[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-isle-of-man-cyclefest-2018":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Look, genuine Manx pugs!! Are you as excited as I am?? \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/409018_original-639ec077b6.jpg\" width=\"550\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://lauraellenanderson.co.uk/\">Laura Ellen Anderson\u003C/a>, her publicist \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SiobhanMcD91\">Siobhan McDermott\u003C/a>, Rosie Hudson (aka \u003Ca href=\"https://www.rosietellstales.com/\">Rosie Tells Tales\u003C/a>) and I were all thrilled to be invited to the Isle of Man for their third \u003Ca href=\"http://www.iomcyclefest.com/\">Cyclefest\u003C/a> family festival. Here we are, getting all glammed up: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/409519_original-a61776c202.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Tweeted by Siobhan McDermott\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nI'd been to a festival once before on the Isle of Man - the \u003Ca href=\"https://jabberworks.livejournal.com/664253.html\">Manx Lit Fest\u003C/a> - but that was in Douglas, in the south, while Cyclefest was further north, in Ramsey. Here's a peek at Ramsey harbour, which is a lovely place for a little stroll and a drink on the dockside. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/409323_original-10c1d2cb97.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nMy husband Stuart and I got collected by the airport by \u003Cb>Jackie\u003C/b>, who gave us an amazing driving tour around the island. We loved this little fishing cove:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/416664_original-cce65827a7.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/416897_original-3d86f3201a.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBack to the festival and the big teepee: One of the fun things about sticking around for a few days was getting to see other people's events. Here's Laura Ellen Anderson talking about Amelia Fang, in full Amelia costume: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/409709_original-58a91a8e34.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI couldn't resist doing a drawing of her: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/409972_original-9b5a3218e1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nMeeting Rosie Tells Tales was great fun, and seeing her approach to getting kids engaged in stories. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/410123_original-03e1f70d94.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nShe does a lot of events using Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury's \u003Ci>We're Going on a Bear Hunt\u003C/i>, and the kids all made binoculars. (I had to draw that, too.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/410504_original-203ef06633.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd Laura (or 'Lil') drew me! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/410676_original-5d25f35c56.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWahey! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/410965_original-f1c682d813.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nLil's done a terrific Cyclefest blog on her own site, if you want to \u003Ca href=\"https://ameliafang.wordpress.com/2018/04/23/isle-of-man-cyvclefest-festival/\">pop over for an in-depth experience of the festival\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https://ameliafang.wordpress.com/2018/04/23/isle-of-man-cyvclefest-festival/\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/419674_original-8df1871f8f.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nBig thanks to \u003Cb>Angela\u003C/b> and \u003Cb>Harry\u003C/b> from the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.bridge-bookshop.com/\">Bridge Bookshop\u003C/a>, who did an amazing job stocking books all weekend! They even had copies of my \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/dinosaur-firefighters/\">Dinosaur Firefighters\u003C/a>\u003C/i>, which isn't even out until May 3rd! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/411350_original-44d4d79250.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI drew quite a few portraits over the weekend, including two of them: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/411435_original-98c227e00c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe signage for my event made me howl with laughter; see if you can spot the slight change of name that makes everything much, much funnier. Stay tuned for our follow-up book of canine cryonics. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/411756_original-2c1283012d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere I am, talking \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.co.uk/pugs-of-the-frozen-north/\">Pugs of the Frozen North\u003C/a>\u003C/i>: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/412119_original-24fe7c3794.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Tweeted by Laura Ellen Anderson\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nAnd I got to see some fab drawings! Here's a Sea Monkey from a fan of \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.co.uk/oliver-and-the-seawigs/\">Oliver and the Seawigs\u003C/a>\u003C/i>: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/413640_original-440d185015.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd an excellent tower blog drawing by Benjie from my event featuring \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.co.uk/the-new-neighbours/\">The New Neighbours\u003C/a>\u003C/i>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/413301_original-25039a4702.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOne of the best things about the festival is that the organiser \u003Cb>Pete Jones\u003C/b> encouraged me to bring Stuart along, and even said he could borrow a bike while he was over there! Stuart's a keen cyclist, so this was absolutely brilliant. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/412200_original-c2fea91925.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's Stuart waiting for his race to begin. There were three races: the Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo and Piccolo Fondo. Stuart thought he'd do the Medio, but Pete advised him to start out with the Piccolo (which is more of a ride than a race) since he'd never done it before, which turned out to be good advice. I loved the bright colours of the Manx youth cycling club kit: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/412664_original-b19aadcc09.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd they were off! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/412684_original-3316a174a5.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWhile Stuart was cycling hard, I partook of jerk chicken from this friendly team: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/415737_original-35cb5c47f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnother fab person we got to meet was \u003Cb>Megan\u003C/b> from \u003Ca href=\"http://play.bright-bricks.com/\">Bright Bricks\u003C/a>. She organised the kids into making this giant Lego mural! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/415990_original-ceff7bb6cf.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nIt was so fun getting Megan to talk about her work: who wouldn't love a job dealing with Lego all day! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/416127_original-1aaa4d944c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nIn some ways it's not that far off from working in Photoshop, except the pixels are much larger: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/416445_original-f7805e5371.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe festival took place in the grounds of \u003Ca href=\"http://www.milntown.org/\">Milntown\u003C/a>, a stately home with beautiful gardens. Stuart and I loved exploring it after he got back from his ride. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/413787_original-25990e37ed.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nA few more peeks at Manx life: here's the Port Erin branch of the Bridge Bookshop, where Stuart and I popped in to see Angela on our first day. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/414197_original-2225d3aa17.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/414420_original-a64ad00fcd.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWe also stopped by the Ramsay branch and met their new employee, Anna.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/414616_original-ff61308bcd.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nYay, our books in the window! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/414788_original-91c0399e7f.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nLast time \u003Ca href=\"http://philip-reeve.com/\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a> and I were on the Isle of Man, we were so taken by this Kippers by Post sign that he came up with a whole song about it. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/415139_original-cc81e035f3.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nSo I brought back some kippers for him (but Stuart and I ended up eating them). \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/415323_original-307b9a50c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnother lovely island view: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/417112_original-0697d37a5d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nStuart LOVES riding on trams, so on our last day, we made a special trip to go on the Ramsey to Laxley stretch of rails. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/417715_original-1f4cc44715.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nRosie and her partner Alex came along, and we had a great time riding in the beautifully old-fashioned carriages. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/417915_original-b0fadc7bab.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/418174_original-d354221a71.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nCheck out this tiny little station! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/418304_original-f01e33f6af.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWe miss everyone already, it was a great gang! Thanks so much to Pete for organising, and a big wave to Megan and Rosie; I hope we run into each other again. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/418690_original-610a7355b6.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI didn't get a lot of time to listen to the music concerts, but I heard snatches of good stuff coming toward the family tent, and it was fun meeting musicians, such as \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/KellyOliverUK\">Kelly Oliver\u003C/a>: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/418889_original-a597ad85f3.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/iamyolacarter\">Yola Carter\u003C/a>: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/419129_original-1e8b492f7e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWhere we stayed, the \u003Ca href=\"http://www.baiemooar.com/\">Baie Mooar Guesthouse\u003C/a>, was the perfect place to have a very comfortable flop. Thanks, \u003Cb>Jenny and Simon\u003C/b>, for looking after us!  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/419460_original-618740204c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">","2018-04-29T21:30:00.000Z","isle-of-man-cyclefest-2018",[],"isle of man cyclefest 2018",1776628729579]