Thursday, March 10, 2011

Dawn of a New Adventure (Part 10)

I’m sat at Hanover Airport, waiting to board my return flight to London. Just did my first talk to English students at an overseas school called Prince Rupert. It went well. They asked questions for half an hour after the talk had ended.

I’m so exhausted, I’m about ready to fall asleep in the plastic chair at the edge of the café I’ve settled at. I did four one-hour talks in London yesterday, and jumped on a plane to Germany. I got to the Holiday Inn near midnight, and my taxi driver arrived at 6.20am to take me on a one-hour autobahn journey to the venue: a theatre in a military base, where I was greeted by an almost seven-foot guard with a handgun.

Other recent interesting venues include Arundel Castle, a massive restored medieval building dating back to 1067, owned by the Duke of Norfolk. With a bearded man on a £3-million Van Dyke painting watching over and smiling down at me, I told my story to the pupils of The Littlehampton Academy.

I did a talk at a nightclub to a nearly-all-female student audience, followed by the girl band The Ultra Girls, who were mobbed for autographs by hysterical students. Out of the handful of male students, one actually jumped on the stage and danced with the band, performing remarkably well under a barrage of heckles from the girls. I also got to see a dynamic public speaker, Lindsey Agness, take command of the students and coach them on life skills. My day there ended with a frenzy of cockroach hand-stamping, as the girls lined up demanding red and black ones.

I’m back to my hometown school this Monday, Saints Peter and Paul, where last year my mum answered a question impromptu that reduced several teachers and many students to tears.

The next book signings are in Manchester this Saturday, Birkenhead on Sunday, and Manchester the following Saturday. Click here for more info.

Click here for Dawn of a New Adventure (Part 9)

Shaun Attwood

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