[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-ireland-family-day-at-the-lexicon":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Whenever I get invited to Ireland, I always jump at the chance because they look after writers and illustrators so well, and get excited about books and animation, with big exhibitions and family events. This week after my trip to Liverpool, I made the 20-minute-or-so flight across the Irish Sea to Dublin, going on to Dún Laoghaire, where my co-author \u003Ca href=\"http://philip-reeve.com/\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a> and I put on three \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/pug-a-doodle-do/\">Pug-a-Doodle-Do!\u003C/a>\u003C/i> events featuring all four books we've done together and an activity book that wraps them all up. Here's my favourite audience drawing from the weekend: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/306080_original-eda03ae8b6.jpg\" width=\"400\">\\r\n\\r\nIt's a Sea Monkey board game (EEP!) based on the ones featured in \u003Ci>Pug-a-Doodle-Do!\u003C/i> and which we drew with the audience's help on stage. In fact, the Sea Monkeys featured quite prominently in the event, despite the pug-themed title. They have a habit of taking things over. Here's a member of the audience demonstrating what a Sea Monkey's face would look like 'doing a poo', so I could draw it. (It's all terribly educational.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/306242_original-60424531fb.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBesides \u003Ci>Pug-a-Doodle-Do!\u003C/i>, Philip and I helped author \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/sarahwebbishere\">Sarah Webb\u003C/a> officially open an exhibition of work at the \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/dlrLexIcon\">DLR LexIcon\u003C/a> library by a group she's been mentoring, called the \u003Cb>LexIcon Young Writers' Club\u003C/b>. Here are the young writers, and congratulations to them!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/306608_original-8d27017c8f.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/irishphoto\">Peter Cavanagh\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ci>I am Dún Laoghaire\u003C/i> is a lovely show, in a lovely space.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/306774_original-8de90ae5a7.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's one of the writers featured:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/307170_original-17c69ca136.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/irishphoto\">Peter Cavanagh\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nSome of the pictures and pieces of writing were memoirs of older relatives: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/307430_original-d9df2f2d7d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd this one made me laugh! I think maybe it was my favourite.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/307482_original-02cc355a7c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThis one was very sad, and seemed very grownup for such a young writer. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/307840_original-e16663832c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd the real star of this whole thing is Sarah Webb, who's a much-loved author of children's books in Ireland, but who gives so much of her time to promoting in Ireland the work of other writers, young and old. Not only has she set up this exhibition and organised numerous Mountains to Sea book festivals, but she organised our trip and took Philip and me on a school visit to \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/alexcollege\">Alexandra College\u003C/a>. (THANK YOU, Sarah!)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/308078_original-cc56af91fe.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOne thing you learn when visiting schools is that Fridays can be a little nicer in the staff lounges than other days of the week. In Ireland, this is particularly true: Friday is CAKE DAY. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/308464_original-668e651554.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd Alexandra College did itself proud.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/308631_original-e59121f4c9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nEven Cadbury's has a cake specially marketed for this demographic. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/308778_original-a424d8580f.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's Philip extolling the wonders of the Nom-o-Tron, the food-synthesising machine from our book \u003Ci>Cakes in Space\u003C/i>. At one point, he gets a bit too cheeky.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/310711_original-17ea4e6261.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBut I never let him get away with that sort of thing. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/310295_original-6321a9ec66.gif\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks so much for hosting us, Alexandra College! And \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/DubrayBooks\">Dubray Books\u003C/a>, for zooming off to get extra books when they sold out! Our next stop was DeptCon at the Tivoli Theatre, a con devoted to Young Adult books. Philip and writer \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Lauren_E_James\">Lauren James\u003C/a> had hit it off at a panel earlier at the Edinburgh Festival and were glad for a reunion: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/309124_original-fb6f394b46.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nMy contribution to DeptCon was saving Lauren from a rather Fearsome Beast. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/309463_original-8eecff32a6.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's Philip's panel event with \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MABennettAuthor\">MA Bennett\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/WillHillauthor\">Will Hill\u003C/a>, hosted by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TheCallYA\">Peadar Ó Guilín\u003C/a>. (I finally learned how to say 'Peadar' correctly, the Irish version of Peter. It's like 'patter', how an American person would say 'the patter of little feet'. ('Padder' to an English person?) Anyway, that issue had been niggling at me for years.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/309699_original-e478bb774e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's lovely \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LizScottPR\">Liz Scott\u003C/a>, the freelance publicist who'd been working with Sarah Webb and my Liverpool team to coordinate the whole trip. She's amazing. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/309958_original-498e68ccba.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBig thanks to Dubray Books, Liz, Sarah, the events teams, and everyone who came along! (Here's a \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/pug-a-doodle-do/\">free downloadable \u003Ci>Pug-a-Doodle-Do!\u003C/i> comic drawing sheet\u003C/a>, if you or your loved ones are looking for something to keep them busy.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/310171_original-3464291f84.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">","2017-10-16T20:55:00.000Z","ireland-family-day-at-the-lexicon",[],"ireland: family day at the lexicon!",1776628729256]