There’s a new page here (top right) called SCHOOL THINGS. It has colouring-in sheets, a word jumble, the sheet of images of “Strange” the cat from The Night Garden, and a rogue’s gallery of some of the pictures I’ve created when visiting schools – as directed by the kids in the class.

They’re free to use but subject to copyright (so do let CAL know you’re using them and ask me if you want to reproduce them in a publication).

I’d love to know what you think and if you have any suggestions. And I’ll be gradually adding more things so keep coming back to check.

Also if your kids have used the material and come up with something special – send it in and we’ll make a gallery of their artwork. Then they’ll be famous!

Here are some things I learned…
* Although some were troubled by the Dark Spirits of the old mansion’s ghosts, I found it a very friendly place, especially the dungeon.
* A cold at the beginning of a long period of teaching is not good for my voice.
* When I lose my voice I fluctuate between sounding like Barry White and a 6 year old choir boy.
* Melaleuca honey and pineapples don’t cure all ills.
* Cows are curious in daylight and also in moonlight.
* Marburg locals don’t see pink hair often. But they get over it.
* Creeks are harder to cross by starlight and it’s easy to miss the obvious ford one metre away.
* Preppies like you to draw vampire teddies when in a dungeon.
* A burst of rain leads to: cacophonous frog singing and Jenny Stubbs discovering the horrible violent side of gravity.
* Crows have a huge range of calls I never knew about and are good dancers.
* I still don’t know what a bunya(?) nut looks like and why they’re so dangerous.
* It may be possible to rig “friendliest town” competitions.
* Festivals are wonderful for children and presenters alike and we all have an absolute ball.

This post is dedicated to Jenny Stubbs who worked like crazy to organise this festival for two years, then missed out enjoying the finale when she broke her ankle in an awful fall. We love you Jenny. And to Shirley who stepped in and made everything keep working beautifully!

I absolutely loved doing this festival. It was hard work but the kids were fantastic, the place was inspiring and my partner-in-crime-presenters all formed a gorgeous community that it was bliss to be in.

Sam “the Ginger Ninja” who works in a supermarket. Not too good at hiding his secret identity.

The magnificent Densite La Rouge… the bling princess gangster.

And Johnny “Thunder” Struck, the not-so-fabulous stuntman, currently seeing stars after a bit of a stunt-gone-wrong. What a stunner.

They’re so much fun to do. Each begins in such a simple way – starting with simple shapes and questions. Who is this character? So what will the eyes be like, the nose, the mouth? What are they thinking? What’s happening to them right now? All of the answers change how the picture progresses, how the character looks and the tiny details that represent a bigger story. And sometimes all we have is 15 minutes to do it all.