Kay Harker and Cole Hawlings Picture accessed via BBC There are few things more Christmassy than the opening few bars of the theme tune to The Box of Delights . In fact, the tune is based on Victor Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony and had been used in radio adaptations of the same novel years earlier than the 1984 television series. Clearly, everyone already knew that you just couldn't improve on that sound to evoke the magic of Christmas which - for me and for many - is so wonderfully explored in John Masefield's story. As a viewer, one of the things I enjoy most about the television series of The Box of Delights is the acting. Child actors are precarious things: too sweet and they're almost unbearable to watch, not sweet enough and they're unbelievable. They must walk that fine line between the two, and it is a perilous one! Most young actors fall into the first category, where their on-screen presence is almost dangerously saccharine. Not so the child actors ...
Wow! What a week it has been! We're now settled back home in Caithness, but last week we were dashing from one school to the next to conduct workshops. Each of the schools had something amazing to offer and I loved every second of it. That is, once I'd plucked up the courage to actually get out of the car! The nerves didn't settle down until we were driving back north. Even then, niggling feelings of doubt were clawing at me. "What if they don't like my book?" "Oh no, I should have done this differently." Rather than nattering about the multitude of events, I have compiled a photo diary of our time on the Taking Wing Book Tour. Of course, there are very few pictures of the school events because, well, it's a school! One school shared their photos publicly some one of these is included... The trip started off well, leaving Mum with a copy of Taking Wing. Here's Mum - supportive as ever! Here we are - arrived at the Guest Hou...