Science and Dr Who

The summer holidays are quickly coming to an end and everyone is getting ready to go back to school and work :-( ... but today we managed to all go out to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

We had been wanting to go for quite some time as we'd heard it was very interesting... and it was too.

There's a room full of old aircraft and helicopters, one full of steam engines and railway engines.

It's interesting to be able to get up close and see how some of these things worked.

In this picture you can see a steam train that's had part of the side cut away so that you can look at what lies inside.

Most Museums and Art Galleries are free to visit - which makes it quite a cheap day out but sometimes thay have special displays or exhibitions that you have to pay to see - like the Doctor Who exhibition...

Inside there were props and costumes from the new series of Doctor Who.

There were Daleks, like this one, Cybermen and lots of other costumes too.

Unfortunatley, the battery on my camera ran out so I didn't get many more pictures.

We had a good time at the museum and it's certainly somewhere that I'd recommend going to visit if you ever get the chance.

Durham

Over the weekend we went up to Durham to spend a couple of days with my wife's family and while we were there we had a little walk round Durham itself.
In this picture you can see the Cathedral rising up above the city which stand on a little hill with the River Wear snaking round it.

We followed a little path that runs along the side of the river all round the outside of the city.






Here you can see the Cathedral peeping out over the top of the trees.

People were on the river in rowing boats - some of them going round in circles because they couldn't row in a straight line.

We spoted Squirrels, Water Voles and a big Cormorant diving under the water for fish... they are quite big birds and very good swimmers and I was surprised to see how far it could swim under the water.

We also came across this interesting little wall made from gargoyle heads. It wouldn't surprise me if this little wall pops up in a story some time...

Camping Trip

On Sunday morning we loaded up the car and drove up to Ullswater in the Lake District for a short camping holiday with my friend John and his three children.

The campsite, near Pooley Bridge, is one we've visited a few times and we always have a good time.The site is based on a farm right on the site of the lake so it's a great place to go if you like swimming or messing around in boats...

We've had lots of rain recently and although the weather forecast looked quite good for the week ahead I wasn't entirely convinced that it was going to be camping weather.

It was raining when we arrived but after a goof look round we managed to find a spot without any big puddles. It's not a good idea putting your tent up in a puddle. As we put up the tents, the rain stopped and the sun came out.

I'm not the keenest camper in the world but I always enjoy it when we get there. There's something wonderful about waking up and finding yourself in the fresh air at the side of a lake. And being woken by the sound of birds and sheep is much nicer than the ringing of an alarm clock.

As you can see from the pictures it was a bit cloudy but it was still nice and warm... most of the time.

Robo-Runners

Late last night I received an email from my wonderful editor at Hodder Children's Books containing some artwork for the Robo-Runners Books. A full colour cover (front and back) for Book One - The Tin Man - and some roughs for Book Two - Tunnel Racers.The artwork is being done by an excellent artist called Mark Oliver - and he is just brilliant at drawing robots. He puts lots little details on the characters making them really interesting to look at.I'm really excited about these books and can hardly wait to see them in libraries and shops. I think they are going to look great with very eye catching covers. Hopefully I'll be able to show some of the pictures on my website soon but I think I will have to wait until the final cover layouts have been sorted out.In the meantime I've got to finish books five and six as well as tweaking books three and four.

Butterflies and Birds

Yesterday we drove up to Lancaster to visit Williamson Park and the Ashton Memorial.

It's one of those places that we've been meaning to go and visit for a long time but just never seem to have got round to, even though it's only about 45 minutes drive from home.

The Memorial itself was built 100 years ago by Lord Ashton in memory of his wife. With its big green dome it stands out for miles around.

The park has winding pathways that weave between the trees and flowerbeds and there are fountains, a waterfall, bridges and even a small lake.

We climbed up to the top of the memorial which gives fantastic views of the countryside around it and then went to visit the butterfly house which was well worth seeing.

It's hard to tell from the pictures but the butterflies were so much bigger than any that you see in your garden, and inside the butterfly house they fly and glide gracefully.

Windermere

We're getting out and about quite a bit at the moment... On Thursday we drove up to the Lake District with plans to go and visit Hill Top - the farmhouse where Beatrix Potter (creator of Peter Rabbit) lived.

The house is near Hawkshead in Cumbria so we drove up there but unfortunately it was much too busy so we drove past and onto the car ferry that would take us back across lake Windermere. Here's a view off the back of the ferry.

We then stopped off in Bowness and had some fish and chips before driving on a bit further towards the south end of the river to Fell Foot Park. We then spent a few hours lazing around by the lake in the sun before coming back home.

Family Day Out

On Tuesday of this week we had a family day out and visited Gawthorpe Hall near Burnley.

The hall itself was closed when we arrived so we didn't get a look inside but we had a picnic before going in to Burnley town centre for a look around.
After that, we piled back into the car and drove down to Ormskirk to visit Rufford Old Hall.

Rufford Old Hall was very nice and we agreed that we should have gone their earlier in the day for our picnic.

The Hall is a 16th Century Tudor building with a collection or arms and armour and a spectacular old hall (as you'd expect from its name).

The Gardens were very nice with pathways and topiary displays including a couple of squirrel like this one...

Good isn't it...

There was even a hunt the gnome activity for younger children.

We found lots of them including this little gnome called Tom ~

There was a scarecrow standing in the garden too.
I've been messing around with some different ideas for scarecrow stories... so perhaps this one might help give me some ideas.

Can you think of a good idea for a scarecrow story?

Work Day

Wednesday I spent working... catching up with paperwork and stories that needed finishing. I put the finishing touches to Book Four - POWERBALL - in my Robo-Runners Series and sent it off to my editor to see what she thinks. I found writing this story quite difficult at first but it did get easier as it went on...

I've already made a start on Book Five and so far it looks like it's going to be a bit easier this time (fingers crossed). The story is flowing faster and the characters seem to know what they are doing.Robo-Runners Book Five is going to involve pirates. Can robots be pirates? Yes... in my world they can.

It's interesting writing a series of books that involve the same characters and are set on a fictional world. As the series progresses I fin myself thinking more and more about the world on which they are set... how places link together and how things have come to be the way they are.There aren't many human people on the world.... most of them have gone away. Where they have gone or why they have gone isn't something I thought about at first, but the more I write the clearer my image of this made up world becomes.So far there are going to be sic Robo-Runners books but I'm hoping that people wil like them and that my publishers, Hodder, will want me to write more.I'll have to wait and see...

Working again

Today has been a working day away from home.... quite boring sitting at my desk all day so when I got home I had some tea then we went out for a walk along part of the sea front near Blackpool.

This is a quiet end of the Blackpool coast away from all the bright lights and holiday makers... quite nice really.

it's very late now so I'm off to bed...
Good night all.

Warming Up

This week I'm back to work writing.... robots, robots, robots - and a little story about a grumpy man that lives in a tower - or is it a lighthouse- hmm, it could be both.In the morning it can take a while for the brain to get itself ready for writing so it's good to do something to get yourself warmed up. I don't mean go out running or swimming - I mean some writing. That's one of the good things about writing this diary on my website. It lets people know what I'm doing and also gets my brain warmed up.So... I'm all set...on with the writing.

More Walking

On Sunday I went out walking with my friend John, in the lake district. We usually spend more time talking about going out walking than actually going out and doing it... but this time we actually managed to get away for the day.From where we live it only takes about an hour to drive to the lake district in Cumbria, and when you get there you have the choice of so many beautiful places to visit. We were feeling energetic so we decided to walk up Helvellyn one of the highest peaks in England (The third highest according to Wikipedia). It stands 950 metres (3,117 ft) above sea level.

Apart from enjoying the walk and being out in the fresh air - some of these places have such interesting names and could be straight out of a fantasy story - imagine what sort of characters would live at places like Catstye Cam, Stybarrow Dodd, Dollywaggon Pike, Swallow Scarth or Striding Edge.
The weather was good so we had a fantastic view from the top so it was well worth the climb. When I got home I was tired and my legs ached... but I felt good (once I'd had a nights sleep anyway).