. 

Whatever your plans were for this coming weekend change them and get yourselves over to Cheltenham Racecourse for the stunning Wychwood Festival.

Today is the day ...

The day has finally arrived, the day that I set off on my travels to Cheltenham and the Wychwood Festival.  This is my first ever festival experience so I am perhaps understandably a little nervous about it all but very excited too.  Looking forward to a great weekend with a wonderful atmosphere of fun and games for the whole family ...

Arrive tonight and should have time to orient myself then get ready for a day of author events on Saturday and even more on Sunday.  Already planning to meet with Petr Horacek, hopping to meet with a few more authors too and get some great suggestions for books, reading and more.

Great programme lined up for the whole family so if you are wondering what to do now that the sun has decided to shine why not come on over to the racecourse at Cheltenham and enjoy the festival this weekend.

Hope to see many of you there, please come and say hello, you should be able to spot the tent and I may need your help taking it down and packing it away on Sunday too!

I'll be busily Facebooking and Tweeting over the weekend so if you can't make it remember to follow me there and check back here next week for news on the event.

Wychwood ... Two Days to Go

The excitement builds, with only two sleeps to go until the Wychwood Festival begins, two whole days until the Children's Literature Festival begins but only one whole day until I get my train and head on over.

So we have looked in some detail at the events for Saturday (which will now include me meeting with Petr Horacek for a chat so watch this space next week when I report back with news from him), we have touched slightly on Sunday so now here are some more hints about some of the exciting sessions that you can look forward to ...

Names that are new to me and maybe to some of you too, always a good and intriguing sign - always good to meet new authors and illustrators and in fact anyone who is helping to create great literature for children ... Jenny Smith, Giles Paley-Philips and Mike Estedium ...

Jenny takes to the stage on Saturday afternoon and if her biog on the festival website is anything to go by she will be hilarious!

Apparently she enjoys crisps, trampolining at midnight and being a nosy neighbour, the perfect ingredients for being a great writer for children - all adding up to making her slightly mad!  

Her book The Abominators contains the most mischievous and crazy characters you are likely to ever come across, they love chaos, mayhem and filling toilets with jelly but they most definitely do not like making new friends with the goody-two-shoes new boy.  I can't wait to go to her event and have a chat! 

I have also mentioned Giles Paley-Philips.  Giles is the author of The Fearsome Beastie a book which has won a number of prizes for this musician turned author ... and which is the book he will be reading from but there have been others along the way including Tamara Small and the Monsters' Ball, The Things You Never Knew ABout Dinosaurs and Princess Stay Awake.  Then there is the collection of poetry he wrote There Is a Lion in my Bathroom so I am hoping that as well as hearing Giles read we may be treated to some music and poetry too!

These new names, alongside the more established are what makes the festival so exciting and something to look forward to with a growing sense of anticipation ...  I hope you feel it too ....

Wychwood ... Five Days to Go

Only five days to go now and still so much to share ... 

Having told you about a selection of authors and events for Saturday 1st June let me reveal a few more ...

Did I mention that Philip Ardagh will be there?  Well he will, hopefully, be reading from his hilarious and very popular Grunt series of books.  

His event is described as needing plenty of audience participation and all-round silliness which sounds just perfect to me!  Talking about how he writes, why he writes, where his ideas come from and even ... why he likes ducks?! Yes I would like to know more about this too ... this is certainly going to be one of the many highlights of the weekend.

I will be, hopefully, chatting with Petr Horacek too.  Petr is the author and illustrator of such charming books as Strawberries are Red and What is Black is White.

I hope to talk to him about his latest titles, the board books Honk Honk Ba Ba and Time for Bed.  You'll be able to read my report of this chat on the Blog and in the Armadillo Magazine after the festival of course.

Wychwood ... Three Days to Go

I think that I have given you plenty to look forward to for Saturday 1st June so here is the first taster of what to look forward to on Sunday 2nd ...

A lie in again for the events do not begin until the respectable time (for a Sunday) of 10.30am, allowing time for breakfast at least!

And the day starts with a choice of ponies (those gorgeous Shetland miniatures) or Karen Langtree - personally I am going to try and do both and would urge you to also.  Karen is coming to the festival all the way from New York to share her love of reading and writing stories, singing and writing songs, playing the piano and food!  She may find some time to tell us about her work as a primary school teacher and authors too!  

Being runner-up in a WHSmith competition at the age of 10 Karen is an inspiration to aspiring writers and her books include My Wicked Stepmother and the Fairy Rescuers which I hope to find out more about ...

Then comes Tony De Saulles alongside Mr Bloom singing (no more detail available about this one I'm afraid).  If Tony's name is not immediately familiar as soon as I mention that he is the illustrator of the Horrible Science series you will know who I mean!  Tony will hopefully be sharing some of his drawing tips with us on Sunday ...  

Then, as the day progresses, there will also be a chance to listen to and meet even more authors whose names will be revealed ... tomorrow!

Wychwood ... Four Days to Go ...

Still counting down and yet still on the events for Saturday because the programme is so packed full of amazing things for children and adults alike to enjoy.  In fact looking at the programme I wonder if there will be time to stop for breath or even lunch!?

John Dougherty, himself a reviewer for Armadillo Magazine will put in an appearance (and I hope to meet him for the first time too!).  John is the author of a number of books, perhaps the most well-known of which is Zeus on the Loose, a title that was shortlisted for the Brandford Boase Award, recognising it as an outstanding first novel for children.

Once a teacher John gave it all up for writing but still pops back into school regularly as a visiting author so his session will be well prepared I'm sure!  We are promised that John will read, sing, perform some poetry and be generally funny - great!

Ian Whybrow will take to the stage too.  An author since 1989, therefore very experienced, Ian has written over 100 books and won a number of prizes over the years.  For older children Ian will be a familiar name for his Sniff stories.  Little Wolf are a series of classic stories for 7-9 year-olds, Books for Boys are perfect for beginner readers and his picture books will be well-known to parents and toddlers which leads me nicely to reveal that Ian will this year feature Meerkats and Dinosaurs in his event ...

Yet more to look forward to for all ages ...

Wychwood ... Six Days to Go

Now we are looking towards Saturday 1st June, what will be on offer at Wychwood for the children (their families and me?) plus you, the potential visitor?

The programme for the day begins at a very respectable 10.30am (allowing some of the revellers from Friday a lie-in) with Lynne Armstrong Hobbs as well as Winnie and Kipper.

Lynne is the author of the Firwood books, there are currently 3 with a 4th being written - perhaps she will reveal a little about the story to come?

There will be Storycubes at 12.30 about which I am very intrigued and even more so by the afternoon offering of David Lloyd Music Man ... singing, slapstick and more are on offer so plenty more fun and noise is on the agenda!

There may be a crocodile making an appearance courtesy of Wendy Meddor and I am quite certain that Philip Ardagh's beard will be a suitable challenge to Mr Twits!

Fun, fun fun ...

Wychwood ... Seven days to go ...

Now there are only 7 days to go so next Friday, May 31st what will be happening at Wychwood?

The author programme launches on Saturday 1st June but the tents will be there ready and waiting so I will be able to enjoy some Dahl, storytelling, puppetry and more whilst making sure I am orientated and have a programme in hand ready for a busy Saturday!

Looking at the advance programme I think that a change of clothes will be in order and not just because of the changeable great British weather but the promise of messy crafts at the Roald Dahl story museum tent - Mr Dahl would be proud!  There will also be more than enough noise to counter all the music shows with noisy storytelling and then there may just be time for some dressing up fun with mask making activities too!

As this is truly a family festival I am quite certain that the adults won't be overlooked either so you  need to come prepared for lots of action and fun too, bedtime stories will probably not be needed but your story telling abilities may be tested and challenged by a few of the authors and you may even pick up some tips too.

So with seven days to go I now have a better idea of what I might need to pack:

change of clothes - check
ear plugs?
IMAGINATION!

I can't wait ...

One Week and Counting

It's only 8 days until I get my train to Cheltenham for the Wychwood Festival and I am getting more excited as the hours roll past.  I'm also hoping for some good weather!

What will I do when I arrive, well apart from the obvious pitching of the tent and settling in I will look around, grab my programme and highlight the events I am going to be attending, working out if I can actually get around everything - why - because there is so much to do for families and children.  

All events are taking place in the literature tent so I may well just camp ut there but if I did do that I may miss something so it will be a good base from which to explore all that is on offer in the Kids Literature Festival.


As well as all the authors I will hopefully be meeting, listening to and sharing stories with there are the Storytelling Ponies, miniature shetlands with whom children can talk, having learnt their special language.  This skill will encourage the children to listen and understand, skills that they need not just for reading but for life.

If all that is too serious or the children are all hogging the ponies then I shall make my way over to another tent, this one with the Roald Dahl Museum in it where I hope to find that some oompa loompas are nosily delivering stories from Revolting Rhymes to Dirty Beasts.

So has this whet your appetite yet?  It has mine and I am going to try and ensure my remaining 8 sleeps are good ones in preparation for all the excitement.

Don't worry though, this is not all, I will be back again in a day or two to tell you more ...